Best of the Best 3 - No Turning Back

Clichéd in a Walker, Texas Ranger kinda way, Best Of The Best 3: No Turning Back was a complete change of pace from the previous 2 entries to the series. With a lack of his team mates, or any fighting in the ring, this second sequel actually began life as a movie simply called No Turning Back. It was originally planned to feature a black marine who returns home from the Persian Gulf to find his town over-run by a gang of white supremacists. When producer and star Philip Rhee got a read of the script, things got re-jigged to make it a sequel to his martial arts action series, with Rhee coming back as Tommy Lee and the man himself taking the reigns as director also!

Best Of The Best 3 is often hilarious, although completely unintentionally, with plenty of action and martial arts fights that aren't the worst I've ever seen. Hammered by a dodgy script, below-par acting, and many ridiculous situations - such as Rhee's jump-kick to take down 3 different guys on motorbikes, with the help of some bad editing - this entry to the series plays like a weak Van Damme film, with plenty of predictable moments and many WTF scenes that you'll either love or hate.

The thought of Philip Rhee taking on a gang of neo-nazi's is pretty exciting though, and the film carries a great message, and is decently made. With a decent cast such as the addition of Gina Gershon and Dee Wallace, of which are underused, Best Of The Best 3 is not the worst movie in the world. I must admit though, it has maybe too many silly moments for a film based around racial conflict. With the first film focusing on teamwork, and the second, vengeance; part 3 is about Salvation with a message about respect, peace and redemption. The take on the supremacists is well done, with a realism projected as they kill, hurt and scare the local residents on Liberty (the ironic name of the town), and the twist to the cliché is having the victims get together and stand up against them - albeit with Rhee's flying feet and fists to encourage that...

There was times when Bes Of The Best 3 reminded me of China O'Brien and Rhee even entertains us with a Jackie Chan-esque moment as he takes on some of the thugs at a county fair while dressed as a clown. While not as intricately choreographed as Jackie would have presented, the fight is still fun and does the job. As mentioned though, its probably a little too light-hearted of a scene for the serious plot-line and message surrounding the film as a whole! Big on fights and explosive action, No Turning Back definitely has it flaws but entertains as a 90's action movie. It may not have much connection to its predecessors, totally losing what the series started out as, but as a standalone action thriller, I was happy with it. This was Philip Rhee's directorial début, and as his first offering, think he done a pretty damn good job albeit with some teething problems. He would go on to direct himself in the follow-up sequel in 1998, which to me, was the best of the bunch. It may have been interesting to see a series of films that followed the separate stories of each of the characters from the original, giving Roberts a chance to have his own Alex Grady series as much as Tommy Lee had his...

For a man who had a short-lived career, Rhee certainly left an impression. No Turning Back isn't perfect, but it makes for a fun watch and is a pretty mature project from the man. It may come across as a high budgeted TV movie, but Best Of The Best 3 holds up.

Overall: Flawed but entertaining, No Turning Back is big on action and unintentional laughs, accompanied by a serious message and story!

Any 'message' this film might impart is totally lost in the goofiness of setting a martial arts film in the middle of a Mississippi race war. The writing and performances are so terrible that I found them weirdly entertaining. The cliches come so fast and furious that you may find yourself laughing out loud at things you would never ordinarily laugh at. Gina Gershon is hilarious as the choir conductor. The biggest joke about this movie is that it dislikes racism enough to support the plot about really stupid white supremacists, but not enough to allow Gina Gershon to fall in love with the Asian lead. They had to bring in a totally pointless white character for that... Dee Wallace-Stone is one of the greatest actresses who has ever lived and she is so sadly underrated and underused. She's the only thing in this film that isn't a really funny joke.

Looking for a martial arts movie with realistic villains? A made-for-TV-movie with a 'theatrical' budget? An ethnic hero whipping some redneck racist butt? Well, you'll find it here, albeit with sub-par results.

While the actual fighting in the film is all right (though I've seen better), some of the dialogue and characterizations need re-editing. The acting ranges from passable to 'William Shatner' (especially from the Klan leader - the guy with the goatee). The plot for BOTB3 is shaky - you can easily predict what the racists are going to do next and what the hero is going to do about it. The climax can be described as similar to the average horror/chop-sockey movie: not quite believeable (how can one guy take on 50 (or so) villains - with guns no less?) and devoid of thrills. Oh yeah, that Owen kid (the troubled teen who joins the racist gang) is heavily involved in the climax, and EVERYONE who watches this movie will be able to guess what he does at the end, even if they turn it off half-way.

This film is kind of like an episode of 'Walker, Texas Ranger' - tame, predictable, and really not worth bothering with, since there are so many better choices available in your video store.

Tommy Lee (Phillip Rhee), comes into town to visit his sister Karen, right after the mysterious disappearance of a black reverend. His chinese-american sister is married to a white sheriff, one of the few lawmen in this small southern town. As it turns out, a super-rascist skinhead cult is taking control of the town. It was a little ridiculous, as they had a huge compound with plenty of C-4 explosives and grenade launchers which would surely attract the attention of the FBI and ATF. The sheriff and Tommy Lee take the law into their own hands, and it is up to one martial arts superhero to save the day.

Best of the best 3: No Turning Back is a movie with a strong social and political message. Our hero Tommy Lee, as portrayed by Phillip Rhee, encounters and overcomes a myriad set of common problems in the deep south. From strange cuisine to white power groups who value an idea of might makes right. I'd like to digress here to applaud Mr. Rhee, not only did he star as Tommy Lee but also directed and produced. It can been seen that Mr. Lee applied his own experiences as a minority in America to his magnum opus.

Strong political message aside, the inner workings of the film, the basic craft if you will is on point throughout. From inspired lighting and set design to insightful scene transitions, a spinning chain gun into a spinning plastic flower. We can see a juxtaposition of spinning things one on the side of whimsy the other cold raw steel crafted for killing.

Every one understands that no thing, be it movie or sandwich, can be perfect. Thus I must concede that Best of the Best 3: Cool Runnings does have its faults. One half hour is spent before a showcase of Mr. Rhee's fistic acumen. In fact Lee, Rhee's character, seems to have no real competition in the film. Nearly every skinhead he fights falls with little effort, this is strange due to the basic toughness and fighting skill attributed to the skinhead stereotype. Particularly with the basic para military training they are given.

As the plot reaches its climax, beginning with a dirt bike chase no less, and ramps up to a full on assault. We learn here that Lee can outrun an explosion. In a dizzying display of action and full on violence Tommy and his partner, the local sheriff and his bother in law, take out the skin head compound. Of course in the end Tommy proves he is indeed the best of the best. Then again this really never became an issue in the movie.

All in all Best of the Best 3: the lion the witch and the wardrobe does a fine job of telling a complex story in simple terms that can be appreciated by young and old alike. 4 giant clown shoe beat downs out of a possible 10.