No Retreat, No Surrender (1986)

Second movie of JCVD.

Not a great movie but that's good for see JCVD yesterday. When you see this movie, you understand JCVD is today a very best actor. July 1, 2008

Where Jean-Claude learned the splits!

No Retreat No Surrender is a classic martial arts movie from the 80s. It's classic because it follows the 80s formula of "screw it, put it in there, people will enjoy it regardless of how unbelievable it is".

The movie "stars" a runt named Jason (Kurt McKinney), who looks like the guy perpetually gets his lunch money stolen. All is well in his sheltered life until one day he skips into his father's dojo just in time to see his father getting a beatdown from a Russian mobster henchman named Ivan (Jean Claude Van Damme). Evidently, the Sherman Oaks Karate School is prime gangster real estate, and the Russian syndicate simply must have it.

After his dad gets a can of ***-whoopin' from Ivan, and a broken leg, the family is forced to move to Seattle to regain any semblance of pride. It's in Seattle that Jason meets RJ, a black guy who wears a jheri curl to distract others from seeing how lame he really is. But, hey! He can breakdance, and he sure can dribble a basketball while riding a bicycle like it's nobody's business!

Anyway, Jason and RJ get bullied by karate thugs, and afterwards Jason is visited by Bruce Lee's ghost. (seriously) Lucky for Jason, it's just in time to meet up with Ivan, who is yet again applying a beating to an unprepared opponent. This time, however, Jason has had a few months of training behind him and is more than prepared for the final battle.

The final battle is classic. And by classic I mean most atrocious choreography for a fight scene in movie history. There is one bright side, and that is the fact that we get to see the genesis of Jean Claude Van Damme's patented move: the splits. Jason uses it on him during the fight with deadly effectiveness, and JCVD hasn't forgotten the lesson to this day.

I can't recommend this movie highly enough. Watch it for the laughs, the bad acting, and the beginning of the phenomenon known as Jean Claude Van Damme. May 16, 2008

A Classic Movie for the Ages

We got this movie in 1980-somehting when I was stationed in Okinawa, Japan. We had five kids who were raised watching this movie as Okinawa had no US TV and we had to get Videotapes for our entertainment. As the kids grew, they remade this movie several times using their own equipment. They had the lines and acting down pat - just like the original - it was so easy to imitate. Anyway, as I get older, I wouldn't trade my original copy of this movie with my kids remakes for anything in the world. To this day, we take this stuff out and watch it every Christmas. Ah the memories it brings back is so sweet and all the grown kids still get the biggest "kick" out of it. What fun! Try and start your own memories with this and your own small kids. February 13, 2008

GOOD FILM!

Some people might think the movie was too cheesy or whatever but I personally think it is good and quite interesting, another reason why 1980s were good, at least for me June 29, 2007

Van Damm The Star?

How can Van Damm be the star of the movie, when he's only in it for about 10 minutes??? Kurt is in most of it. Kurt is the main character and makes the movie along with RJ, The Fat Burger Kid and the other young guys and girls in it. Van Damm is nothing more than a guest role at best. Yes, he went on to become a bigger star, but McKinney has also done well since, appearing in a wide range of TV shows and making a couple more movies since, right up to the present day. He also won an award for his acting in the 1990s. Kurt is #1. April 3, 2006

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