Review of selected filmography of Phillip Rhee from Uran

25.04.2016uranium

At the repeated requests of site visitors, I decided to highlight for you the filmography of one of the most famous martial artists from the B-action films of the 80s and 90s - Phillipa Rea! Everyone knows him for his role as Tommy Lee from the film series "The best of the best", but besides these works, he had several more films that are also worth remembering.

I’ll be honest and straight away, for me, unlike many of the previous actors I reviewed, the revision of both what I had already seen and the new (more precisely, the well-forgotten old) did not cause problems for Ri: this master of hapkido and taekwondo, even in his not the best works, showed decent techniques, not bad, however, filmed - the reason is that Phillip participated in the creation of his films not only as an actor, but also as a producer, screenwriter and director - in fact, “The Best of the Best” is mainly his work, and this helped his films will not slip into the 90s.

The main advantage of Phillip on the screen is a variety of beautiful taekwondo and judo techniques, in most cases well filmed and successfully edited; Also, Ree uses techniques from Bruce Lee's arsenal, noticeably modernizing them (well, for that era) and less often, but still effectively using improvised weapons - although compared to other actors this is not his strong point. Now, let’s dive into Ri’s filmography in more detail, but I’ll start with...

"Ninja Territory" (Los Angeles Streetfighter, 1985)

Actually, I wanted to start with the film "Mad", where the hero is played by Phillip's older brother, Simon Rea, and he himself is his teacher. But I couldn’t find this movie (about which they write that it’s trash) and went straight to “LA Streetfighters", which our unfortunate distributors translated as "Ninja Territory“, although I didn’t hear or see a word about ninjas there.

This film belongs to the B-action films of the 80s: high severity in relation to the secondary characters, a lot of cruelty and violence, a lot of the flavor of the mean streets and fewer taboo topics. In general, the film is about the showdown between Asian ethnic people in America, who consider it a great country, but have difficulty surviving in it. According to the plot, the main character named Jung (Jan Chong) teams up with several guys from his university into a small gang and takes in the boy Tony (Phillip Rea) and throughout the story the heroes look for work and adventures on their ass, simultaneously fighting off all sorts of criminal groups. There are 5 or 6 guys in the gang, but only Jung and Tony are really revealed - there are fewer others. The guys' adventures end quite successfully, until Jung commits a gigantic stupidity by stealing money from the Italian mafia... In addition, his competitor Chan (then still young James Lew) wants to get even with him.

Overall, a good street action movie with a dramatic twist. There is enough action in it, although for most of the running time the characters are looking for work and communicating for a living, but at the end the film unwinds and produces a bunch of interesting and intense fights. Fights mostly Jan Chong (especially in the second half of the film in the citadel of Glavgad against Bill Wallace and Ken Nagayama with a direct reference to Bruce Lee’s “Game of Death”), Phillip plays a supporting role here, but a convincing and unpredictable final battle with James Lew he will have to carry it out - this is how an attempt was shown to introduce Tony’s progress from a sucker to a tough fighter into the plot. The fights are well choreographed and Chong and Ri show good combinations of taekwondo and karate strikes and use improvised weapons; since the film is about the streets, the role of STREET weapons has been significantly expanded, which very much changes the course of the fight - the character can endure a bunch of massacres in a row, missing dozens of blows and endure several cuts with a samurai sword or pole - but it may well be fused with a simple pipe and a “simple” knife with one or two hits.

Of course, there are disadvantages - the mentioned imbalance of weapons and the same imbalance of the plot - the movie jumps from a simple B-action movie to a harsh and dark (especially at the end) drama - perhaps this is an attempt by the filmmakers to sit on two chairs: an action movie and a crime film with a focus on the first, as it turned out relatively successfully in the film “Warriors”. The gloomy ending is unexpected, I won’t spoil it - but it can surprise the viewer, both pleasantly and not so much, which I honestly warn you about in advance, since the film is recommended for viewing.

"Silent Assassins" (1988)

Phillip reteams with Gian Chong for a new action thriller. In the story, assassins from the Iga clan, half ninja, half military, are hired to kidnap a chemistry professor in order to find out the formula from him. A girl was kidnapped along with the professor, whose parents were immediately killed. Classically tough cop Sam (Sam Jones) teams up with the girl's uncle (Chong) on ​​a hunt for the killers. They are later joined by the son of a crime boss, the pompous and pretentious Bernard (Phillip Rhee), and the three of them, having survived a bunch of attempts to kill them in a variety of ways, finally expose and defeat the villains.

