from high school. To celebrate, they join a Brazilian capoeira team to perform for Stevens at the graduation ceremony. Cast Mark Dacascos as Louis Stevens Stacey Travis as Dianna Paco Christian Prieto as Silverio Oliveiras Geoffrey Lewis as Mr. Kerrigan Todd Susman as Mr. Cochran Jeffrey Anderson-Gunter as Philippe Richard Coca as Orlando Oliveiras Roman Cardwell as Shay Ryan Bollman as Donovan Christian Klemash as Eddie John Fionte as Hector Cervantes John Gregory Kasper as Coach Kasper Phyllis Sukoff as Mrs. Esposito Mellow Man Ace as Student Rapper Stuart S. Shapiro as John Joselito "Amen" Santo as Javier Adeniri S. Ajamu as Chief Ajamo Antoni Corone as Green Beret Sergeant Saudia Young as Hooker Sergio Pereira as Silverio's Bodyguard #1 Michael F. Lagapa as Silverio's Bodyguard #2 Sergio Kato as Silverio's Bodyguard #3 (uncredited) C.C. DeNeira as Hooker (uncredited) Production Though Mark Dacascos is a talented martial artist, his background is not initially in capoeira. Just prior to his audition, he received his training from famed capoeirista Amen Santo, who was responsible for much of the fight choreography and has a small role in the film. Soundtrack Only the Strong (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack), composed of eleven hip hop and capoeira music songs, was released in 1993 via Fox Records. It features contributions from Jibril Serapis Bey, Marcel Branch, Patrick McCain, Donna Simon, Mellow Man Ace, Miami Boyz and New Version of Soul, as well as Kao Rossman, Scott G., Iki Levy, Stuart S. Shapiro, Blueblood, DJ Muggs, Kid Fury and LRoc on production duties. The most prominent songs in the film are Serapis Bey's "Paranauȇ" and "Zoom-Zoom-Zoom" - the latter being more well known as the theme song for Mazda's TV commercials. Box office and reception Only the Strong earned US$3,273,588 at the U.S. box office, making only more than half of its US$6 million budget. The film was universally panned by critics, earning a 13% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 15 reviews. Roger Ebert gave the film one out of four stars, saying, "The message of a movie like Only the Strong, building on the fascist undertones of its title, is almost cruel in its stupidity and naivete. It's almost a relief that few people in the audience for such a film ever remember if it even had a message or not". Joe Brown of The Washington Post also wrote a scathing review, saying it "relies