6.1 | / 10 |
Users | 3.5 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
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.
Starring: Jean-Claude Van Damme, Kurt McKinney, J.W. Fails, Kathie Sileno, Tae-jeong KimAction | 100% |
Drama | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English SDH
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 3.0 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 2.5 | |
Extras | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
1986’s “No Retreat, No Surrender” was supposed to be a calling card for director Corey Yuen, helping him break into the international marketplace with an Americanized martial arts extravaganza boasting a bright, handsome leading man in Kurt McKinney. Instead of making a name for himself, audiences and investors were drawn to a supporting turn from Jean-Claude Van Damme, who finally found a place to showcase his brute force, famed grimace, and amazing flexibility (two year prior, he was an extra in “Breakin’”). It was the start of something major for Van Damme, and while he’s not the focus of the endeavor, he’s the highlight of it, delivering Yuen’s impressively non-stop choreography with real fury, also embodying the feature’s cartoon antics with style and stone-faced menace. This certainly isn’t a strong effort, frequently crippled by cornball antics, but “No Retreat, No Surrender” has scenes of cartoon hostility that keep it rolling along, peppered with engaging displays of physical strength.
The AVC encoded image (1.85:1 aspect ratio) presentation offers a fairly rough source that displays considerable wear and tear. Thick green emulsion scratches are evident from the main titles, which eventually settle down as the runtime expires, but damage remains, including speckling and chemical burns, and mild judder is also detected. Get past print quality (which takes a slight dip in color and resolution during brief scenes created for the U.S. Cut), and there's a healthy amount of detail to enjoy, surveying the action with attention to distances and textures, including the goopy foodstuffs Scott shoves in his mouth, and costuming retains fibrous qualities. Close-ups are defined, feeling out cinematographic limitations. Colors are bold, with bright primaries to explore era-specific fashion choices, while greenery and urban signage showcase a range of lively hues. Skintones are natural. Delineation is acceptable, but night sequences expose slight pixelation in frame corners.
The 2.0 DTS-HD MA sound mix doesn't enjoy the same freshness as the visuals, offering a muddier quality that dilutes the freewheeling fun of the picture. Dialogue exchanges are intelligible, but they lack snap and urgency, disappointingly dulled by age. Scoring and soundtrack selections offer a little more sonic power, but precision isn't there, delivering numbed support to onscreen action, diminishing instrumentation. Sound effects are loud enough to pass, and while crowd dynamic is blunt, it registers as intended.
The thunder is finally called down in the third act, where Van Damme is finally unleashed as a crazed Russian fighter who's not above cheating to achieve desired results in the ring. The tournament conclusion mercifully cuts short storytelling ambition, returning attention to action choreography, which, for a low-budget movie, is quite strong, adding some needed power and speed to the grand finale. "No Retreat, No Surrender" gives itself over to the might of Van Damme, and he's hungry, showing off spinning kicks and pained reactions, trying to make himself the center of attention. It works, as Yuen loses interest in McKinney in the big showdown, clearly more enamored with Van Damme's special cinematic stance and true power. It's disappointing to waste young Van Damme on such goofy antics, but at least Yuen knows to get out of his way, with "No Retreat, No Surrender" genuinely leaving the best for last.
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