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Poster for No Retreat, No Surrender

No Retreat, No Surrender

1986 · 94 min

A cheesy, energetic underdog martial arts romp with training montages, bullies, and a ghostly mentor, fun but silly.

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

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In the UKNo streaming, rental or purchase options known.
In your watch list

How it feels

Written by AI. It can be wrong.

Tone
  • campystrength 2 of 3
  • earneststrength 2 of 3
  • lightstrength 1 of 3
  • upliftingstrength 1 of 3
Pacing
brisk, 3 of 4, from slow-burn to relentless
Attention
easy-watch, 2 of 4, from background-friendly to demanding
Themes
  • coming-of-age
  • revenge
  • family
  • friendship
  • justice
Places
  • suburbs
  • big city
Era
contemporary
Audience
teen
Form
None
Content intensity
  • Gore none
  • Language mild
  • Violence strong
  • Sex none
All scales, 0 to 10
Scales, 0 to 10
ScaleValue0 to 10
Action8
Horror1
Humour5
Realism4
Romance3
Tension5
Darkness3
Complexity2
Emotional weight4

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Where to watch in the UK

No UK streaming, rental or purchase options are known.

Streaming data from JustWatch.TMDB

Details

Genres
action, comedy, crime, drama
Directed by
Corey Yuen
Written by
Keith W. Strandberg
Starring
Kurt McKinney, Jean-Claude Van Damme, J.W. Fails, Kathie Sileno, Kim Tae-Jeong, Kent Lipham, Ron Pohnel, Dale Jacoby
Music
Frank Harris, Paul Gilreath
Cinematography
David Golia, John Huneck
Runtime
94 min
Country
Hong Kong, United States of America
Languages
English

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