No Retreat, No Surrender

Name: No Retreat, No Surrender
Genre: Action, Drama, Comedy, Crime
Released: May 2, 1986
Duration: 85 min
Rating: 30
Cast: Dale Jacoby, J.W. Fails, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Kathie Sileno, Kent Lipham

1986

METASCORE

Generally unfavorable reviews based on 4 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Universal acclaim based on 6 Ratings

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8.3

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8.3	User Score Universal acclaim based on 6 Ratings

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No Retreat No Surrender

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Movie Details & Credits

New World Pictures | Release Date: May 2, 1986 | PG

Starring: Dale Jacoby, J.W. Fails, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Kathie Sileno, Kent Lipham, Kurt McKinney, Peter Cunningham, Ron Pohnel, Tae-jeong Kim, Timothy D. Baker

Summary: Jason Stillwell, a Bruce Lee fan, is beaten numerous times and trains from the ghost of Lee. Jason then must use his newly acquired skills to save Seattle from a crime syndicate, whose top martial artist is the deadly Ivan.

Director: Corey Yuen

Genre(s): Action, Drama, Comedy, Crime

Rating: PG

Runtime: 85 min

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Metascore

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Critic Reviews

Walter Goodman

The karate blows sound good but never seem to make contact. But then nothing else makes contact either. The advice from this corner: Retreat. Read full review

TV Guide Magazine Staff (Not Credited)

A deliciously bad reworking of The Karate Kid, with just a touch of Rocky IV tossed in. Read full review

Staff (Not Credited)

No Retreat, No Surrender borrows heavily from the likes of The Last Dragon, Karate Kid and even Rocky IV, but makes them look like masterpieces by comparison. Read full review

Patrick Goldstein

Amateurish clunker whose martial-arts action footage is almost as laughably dismal as its acting. Read full review

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User Reviews

Kai82

Apr 23, 2021

There are 2 ways to rate this movie. Firstly: As an immensely enjoyable B-movie that gives a great, cheesy and entertaining performance while taking itself not that serious. Secondly: As an A-movie this is a not as good and I must agree with the critics in this regard (But I would ask whyThere are 2 ways to rate this movie. Firstly: As an immensely enjoyable B-movie that gives a great, cheesy and entertaining performance while taking itself not that serious. Secondly: As an A-movie this is a not as good and I must agree with the critics in this regard (But I would ask why they apply these high improper standards here). Both ways to rate this movie are valid and I wont disagree if you dislike the movie. However I am in the first group that sees it as truly good popcorn entertainment in B-movie style. A lot of people agree on this and it became a cult classic over the years. Also it was one of the first roles of the later legend Jean Claude van Damme. Maybe this is in the so bad its good category but I would mostly disagree with that statement. In my country this was marked as Karate Tiger so it took me a while to figure out the English title as I was wondering why there was no entry in Metacritic (Yes I was stupid not to look it up at Wikipedia first). It is the story of Jason Stillwell who is a Karate student in his fathers Dojo and huge fan of the deceased Bruce Lee. One day after the training the Dojo is visited by a group of shady people that want to take over all Dojos in the country. His father is cripplingly injured by the bosses henchman Ivan Kraschinsky called “The Russian” who is a terrifying fighting machine and Jason could do nothing to prevent it as his skills are nowhere on a level that makes a difference. Slight spoiler warning if it is even that as Metacritic also put this in the summary: After both want to start a new life in Seattle it does not work well for Jason and he got support from Bruce Lees ghost. He teaches him more than just martial arts as the training includes also his way of thinking and approaching. End of slight spoilers. The story is finest B-movie material and uses elements from Karate Kid like being an underdog story, (teenage) drama, clashing philosophies and martial arts. It is the good kind of cheesy and quite entertaining. Not everything needs to be “The Godfather” or “Schindlers List”. There is also room for B-movies and they use tropes, stereotypes and cliches to make an entertaining experience. In my youth this was one of the “cool” movies we rewatched quite a few times as it was so entertaining. Maybe I should also add a nostalgia warning here as I could be heavily influenced by it. I enjoyed the humor, good fights and relatable motives. It helps that the movie takes itself not that serious. The actors are excellently chosen for a martial arts movie. Kurt McKinney is actually a trained martial artist. He gives an immersive and relatable performance. He is the kind of character that wins you over easily and is a remarkable main character. Lets continue with the at the time unknown Jean Claude van Damme as the antagonist Ivan Krashinsky. He is an evil and menacing fighting machine. I think the term magnificent bastard is fitting her. His (not that big) screentime is intense and enjoyable. With this great performance he opened the doors for more roles. Then there is Kim Tai-Chung as Bruce Lees ghost. He was actually a stand-in for Bruce Lee in “Game of Death” after Bruce Lee died. So he is as close to a perfect choice as you can get. I never doubted his role and awesome performance. For the rest I praise Peter Cunningham as Frank Peters, John Andes and Joe Verroca as the evil bosses. In total this is a great B-movie performance. The fights are well done and feel intense. It helps that they have a cast of really adept people. With this they get excellent results. Overall I repeat my opening statement. It is a 10/10 B-movie. It it just great entertainment and quite enjoyable. Don't be trapped in the setting that everything needs to be a masterpieces that collects more Oscars and Golden Globes than you can count.… Expand

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