Based on a Book

A camp classic and one-time staple of late-night cable, Gymkata stars former Olympic gymnast Kurt Thomas as a master of Gymkata, a fighting style that blends elements of martial arts and--what else?--gymnastics. Sent to a fictional Middle Eastern country... Read More

A camp classic and one-time staple of late-night cable, Gymkata stars former Olympic gymnast Kurt Thomas as a master of Gymkata, a fighting style that blends elements of martial arts and--what else?--gymnastics. Sent to a fictional Middle Eastern country on the Caspian Sea called "Karabal, on the Caspian Sea," Jonathan Cabot (Thomas) must survive a high-stakes competition called the Game that had previously claimed the life of his father. But winning could mean shifting the balance of power in the cold war. (The movie was made in 1985, and Thomas missed out on the 1980 Olympics because of the U.S. boycott.) Fortunately, being a master of Gymkata means that as you run through the village streets with bad guys in hot pursuit, in between the buildings you'll find a conveniently placed high bar from which you can swing and unleash powerful villain-crunching kicks. Moments like that earn Gymkata a 9.5 on the unintentional-comedy scale. With Tetchie Agbayani as the love-interest princess, and Buck Kartalian as a fearsome villain who looks like Mel Brooks. --David Horiuchi