In this hybrid of THE KARATE KID and ROCKY IV, Kurt McKinney plays Jason Stillwell, a young Bruce Lee devotee who relocates to Seattle with his family after his karate instructor father gets into trouble with the mob in Los Angeles. As often happens when one moves to a new town, Jason runs afoul of the local karate students and he heads to Bruce Lee's grave to ask for help. Instead, he incurs the wrath of his father for using karate aggressively and is kicked out of the house. Jason relocates to an abandoned house and it is there that he receives a visit from the spirit of Bruce Lee, who proceeds to train Jason so that he can whoop some ass. WHAT!?! Yeah, you read that right...this film centers around a kid being trained by Bruce Lee's ghost!
Filled with laughable dialogue and enough 80s cheese for several films, NO RETREAT, NO SURRENDER should be mandatory viewing for all trash film fans. But for Bruceploitation fans, it is a real treat. Whereas most films in this genre only feature characters mimicking Bruce Lee, this is one of those rare productions that try to incorporate the man himself in the action. The results are jaw dropping awful. Korean actor Kim Tai Chung (aka Kim Tai Jung) is a veteran of the Bruceploitation genre, having previously starred in GAME OF DEATH II. His resemblance to Lee is negligible and his acting consists of quickly pointing to Jason's head and yelling, "Think!" Then again, what do you expect from a film that has Lee's ghost outline his life philosophy with a Diet Coke?
Without a doubt, NO RETREAT, NO SURRENDER is a prime example of Bruceploitation but it is also one of the funniest and most brain damaged movies ever made. I can still remember the first time I saw it and how hard I was laughing. I literally had tears streaming down my face. From the opening karate session to the final showdown between Jason and the evil Russian Ivan (Van Damme), this film is a non-stop riot. Kent Lipham, resembling currently popular character actor Philip Seymour Hoffman, is especially memorable as the overweight bully Scott. When Jason moves in across the street, Scott is watching with disgust. As he snacks on an entire cake he mumbles, "A Bruce Lee freak! Just what Kingswood needs! Why me?" Later, when Jason defends his friend R.J., Scott yells, "Look Brucey…why don't you go home and play with your wooden dolly?" Even without the Bruceploitation aspect, this guy makes the film worth seeing.
Believe it or not, the fight scenes in this movie are really good. Then again, what would you expect from director Corey Yuen? Yes, THAT Corey Yuen directed this laugh-riot years before becoming Hollywood's darling by choreographing Jet Li's US films. Yuen also went on to make the in name only sequel, the equally outrageous NO RETREAT, NO SURRENDER II.
Reviewed by WILLIAM, not Keith.
