Uncover the Surprising Secrets Behind ‘Gymkata’ That Even Die-Hard Fans Missed
Ever wonder what happens when you mix an Olympic gymnast with a Cold War showdown, sprinkle in a death-defying tournament, and then swap out a dashing Hollywood star for a guy who flips more than he talks? Well, buckle up—because that’s the oddball recipe behind *Gymkata*, a film whose bizarre journey from a Cold War spy thriller novel to a cult classic is as wild as its signature fighting style. Originally set to star Rock Hudson in a story about parachuting into a Russian village for a military base, the project took a somersault into the unexpected when Olympic gymnast Kurt Thomas became the lead, and the battleground morphed into a gymnastics-infused, life-or-death contest. Forty years on, *Gymkata* remains a dizzying mix of ambition, awkward acting, 80s propaganda, and, yes, plenty of gymnastics—and somehow, it backflipped its way straight into cinematic infamy. Ready to tumble down this cinematic rabbit hole? Let’s dive in.
When the rights for Dan Tyler Moore’s 1957 novel The Terrible Game were purchased in 1960, producers intended to adapt it into a vehicle for Rock Hudson. The actor presumably would have played the protagonist: a man who parachutes into a remote Russian village for a life-or-death competition with the intention of winning the United States a new military base there. But the film that would eventually make it to theaters decades later took on a very different form. Instead of a silver screen icon, the leading man was an Olympic athlete with no prior acting credits to his name. And as its new title suggested, the battle-to-the-death tournament its hero competes in was given an unusual gymnastics twist. To celebrate its 40th anniversary, here’s a look at how Gymkata backflipped its way into cinema infamy.
- Gymkata has similarities to a martial arts classic.
- The movie relied on an acting novice.
- Gymkata was Cold War propaganda.
- Its director was considered past his prime.
- Its casting was problematic.
- Filmmakers created nonsensical scenes to showcase Thomas’s gymnastics skills.
- Gymkata has a baffling romantic subplot.
- It’s quotable for all the wrong reasons.
- Gymkata bellyflopped at the box office.
- It failed to launch a new craze.
- Gymkata has become a cult classic.
Gymkata has similarities to a martial arts classic.
In 1973’s Enter the Dragon, Bruce Lee’s martial artist is recruited by an intelligence agency to infiltrate a shadowy physical tournament staged on a private island. In Gymkata, Kurt Thomas’s gymnast Jonathan Cabot is also recruited by an intelligence agency to infiltrate a shadowy tournament, this time staged in the fictional country of Parmistan. Robert Clouse directed both films.
Gymkata does change a few things. Instead of trying to bring down a drug-trafficking crime lord, Thomas’s hero is tasked with winning the competition so that a satellite monitoring station designed to thwart nuclear attacks can be built in Parmistan. And the competition itself is far more cutthroat: Only the last man standing is guaranteed to leave with his life intact. For the most part, though, Gymkata doesn’t even bother to hide its seeming source of inspiration—and inevitably, it was always going to pale in comparison.
The movie relied on an acting novice.
Gymnast-turned-actor is a more common career pivot than you may think. Olympic gold medal winner Mitch Gaylord played the leading man in both the 1986 sports drama American Anthem and the 1989 action flick American Rickshaw. Two-time London 2012 medalist McKayla Maroney enjoyed a recurring role in small-town dramedy Hart of Dixie. And Pan-American Games runner-up Mark Caso donned Leonardo’s costume in two of the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles sequels.
But Thomas lacked natural on-screen charisma, which isn’t much of a problem when he’s jumping, kicking, and twirling all over the place—but it is when he’s required to convince viewers he’s smitten with a fearless princess or having an emotional reunion with a long-lost father who was presumed to have fallen to his death. The untrained actor received a Worst New Star nod at the 1986 Razzies. (He lost to Brigitte Nielsen, who starred in both Red Sonja and Rocky IV that year.) Thomas went on to bag later roles in TV movie Circus and Spanish comedy Slam.
Gymkata was Cold War propaganda.
“There’s just a little anti-American sentiment running around,” Cabot’s handler explains about Parmistan’s general vibes shortly before getting pierced through the chest with an arrow. Gymkata does its best to redress the balance, painting its vaguely Soviet setting as a medieval wasteland populated by “crazies” and making its grand prize an early warning satellite station for Ronald Reagan’s infamous Star Wars Defense program.
But in addition to being interpreted as Cold War propaganda, Gymkata is could also be viewed as payback for its leading man. Thomas was denied what many believed to be a surefire gold medal at the 1980 Moscow Olympics when Team USA boycotted the Games. The reason for their no-show? The Soviet Union’s invasion of Afghanistan.
