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No Retreat, No Surrender

No Retreat, No Surrender

Action · Comedy · Crime · 1986

The mob is trying to strongarm local martial arts schools, forcing young Jason Stillwell and his family to move after his father is injured defending their dojo. With his father now rejecting violence, Jason is forced to train on his own to protect himself and his best friend from the members of a rival karate school.

Movie details

No Retreat, No Surrender

“Tonight, He either fights for his life or he'll be running for the rest of it.”

1986 Action · Comedy · Crime 1h 34m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

6.3 / 10

Community rating

The mob is trying to strongarm local martial arts schools, forcing young Jason Stillwell and his family to move after his father is injured defending their dojo. With his father now rejecting violence, Jason is forced to train on his own to protect himself and his best friend from the members of a rival karate school.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over No Retreat, No Surrender?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Corey Yuen

Written by

Keith W. Strandberg

Kurt McKinney

Kurt McKinney

Jason Stillwell

Jean-Claude Van Damme

Jean-Claude Van Damme

Ivan Kraschinsky "The Russian"

J.W. Fails

J.W. Fails

R.J. Madison

Kathie Sileno

Kathie Sileno

Kelly Reilly

Kim Tae-Jeong

Kim Tae-Jeong

Sensei Lee

Kent Lipham

Kent Lipham

Scott

R

Ron Pohnel

Ian Reilly

Court is in session

Put No Retreat, No Surrender on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Adrenaline Seeker

“Momentum is a formal choice.”

The velocity sharpens instinct and tension, making every beat land before self-importance can settle in.

The prosecution The Cool Ironist

“Speed as an alibi.”

The film races past its weak spots and hopes acceleration will keep the audience from inspecting the evidence.