Only the Strong

Louis Stevens, a former Green Beret who served in Brazil, comes home to Miami and finds his old high school overrun by gangs and drug dealing. After he uses his capoeira training to drive dealers off the grounds, a teacher he once knew, Kerrigan, asks him to pass the art on to a group of the school's most troubled students. Stevens takes on the task, teaching them discipline through the Brazilian martial art, and draws the attention of a local gang leader, Silverio, whose interests the classes threaten.

The film was directed by Sheldon Lettich, who wrote it with Luis Esteban. It followed his earlier features Lionheart and Double Impact and came before The Order and The Hard Corps in his directing career. Mark Dacascos plays Louis, with Paco Christian Prieto as Silverio, Stacey Travis as Dianna, Richard Coca as Orlando Aliveres, Geoffrey Lewis as Kerrigan and Todd Susman as Cochran among a credited cast of 26. The production, made by 20th Century Fox with Davis Films, August Entertainment and Freestone Pictures, was budgeted at 6 million dollars and took about 3 million dollars worldwide.

On IMDb the film holds a 6.9 rating from 213 votes, while the critics' rating stands at 3.6 from 15 reviews, a clear gap between professional and audience response.