Customer Reviews

Best Of The Best 3: No Turning Back/ Best Of The Best 4: Without Warning

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

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.

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!

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.

I'm really, really glad they're finally coming out with this on DVD!

BOTB1 is unique, or at the very least very, very rare, in that it's a martial arts film with a story-oriented script. The story revolves around the U.S. karate (taekwondo actually) team training for a fight with the heavily-favored Korean national team. The characters are both very believable and complex, particularly Tommy Lee (Phillip Rhee) and Alex Grady (Roberts). Good pacing coupled with spectacularly-choreographed fight scenes (Roberts' skills at times even appears passable, while both Rhee's talents are simply amazing!). A great and surprising ending caps this film off perfectly.

Good move by making it a double feature, because I don't think BOTB 2 could've sold itself, being somewhat inferior to the first installment of the series. The sequel is only loosely based on BOTB1, and the plot sort of stretches it a bit. This film is saved only by the acting talents of the main cast and notably that of Sonny Landham.

Martial artists (even non-taekwondo enthusiasts) will surely love this film, as well as those interested in action movies with a dramatic twist.

I thought that this third installment was the best of the series because of its story. The action is pretty consistent with the first two movies only now its all Phillip Rhee which is great! Gina Gershon also does a nice job as the female lead. Overall, its a good martial arts movie.

BEST OF THE BEST 3
4 STARS - STILL GOING STRONG

Although Best of the Best 3 is far different than the first 2 films, and its only returning character is Tommy Lee (Philip Rhee), the movie does a great job with a good plot, characters, and lots of well-done action scenes. The movie deals on the issues of hatred in a small community, and fortunately isn't really ever cheesy. For a B-grade movie, this is definetly one of the finer jobs. Even the acting overall isn't bad.

As mentioned, the action is great. There are lots of martial art fights, gun fights, and explosions galore. Philip Rhee does excellent choreography making the fights look very real. The last fight between him and the main villain is about 3 minutes long and looks pretty good.

Best of the Best 3 turned out to be much better than I thought originally. The story and action is above par for a B-grade movie. If you are a fan of Philip Rhee or enjoyed the first 2 Best of the Best films, you will have no problem enjoying the 3rd movie as well.

BEST OF THE BEST 4
3 STARS - WORST OF THE SERIES

Best of the Best parts 1 & 2 were easily some of the best made B-martial arts movies ever created. Part 3 took it down a few notches, but still was excellent. Without Warning - the 4th and final entry in the series - is average at best, and comes up short in many ways compared to it predacessors.

Again, like in No Turning Back, Philip Rhee as "Tommy Lee" is the only returning charcater from the first Best of The Best films. Also, like in #3, there is no tournament or gambling fight action but a fairly life-like scenario taking place in the real world. The story is about a couple of guys led by Lukasz Slava (Tobin Bell from the "Saw" series) and his handy #2, Yurik Slava (Thure Riefenstein) who go in the counterfeit money making businees. With vital information on a disc that a girl takes for evidence, she slips it into Tommy's pocket as the bad guys come after her. Unaware at first, he soon realizes the hard way that the guys have discovered he has the disk and kidnaps his daughter eventually in order to get it back.

While the story is just average, it is told the same way too. I never found any aspects that really excited me. Although it was pleasant to see Tobin Bell play the boss, both he and his #2 never amazed me. As for action, I was expecting to see more, but it seems each movie in the series contains less and less. The only worthy scene was Tommy taking care of a gym full of guys. Its really the only scene where he gets to fully show off his martial arts skills. The final fight between him and Yurik was so dissapointing. It takes place on an airport runway at night, but contains very little martial arts and is about a 2-1/2 minute scene. When you factor in the other scenes that are occuring and being switched back and forth too during these 2-1/2 minutes, I bet the fight itself is less than a minute.

Combined on one disc, these 2 movies are still a bargain. Not the worst movies ever made, but its diffcult to find many films featuring Philip Rhee, and the Best of The Best series is what he is most famous for.

BEST OF THE BEST 3: NO TURNING BACK- Tommy Lee (Phillip Rhee) comes to visit his sister and finds that the town is being overrun with members of the Arian brotherhood. These Arian brothers certainly weren't expecting a Taekwondo expert to show up. Tommy and his sister's husband played by Christopher Mcdonald team up to stop the racism.

The action is decent and the story isn't too bad. I haven't seen part 2 yet, but this is not even close to being as good as part 1. The directing job is not bad and the cheesiness is at a bare minumum, but the movie just isn't that interesting. There is 1 very funny clown fight scene. The finale is pretty intense with some good vehicle stunts and a bunch of shootouts. The final fight is a bit above average for an American movie, but you probably won't be blown away it. 2.5/5

BEST OF THE BEST 4: WITHOUT WARNING- Tommy Lee gets gets a tape planted on him with a hidden disc in it that has information the bad guys don't want the police to see. Russian mobsters now look to get the tape back.

Not only does this have more action then part 3, the violence is cranked up about 100 notches. It's much darker, but there is a touching story with Tommy Lee trying to protect himself and just get home to his daughter. Not a great movie, but a great direct to TV kind of movie. 3/5

'Best of the Best 1' has one of the greatest endings I have ever seen. I cannot even try to describe it, but I liked how both parts 3 and 4 also have upbeat endings.

Both movies are full screen, but don't suffer from it. Picture quality is good and sound is fine.

If you are looking for a martial arts movie with more emphasis on fight choreography then this would be a good one for you. Phillip Rhee demonstrates excellent Tae Kwon Do kicking prowess while bringing out more of his Hapkido skills in number 4. Very enjoyable. Number 3 has a good plot as well as fight scenes. I enjoyed 3 the best.

I would like to say, I like this movie! I have always been the All-American type guy who likes the excitement of a good revenge film. This one is a dandy! The actors bring the characters to life and the beauty of the landscape where it was filmed is nice. Not only did i enjoy watching the film, but i was in it playing the part of a trucker in the diner scene and a neo-nazi at the stone quarry scene. I must say it was a joy working with Director/Star Phillip Rhee, the cast and crew. They were a top notch act. If you get a chance to rent or buy this movie, do so. You won't be disappointed.

I didn't even know these were out there until I happened upon Philip Rhee's biography on the internet. Eric Roberts and the kid that played his son are not in these two features.

The #3 feature was sort of predictable but the #4 was very entertaining. I understand there is a #5 somewhere.