No Retreat, No Surrender is a
1986 Hong Kong-American martial arts film written and directed by
Corey Yuen, and starring
Kurt McKinney,
Jean-Claude Van Damme and
Tai Chung Kim.[1][4] The film is about the
American teenager
Jason Stillwell (Kurt McKinney) who learns martial arts from the spirit of
Bruce Lee. Stillwell uses these lessons to defend his martial arts dojo against the
Russian Ivan Kraschinsky (Jean-Claude Van Damme).
No Retreat, No Surrender was written by
Keith W. Strandberg after being contacted by the owner of Seasonal
Film Corporation Ng See-yuen to write a script for them, despite having never written a script beforehand. Jean-Claude Van Damme was cast in the film and caused problems on the set for continually physically contacting other actors during the fight scenes even after director Yuen told him not to. On its release, the film received negative reviews focusing on the story that two reviewers found was too similar to the film
The Karate Kid (
1984).
Plot: Jason Stillwell (Kurt McKinney) is a young karate student and Bruce Lee fanatic who trains in his father
Tom's (
Timothy D.
Baker) dojo in
Sherman Oaks, California. One night after a training session, the dojo is visited by members of an organized crime syndicate looking to take over all the dojos in the country. After refusing to join the organization, Tom has his leg broken by a Russian martial artist named Ivan Kraschinsky (Jean-Claude Van Damme), one of the boss' hired thugs.
The Stillwell family relocates to
Seattle, where Jason meets
R. J. Madison (
J.W. Fails) and they become good friends. Jason reunites with his old girlfriend
Kelly (Kathie Sileno), who lives in the neighborhood with her brother, local black belt Ian (Ron Pohnel).
Despite this, Jason has a hard time adjusting, as he and R. J. are constantly beaten and harassed by the local bullies led by an obese boy named
Scott (Kent Lipham) and arrogant martial artist
Dean Ramsay (
Dale Jacoby). After being humiliated at
Kelly's birthday party by
Scott and
Dean, Jason visits the grave of Bruce Lee and beseeches him for aid.
Later that night, Jason and Tom have a heated argument over Jason involving himself in fights. When Jason calls his father a coward for running away from the syndicate, Tom destroys some of Jason's Bruce Lee memorabilia in the garage. Distraught, Jason consults with R. J., who suggests that Jason move all of his training gear into an abandoned house nearby.
Exhausted from the move, Jason falls asleep at the house, but is suddenly awakened by the ghost of Bruce Lee (Tai Chung Kim), who appears to Jason and begins to train him. Under Lee's tutelage, Jason goes from a below average fighter to a superior martial artist, at one
point able to fend off several thugs assaulting his father at a parking lot.
Later, an annual full contact karate tournament is held featuring teams from Seattle and
New York, which Jason and Tom attend. Before the contest can get underway, however, the crime syndicate interrupts and makes a wager that none of the Seattle fighters can defeat Ivan. While Dean and
Frank (
Peter Cunningham) are easily dispatched by the Russian, Ivan's last opponent, Ian, makes an impressive showing, forcing Ivan to resort to dirty tactics to defeat him. With her brother helplessly entangled in the ring ropes, Kelly tries to stop Ivan by hitting him with a chair, but the Russian easily disarms her and grabs her by the hair. Spurred into action, Jason charges to the ring and attacks Ivan, much to the delight of the crowd. Utilizing his advanced training, Jason is finally able to conquer his nemesis and earn the respect of his peers.
- published: 16 Dec 2013
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