Pros:

• Division in the action: A cop with a square heroic face defeats everyone with cool guns, Chong scatters everyone with his bare hands, while Ri, joining the heroes only towards the end, combines taekwondo and sword work.
• Colorful villains: the psychotic leader (Gustav Vintas), his assistant (playboy model and simply beautiful woman Rebecca Ferratti) and the “ninjas” themselves, armed to the teeth and fighting with a wide variety of weapons.
• Cruelty - enemies' hands and heads fly off, ketchup pours out in liters!
• The heroes' attempts to humor even in the most difficult situations.
• Non-stop action at the end with a lot of fights and explosions - even a helicopter was blown up!
• Good music that fits the genre.

Cons:

• Not the best staging and editing of fights, more or less "burns" Rea, but in general the action is more of a small arms and weapons type, although there are plenty of fights.
• There is no fight with a worthy final boss, many of the villains are simply merged.
• Bloopers! There are many blunders that reach the point of absurdity - such as the non-rechargeable bazooka at the end.

As a result: the film is very reminiscent of the cheerful trash action films of the Troma studio and those who mow under them, but the work of Phillip Rhee and Jan Chong “save” it from complete trash. You can watch it once and laugh at the famous cliches and blunders of those years, but there’s not much of Phillip Rhee himself.

"Best of the Best" (Best of the Best, 1989)

We smoothly moved on to Phillip Rhee's most famous film. Obviously, Ree tried hard to find connections in the film world and managed to create a promising sports action movie with other producers. Already famous in America, he joined the lineup Eric Roberts (and in Russia gained fame after this particular film), brother of the famous Sean Penn Chris Penn and no less famous James Earl "Voice of Vader" Jones, who played the villain in Conan. Rea brought his brother Simon into the cast, and he sat down to the script. What happened?

According to the plot, the American striking martial arts team challenged the South Korean team - and, after recruiting, five fighters are accepted from both sides. After long and hard training, the motley team overcomes differences between themselves and the coaching staff and enters the tournament fully prepared. Everyone remembers the rest, and therefore I move on to evaluating the film on the most important points:

• Genre affiliation. The film is in fact not an action film - it is a sports drama with action elements; there are three important moments from the fights - the qualifying round, the fight in the bar and, in fact, the tournament itself; the film is much closer to "Rocky" than to "Undisputed" and "Bloodsport". In this regard, he tries to comply, showing quite clearly what it means to prepare fighters for such tournaments - a harsh regime from a harsh coach, refusal of any personal life, training montages and conversations about life between the heroes. We must pay tribute - the creators made this whole process neither boring nor dull, so it’s interesting to watch how the characters’ characters are gradually revealed during the training regime. In addition, the interaction and role of the trainer in battle is reduced not only to shouting, but also to direct advice to the heroes who act - this is a plus and does not happen often in such films.
• Actors and characters. The main three are Alex (Roberts), Tommy Lee (Rea) and their coach (Jones), it is their problems that we will observe most of the film, Travis (Penn) will be more or less shown, but really both his motivation and the rest of the guys in team, will not be shown - and this is a minus for the film, because it was possible to reveal the Nerd (John Dye) and the Italian (David Agresta) much more than before the fight scene in the bar. Koreans are shown as classic killing machines (as in any sports action movie), the only strange thing is that the South, and not the North, have such an approach... Just kidding, just kidding - as far as I heard, the conditions there are also strict. Roberts is more memorable than others in her performance, diligently playing out the drama of her character. From the team of villains, Dae Han (Simon Rea) stands out - a truly terrible and experienced opponent for Tommy Lee, he will definitely enter the pantheon of villains of the past.
• Action. It is staged perfectly - but not everywhere. The most important performance - Tommy Lee against Dae Han (Simon Rea) - is a real gift to fans of the genre - competent angles of punches, appropriate slow-mo, sweat, blood, bruises, swollen faces, a variety of techniques and throws, combos, ligaments, prohibited techniques - whatever your heart desires and most importantly - the confrontation is dramatic and you believe both heroes. In second place is Eric Roberts vs. James Liu. Roberts, of course, used stunt doubles in particularly elaborate attacks, but it was clear that the actor prepared and carried out some of the techniques himself, compensating for shortcomings in the action with show-off stances and acting; The fight itself is quite brutal, with lots of blood and dramatic twists. The rest of the fights are a cut below, moreover, I was surprised by the fact that the fights for which the film had been preparing me for the entire duration were not treated in the best way - the first three fights were greatly shortened and indicated only by commentators and a number of delivered blows, and only the Tommy Lee fight was shown almost completely . The bar fight is long, humorous, and looks good, enhancing the film. In addition, the fights are really intense and the ending is unpredictable until the credits roll.

