Although made 3 years after the previous sequel, Best Of The Best 4 is set at least 6 years after, with Rhee now father to a little girl of 5 years old, and his wife having passed during that time. With Rhee back in the directors chair, and also having co-penned the screenplay, he takes his character Tommy Lee to new levels pitting him up against the Russians who are running a massive counterfeiting operation in his town. Rhee gets involved by accident, while he is shopping in a friends store. The shopkeepers daughter runs in, getting chased by Russian gunmen and before she is killed, slips a cassette (containing a stolen disc of information) into the action heroes pocket. Rhee then gets to work taking down the gunmen with some neat and painful looking moves!
For me, part 4 is the best of the best in the series. Yes it may have steered far and wide from what the series set out to be, but it takes the character of Tommy Lee on a whole new journey and highlights Philip Rhee in his best film to date in terms of acting and fighting backed by a good cast, including the wonderful Ernie Hudson and Tobin Bell, better known as Jigsaw from the Saw franchise. Best Of The Best 4 is technically the better looking film of the lot with its production values, nice cinematography and pacing. Rhee refines his directing, perhaps having learnt from his mistakes in part 3, and delivers a well-made action-thriller in the vain of Jeff Wincott's Mission Of Justice and Karate Cop, also starring Cynthia Rothrock, or Jeff Speakman's, The Perfect Weapon - with a taste of Die Hard.
Rhee now works as a self-defence teacher for the local police force, something that hinders more than helps him when trouble comes knocking. The Russian gangsters are led menacingly by Tobin Bell, with German actor Thure Riefenstein as his right-hand man. They make a mean team, and along with their minions, don't let anyone stand in their way as they search for the stolen disc, giving Rhee a difficult time with violent shoot-outs and attacks. Accused of killing a cop-friend, Rhee also must now go on the run as Detective Ernie Hudson and his men also give chase. Ghostbusters star, Hudson, does a great job here not letting the lower budget production hinder his performance in any way. In fact, I think its fair to say that the majority of the main cast involved don't disappoint...
Best Of The Best 4 rattles along at a great pace without a hint of that cheese that dripped from the previous 3 films. It's such a shame that Philip Rhee packed it in straight after this, only to return 17 years to direct and star in the so-so kids action film, Underdog Kids. I really would have loved to see him get the chance to star alongside Jackie Chan, Donnie Yen or get directed in some Hong Kong productions before throwing the towel in. His moves have always been great, and his charisma fun, and I would say that Without Warning is one of his finest moments.
With some neat car and motorcycle chases, helicopter stunts, and plenty of hand-to-hand, the final entry to the series keeps going with highlights being the attack on Rhee's home, the fight between him and the Russian's in the dojo, the vehicle stunts in the tunnel, and the action-packed finale of course!
Overall: While it forgets about its past, Best Of The Best 4 offers a lot of fun, harking back to the 80's action classics with a lot of positives, and is probably Rhee's finest hour!
For me, part 4 is the best of the best in the series. Yes it may have steered far and wide from what the series set out to be, but it takes the character of Tommy Lee on a whole new journey and highlights Philip Rhee in his best film to date in terms of acting and fighting backed by a good cast, including the wonderful Ernie Hudson and Tobin Bell, better known as Jigsaw from the Saw franchise. Best Of The Best 4 is technically the better looking film of the lot with its production values, nice cinematography and pacing. Rhee refines his directing, perhaps having learnt from his mistakes in part 3, and delivers a well-made action-thriller in the vain of Jeff Wincott's Mission Of Justice and Karate Cop, also starring Cynthia Rothrock, or Jeff Speakman's, The Perfect Weapon - with a taste of Die Hard.
Rhee now works as a self-defence teacher for the local police force, something that hinders more than helps him when trouble comes knocking. The Russian gangsters are led menacingly by Tobin Bell, with German actor Thure Riefenstein as his right-hand man. They make a mean team, and along with their minions, don't let anyone stand in their way as they search for the stolen disc, giving Rhee a difficult time with violent shoot-outs and attacks. Accused of killing a cop-friend, Rhee also must now go on the run as Detective Ernie Hudson and his men also give chase. Ghostbusters star, Hudson, does a great job here not letting the lower budget production hinder his performance in any way. In fact, I think its fair to say that the majority of the main cast involved don't disappoint...
Best Of The Best 4 rattles along at a great pace without a hint of that cheese that dripped from the previous 3 films. It's such a shame that Philip Rhee packed it in straight after this, only to return 17 years to direct and star in the so-so kids action film, Underdog Kids. I really would have loved to see him get the chance to star alongside Jackie Chan, Donnie Yen or get directed in some Hong Kong productions before throwing the towel in. His moves have always been great, and his charisma fun, and I would say that Without Warning is one of his finest moments.
With some neat car and motorcycle chases, helicopter stunts, and plenty of hand-to-hand, the final entry to the series keeps going with highlights being the attack on Rhee's home, the fight between him and the Russian's in the dojo, the vehicle stunts in the tunnel, and the action-packed finale of course!
Overall: While it forgets about its past, Best Of The Best 4 offers a lot of fun, harking back to the 80's action classics with a lot of positives, and is probably Rhee's finest hour!