7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Five for both, December 20, 2005
This review is from: Best Of The Best 3: No Turning Back/ Best Of The Best 4: Without Warning (DVD)
Phillip Rhee continues the BEST OF THE BEST legacy with the third film, NO TURNING BACK, and the fourth, WITHOU WARNING, and not only reprises his role of Tommy Lee in both movies, but also directs both as well. It goes without saying that a martial artist as talented as Phillip Rhee could direct these movies well too.
Review of BEST OF THE BEST 3: NO TURNING BACK
Korean-American martial arts expert/champion/instructor Tommy Lee (Phillip Rhee) goes to visit his sister, Karen (Cristina Lawson) brother-in-law Jack Banning (Christopher McDonald), whose also sherrif, and nephew Justin (Kitao Sakurai) in Liberty, USA. He is appalled to discover his hometown has become a hive of racism. The Church of the Aryan Crusade, led by Donnie Hanson (Mark Rolston), seeks to do what the Nazi's and KKK have failed to, destroy all non-WASP's. They've already murdered the town's Baptist minister Reverend Phelps (Andra Ward), apparently disgusted at his sermons of a God who doesn't judge people by race or creed. It's up to Tommy, with a little help from Sherrif Jack and schoolteacher Margo Preston (Gina Gershon) to drive these neo-Nazi's out of Liberty once and for all!!!
Review of BEST OF THE BEST: WITHOUT WARNING
Martial arts insructor Tommy Lee lives in L.A. with his daughter Stephanie (Jessica Huang), now as a single father. He has recently began training the LAPD in his techniques of Tae Kwon Do and Hapkido. While in a local grocery store just trying to get a cake for Stephanie's birthday, Mickey (Jill Ritchie) comes in screaming, being pursued by Russian mafiosos after the disc she has containing evidence of their organizations counterfeit money crimes. The thugs kill Mickey, but Tommey kicks the stuffing out of them, and escapes unharmed, not knowing that Mickey has slipped the disc into his pocket. The Russian thugs blast into Tommy's house looking for the disc, but Tommy fights them off and drops Stephanie at the local church while he seeks help from the cops. All he encounters is a crooked cop who Tommy is forced to kill in self-defense. The L.A.P.D., led by grouchy Detective Gresko (Ernie Hudson), belieing Tommy to be a cop-killer are hot on his trail, as are the Russian mafiosos, putting Tommy in one hell of a pickle.
I'll start by declaring my one and only disappointment with both films, and that is that after Phillip faced off against massive former Mr. Universe Ralph Moeller in BEST OF THE BEST 2, he really has no single formidable opponent in either NO TURNING BACK or WITHOUT WARNING. Fights in both movies where Tommy faces off with only one opponent routinely become instantly achieved victories on his part, save for a thrilling knife fight with Donnie Hanson at the end of NO TURNING BACK. But this was probably to be expected anyway. As a result, Phillip routninely takes on two, three and more opponents in the majority of both film's battles. Of course, that's what martial arts guys do. Phillip Rhee certainly provess both his well known martial arts skills and directing ability in both NO TURNING BACK and WITHOUT WARNING. It's an absolute mystery to me why he has been doing these movies ever since.
And the end-credits sequence of WITHOUT WARNING, showing Tommy displaying a wide array of self-defense techniques on his students (with him flowing like water, just as Bruce himself insisted martial arts are about) is another gem of beautiful, slow-motion martial arts action.
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7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good swift kickin' action for your dollar!, June 18, 2001
This review is from: Best Of The Best 3: No Turning Back/ Best Of The Best 4: Without Warning (DVD)
The best way to describe Best of the Best 3 and 4 is to say that they are solid action films with a nice display of martial arts spread evenly throughout each one. Phillip Rhee does a terrific job of pulling off punches, kicks, and throws with great mastery. The fight sequences are very believable and are exciting and fun to watch. Most of the fights are of Phillip Rhee against multiple attackers, and these scenes are all done very well. The camera angles offer good glimpses of each technique and the hits all look quite real. Rhee is definitely a very adept martial artist, and it's very clear on screen that he knows what he's doing. However, for those of you expecting intricate one on one fights in the Jet Li/Jackie Chan Hong Kong style you may be disappointed. But if you're merely looking for quick paced action with a story well written enough to serve as links to the action sequences and featuring actors who can actually act, you'll be happy checking this dvd out. It's great, solid action fun, and I would recommend it, especially to fans of Best of the Best and Best of the Best 2. And the best part is that you get two films on one dvd, so you really can't go wrong here. And one last thing: Gina Gershon is in Best of the Best 3. That girl is not only a great looker, but she's a very fine actress as well. So not only do you get great action, decent story and good acting, you get great looking women too. I highly recommend this film!
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9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Best of the Best is just that., May 26, 2000
This review is from: Best Of The Best 3: No Turning Back/ Best Of The Best 4: Without Warning (DVD)
Best of the Best (1) is one of those movies that critics will rip and tear at until their faces turn blue...and yet it's up to its fourth installment. The audience has spoken, and for good reason.
A unique "fighter" in its depth of characterization and heart as well as fists and feet, BOTB set a precedent for itself as a movie chock full of emotion as well as fury. Despite all the bloodshed and brutal, well-executed martial arts, Eric Roberts' performance shedding tears drew the heartstrings of all but the most callous of viewers. Between his sterling performance and the blurred acrobatics of Phillip Rhee, BOTB puts any funky, self-centered VanDamme or Segal movie to shame. It focuses on the whole rather than the parts. The team versus the individual. These are disciplines instilled in all credible schools of martial arts. To work in unity of all that is around you and not cull one's skill from one's ego. It is a Hollywood formula broken, and that may be, in part, why news of its subsequent releases has been limited to word of mouth or a fortuitous trip to the video store.
BOTB. For a great fist-pounder with a cohesive story, it doesn't get it any better than this.
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