After watching the film, viewers still have questions, here are the answers to some of them:

• * Why are competitions held in Karate by name, although in fact there are taekwondo, kickboxing and even judo? The answer is simple - in those days they couldn’t find a single name for mixed competitions, that’s why they were called karate, kumite or vale-tudo. I saw a similar explanation in documentaries about Chuck Norris. Roughly speaking, what we saw can be considered competitions like K-1.
• Why is Phillip Rea almost last in the credits (not even shown on the posters!), although he is an equal hero and it is he who carries out the final battle? Perhaps the answer is in marketing - Rea is not such a famous face as Roberts, Penn or even Jones - these surnames will work better.
• Why didn't Tommy Lee give Dae Han some simple punch or throw that made him fall and never get up? I agree, this assumption, although justified by the plot (and, frankly, far-fetched), is too noticeable and controversial and I agree with those asking, but then there would not be a sad awards scene.
• Why was the coach too harsh with Alex when he found out about his son? The answer is simple - at training camps for competitions of this level, everything is very strict in ANY sport, just listen to the memories of hockey player and coach Vyacheslav Bykov - how strict it was in Soviet times and not only. However, a son is still more valuable than sports, and in real life, for one day, Alex would be allowed to see him without scandals.

Сonclusion: A well-made sports drama with elements of action, worthy of watching and re-watching. The film is inferior to the "Rocky" series in many respects (Stallone explains more deeply the aspects and details of the sports backstage and the fights are staged better, albeit less realistically), but is significantly superior to other such films - if someone has not watched this film (like I did in my wasted time on "Bloody Moon") - be sure to watch it!

"Best of the Best 2" (Best of the Best II, 1993)

In the wake of the success of the first part, Phillip Rea gained fame and decided to continue the banquet in part two, until, so to speak, the audience cooled down. It turned out not that it was worse - just different: the genre changed and the meaning too. Now this is not a sports drama, but a real purebred B-action movie. What has changed?

Firstly, the plot is no longer about the preparation of the heroes (although it will be in the film) for sports competitions, but about how, after brilliant victories, the heroes confront the owners of underground fights without rules. For a B-action fan there is no loss, but for fans of sports dramas this is a big minus. Secondly, there are fewer heroes - only Alex, Tommy and Travis remain (well, also the main character's son) - and even then he is killed shortly after the start of the film.

On the plus side: good action from Tommy Lee - he shows all sorts of different combinations, basically repeating the techniques of the first part, Roberts performed noticeably worse, and was mostly quietly replaced by doubles (unless, of course, I’m mistaken), and although he has a lot of screen time, here he more like an appendage to the main characters. Ralf Möller as Brakus is also very impressive and the final fight with him is good (for that time), quite long and divided into two parts - without weapons and with them. Blood in fights is still present in sufficient quantities, but noticeably less. The director's moves and the acting of the leading actors are also a plus, especially the scene with the boy who saw the death of a family friend with his own eyes.

By cons - plot irregularities - where did James and the hero’s Indian grandmother come from? I also didn’t like the relegation of Roberts to the background and the unfinished line with the boy - they could have finished filming how he passed for a black belt, as well as the use of Dae Han as furniture. Also, clumsy editing was often noticed in the action (yes, like Dacascos), but the closer to the end, the less noticeable it is.

Hack and predictor Aviator: A good B-action movie, but nothing more. My professional illness (the pickiness of the reviewer) will allow me to review it at most one more time (only the combat), but a simple fan of the genre will visit it more than once. I recommend watching it, but I warn you - the second part is much worse than the first.

"Best of the Best 3" (Best of the Best 3: No Turning Back, 1995)

Here Phillip Rea is already without Roberts. According to the plot, after the murder of Brackus, he decides to go to the village to visit a relative and take a break from martial arts - but nothing will come of it: the village is terrorized by a gang of skinheads, and local residents, instead of organizing self-defense or calling the police, silently endure even after that. when a gang kills a black priest. But Tommy Lee comes to the rescue and practically (with a little help from the sheriff) single-handedly overcomes a heavily armed army.

Strange as it may seem, the film is very good and differs in genre from both the first part and the second and will suit fans of the “Village Action” genre (Love in Russian, Priest San, Widely Walking). As in the previous parts, Phillip Rea himself was involved in the script and assisted in directing, therefore everything good that was in the previous parts in terms of action was preserved:

• There is quite a lot of action, especially at the end. In fights, Tommy Lee will show his entire arsenal from previous parts, diluting it with copy-paste from Bruce Lee and the use of improvised weapons; the rest of the good characters mostly do not fight. In the end, however, Tommy Lee turns into an unkillable superman, easily dealing with crowds of armed enemies and it looks spectacular, but funny - the action was shot well and Dacascos' editing hurts the eyes not as much as in the second part - Roberts is not here. The fight with the boss (Mark Rolleston) is long, serious and moves from one location to another.
• Also, Phillip Rhee did not forget to bring in famous people: Gina Gershon and R. Lee Ermey (who for some reason, like in “Savata,” is not present in the credits).
• The film is trying to convey something to the viewer, the moral is simple and clear - being a neo-Nazi is bad and dangerous, that you need to defend yourself, and not endure to the last, and this is a plus for the film, thanks to this it does not look like a dummy.

