Wonderful character development!

One of my all time favorites.

One of the best movies of the year! Incredible from the beginning to the end.

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

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. If i'm not mistaken this is JCVD's first film and damn was this fun? Actually i didn't know what to expect exactly but it was kind of Kickboxer meets Karated Kid meets Bloodsport and it's just as fun as all those movies combined plus evil Jean Claude Van Damme is always the best thing that we're ever gonna get. Totally Fun!!!! (10/10)

Although Jean-Claude Van Damme's image takes prominence on the cover of the DVD (front and back), the Belgian martial arts star only shows up briefly at the very beginning of the film, and for the entertaining finalé; the real 'star' of No Retreat, No Surrender is the lesser known Kurt McKinney, who plays young, headstrong karate student Jason, who, with a little help from break-dancer RJ (J.W. Fails) and Bruce Lee's ghost (Tai Chung Kim), helps defeat the New York gangsters who have been seizing control of the country's dojos for use as fronts for their criminal activities.While the lack of Van Damage in the majority of the film could be off-putting for some, anyone who enjoys a large dollop of 80s cheeze should definitely stay on board...Directed by Cory Yuen, No Retreat, No Surrender only proves mildly satisfying as a martial arts movie, with just a few unmemorable fights between Jason and local bullies before his inevitable showdown with hired heavy Ivan Kraschinsky (Van Damme). However, when the feet and fists aren't flying, the film is side-splittingly funny, with lousy performances (McKinney is much better at kicking than acting), a dumb plot (clearly inspired by The Karate Kid), ridiculous characters, the silly supernatural element, and hilarious 80s music and fashion unintentionally making this a lot more enjoyable than it really has any right to be.The film's dumbest, and therefore most entertaining moments include a hilarious nightclub scene that sees RJ busting some moves in full Michael Jackson regalia, and the unforgettable sight of Jason training with RJ perched on his lap (their friendship clearly being taken to the next level).

To say the acting in this movie was bad would be giving NO RETREAT, NO SURRENDER a huge complement. It was just about the worst I have ever seen, and I don't think it's even close. If you want a few laughs, put this one on -- it's as bad as it gets. Interaction between characters was a joke. The fight scenes were slow and predictable and contained no serious action or authenticity. But the the downright awful acting takes the cake. Just over-the-top terrible. Unbelievable.Van Dam doesn't show up until the middle of the film and plays a bad guy...what?

Tom Stillwell (Baker) is an L.A. Karate instructor, and his son Jason (McKinney) is one of his students. When the elder Stillwell runs into some trouble with gangsters, notably the evil Ivan "The Russian" Kraschinsky (Van Damme), the family heads up to Seattle to start a new life. Things are looking up when Jason makes friends with R.J. (Fails), but then a series of bad events causes Jason to despair and re-evaluate his life. Jason is an admirer of - nay - obsessed with Bruce Lee. He attempts to model his life after the legendary figure, even going to his gravesite and talking to him. Meanwhile, his confidence begins to grow, and it all leads to the final confrontation with Ivan. But Jason will have help from a very special trainer...No Retreat, No surrender is classic 80's fun at its best. Well-known director Corey Yuen invests the film with a lot of energy, whether it be fighting sequences, training sequences, or just scenes of over-the-top drama or comedy, something is always going on and you're never bored. The great music even inspires several dance sequences apropos of nothing, and even R.J. gets in on the fun with an impromptu rap/dance when he first meets Jason. Isn't that what you did when you met your new best friend? A lot of the conflict in the film is not driven by the supposed antagonist Van Damme, but by nefarious fat kid Scott (Lipham). There are plenty of hijinks as this corpulent busybody inexplicably commands an army of fellow no-good punks. He even kicks things off with the disparaging comment (directed at Jason), "he said L.A. Karate is better than Seattle Karate". Who knew this ancient rivalry stirred such forceful feelings? Or that it existed at all? Yes, the time-honored "L.A. vs. Seattle" Karate battle started it all.While Van Damme is always front-and-center on all the artwork for this movie, his screen time is very limited. He shows up at the beginning and the end, and has minimal dialogue. Pretty much all he says is "I'm the best" and maybe a few other brief things, though he does find time to do one of his trademark splits. His character of an evil Russian named Ivan who is emotionless and says little seems modeled after Rocky IV's Ivan Drago. During the final end brawl, the "Seattle Sidekicks" which consist of Dean "Shooting Star" Ramsay (Jacoby) and Ian "Whirlwind" Reilly (Pohnel), battle Ivan, who, also without explanation, enters the ring not with the gangsters from earlier in the film, but a posse of Hispanics. And while Van Damme's credit in the opening sequence is "Ivan the Russian", his end credits name is, once again with no explanation, Karl Brezdin! Could this be an oversight? because if so, what an oversight! Or is it yet another movie where Van Damme does a double role? Who knew that trend started here?Seeing as the movie was written by Keith Strandberg, it has some familiar trademarks of his style - he also wrote the two NRNS sequels, as well as King of the Kickboxers (1990), American Shaolin (1991), and Bloodmoon (1997), among other items, so if you've seen any of those, you get the idea.The song "Stand on Your Own" (and if I may add some more lyrics: "There's no retreat and no surrender-er-errrrr!!!") by Paul Gilreath is memorable, and it's no wonder, as Gilreath is also credited with additional music for the classic Knights of the City (1985).It's fun, upbeat, and even childish (in a great way), so like Jason and R.J., make "No Retreat, No Surrender" a personal motto to live by.For more insanity, please visit: comeuppancereviews.com