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!