The downside of the film is its naivety - I don’t believe that after the defeat of their boss, the Neo-Nazis would lay down their arms and run home, finishing off the leader and allowing Tommy Lee to quietly go into the sunset. And without colorful actors equal to the hero in terms of plot time (as in the first part), it became somehow more boring.

Nevertheless, the film is head and shoulders above 60% of B-action films of that time in terms of quality fights and amount of action, so it is recommended to watch.

"Best of the Best 4: Without Warning" (4)

The series of films dragged on, starting to lose quality, and “L from L” also became a victim of the multi-part series. But how much worse has it gotten? Let's see.

During the break between parts 3 and 4, Tommy Lee managed to get married, give birth to a daughter and bury his wife, and also, obviously, forget about his old comrades, but he did not forget how to make problems for himself. This time his opponent was the Russian mafia with crimson jackets and the phrases "Bitch and ass"As usual, Tommy accidentally gets a disk with information belonging to this mafia - and he again has to flee, simultaneously distributing returns to his opponents and the police.

Despite the fact that the plot and script are painfully similar to a bunch of the same action films of the second half of the 90s, thanks to the efforts of Phillip Rea, the film does not drown in shit and “shootiness”: Tommy Lee still uses a large number of different blows, shot from good angles without shaking and sanely mounted, not forgetting to use ingenuity (I liked how he broke the lamps to create darkness) and weapons. There are several spectacular chases, shootouts that are sensible for a B-action movie, and a good showdown in the training room, strongly reminiscent (most likely a copy-paste) of a similar one from “Outlaw Cop” by Jeff Wincott - right down to the use of (alas, clumsy in comparison with Jeff) Kali .

The bloodiness of the action dropped, the script was greatly simplified, there was almost no morality, and the final boss was not very convincing. There were also almost no famous actors, only the head of the mafia, played by the future Constructor of Death - Tobin Bell.

Actually, that's all I can say. The film is watchable; Phillip is “still the same” as a fighter, but “not the same” as a director and producer. For one time.

"Losers" (Underdog Kids, 2015)

It's the "triumphant" (oooh fuck) return of Phillip Rea Ravenside has already been reviewed on our website and he said everything to the point, so I won’t keep you here for long.

For some reason, Phillip disappeared after “L from L 4” (if anyone knows why, write in the comments, I will be very grateful) and did not act until 2015, when he released the children’s film “The Losers.” I watched it and I'm disappointed. It seems that the film was intended for children as a motivator, but the abundance of rather unchildish jokes spoils the impression. There's plenty of action in the film, but surprisingly, Ree uses stunt doubles and there aren't many fights with him. A little more detailed:

• Children for the most part are not wooden in both acting and martial arts, showing good tricks and artsy attacks. But this advantage is killed by the staging of the remaining parts of the fights - flickering and crap editing. The fart boy who pissed off a lot of reviewers plays fine on his own, but why not train him to fight so his goofy style doesn't look cheesy?
• Ree copied “L from L” with the fact that the final showdown is tense and it is not clear who will win - this is a plus.
• The training montage is also so-so, the moments of each child’s problems are indicated, but not fully developed.
• A huge amount of unnecessary cameos - Tom Arnold, Dan Inosanto, Ron Ian, Benny Urquidez, Richard Norton, Beau Bridges and Don "DRAGON!!!!" Wilson, so that the audience would fall for these names, but each has 5-10 seconds of time and in general they just sit and talk.

In general, we have a typical plot of a children's action movie about suckers who are bullied at school and (sometimes) at home, all the clichés are in place - the bastard coach of the main bastards, the minimum preparation time for the tournament (facepalm... However, "The Karate Kid" had similar problems) and other disadvantages - but even to them this film is inferior in all respects. I have nothing more to say, I recommend watching this only to die-hard fans of Phillip Rea - nevertheless, even here he still shows something. After that, I watched Oleg Zakharov’s short film “Simpler Than It Seems” and I liked it much better than this film.

Ri has nothing else filmed at the moment, but there is a ghostly hope that he will film something worthy - he promises a remake of "The Best of the Best - 1", it’s hard to believe in the power of the remake, but still, what if a miracle happens? We wish the actor success, and the viewer - a worthy movie on TV. Thank you all and bye.

Author: uranium
Especially for Fight-Films.Info

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Tags: Best of the Best, Los Angeles Streetfighter, Underdog Kids, Benny Urkides, Jan Chong, James Lew, Dan Inosanto, The best of the best, Silent killers, Richard Norton, Robert Radler, Simon Rea, Phillip Rea, Eric Roberts

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