No Exit (1995 Video) User Reviews

"It's Illegal. It's Immoral. And It's Always Deadly."

[tarbosh22000 · 5/10 · 11 December 2010]

Professor John Stoneman (Wincott) is a college professor who gives a lot of homework, but is a man of peace and nonviolence. He teaches his students about tolerance while hurling an unending stream of racial epithets against fellow student/friend Jason Samuels (Di Mambro). Luckily he was just playing a character to prove a point. Stoneman's wife Carmel (St-Onge) is also a professor at the same university and pregnant with their first child. Things are looking up for the Stonemans, but suddenly Carmel is attacked in the parking garage of the hospital after getting a checkup about the baby. Gangs of punks that hang out in hospital parking lots are a menace in Canada, or anywhere else, so John, who is also like a 200th degree black belt, dispatches them easily...but Carmel loses the baby in the process.

The story of the attack was on the news, and evil mastermind Houston Armstrong (Fitzpatrick) was watching. You see, he runs his own underground TV network which has one show - No Exit. It is a fight-to-the-death tournament where people Armstrong has kidnapped and imprisoned on his compound in the middle of nowhere fight and die on live TV. The problem is, as you might think with underground death matches, that the losers keep dying, so there is the need for fresh blood to enter the competition. So both Stoneman and Samuels are spirited away to the compound and locked up. They must fight to survive. The star fighter of No Exit is the hulking, evil brute Darcona (Thorsen). He is known for being tough, being the biggest jerk ever, and shouting "Yahhhhhhh!!!!" a lot. So will Stoneman be able to beat Armstrong, Darcona, and Armstrong's second-in-command Tayback (Douglas O'Keeffe)? Basically an over-intellectualized punchfighter crossed with a prison movie, and as much as the filmmakers probably wanted to reference Jean-Paul Sartre's play No Exit, Fatal Combat is something of a cross between The Running Man (1987) and Death Warrant (1990). The movie suffers from a lack of originality, and the constant disjointed cuts and cutaways to a screen blasting with static as transitions between scenes make it seem like it is trying too hard to be cool.

The movie starts with a "Nooooooo!!!" and Wincott says "Nooooooo!!!!" many times throughout the film, and a few of the times, it is in slow motion, so the "NO" is a few octaves lower than it would normally be. This is more funny than serious and the filmmakers should have known that. Fatal Combat has an unnecessarily dark and super-serious tone that we felt did not serve the film that well. For instance, after Darcona is already established as the ultimate villain, is it absolutely necessary that he rape one of the other characters? Another thing we noticed is Fatal Combat is especially gay. Not a negative criticism - just an observation. Yes, there are the normal greased-up, shirtless men grappling with each other, but the male-male rape scene and some of the other prison antics made it seem gayer than usual. Wincott has a montage training scene in tight spandex (to the catchy rock tune "No Exit" by Ken Greer, Phil Naro and Myles Hunter - no band name listed).

Sadly, because of the largely negative tone of the film, and the stylistic touches falling flat, we found we were not that invested in the final fight or the final outcome. Wincott probably relished the role of playing a professor that can also fight, and he was probably desperate to tell the world he's not your average meathead, and if the movie has a saving grace it's him. Fitzpatrick is well-cast as the evil mastermind who has a command center - and what baddie worth his salt doesn't? Not Jeff Wincott's best - check out Last Man Standing (1996) - and there are plenty of flaws - but punchfighter completists could do worse.

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"You confuse perversity with potential"

[The_Phantom_Projectionist · 5/10 · 25 November 2015]

FATAL COMBAT here (originally and more aptly titled NO EXIT) isn't your typical Jeff Wincott action picture. There are fair few aspects linking this one to typical martial arts B-movies of the time, with a better-than-average dramatic cast and a script that definitely tries to be more consequential and serious than most films dealing with secret fight tournaments. For some folks, this might make it one of the best Wincott vehicles. Me, I thought it was all a bit much; part of this can be blamed on the movie's marketing, which doesn't indicate that this is a departure from the norm for Jeff, but also on the fact that there's not much payoff for the drama in either a resolution or karate fights.

The story: Philosophy professor and martial artist John Stoneman (Wincott) is kidnapped by a wealthy sadist who broadcasts a to-the-death tournament to paying clients from a subarctic prison (Richard Fitzpatrick).

I think most of this film's unusual nature can be attributed to writer-director Damian Lee, the boxer-turned-filmmaker who became one of the more ambitious, hit-or-miss blenders of the action and drama genres. His film here is equal parts drama and action, but the latter is definitely weaker than the former. There are between four and six fights - depending on what you consider to be a fight scene - and virtually none of them are really worth watching. Jeff's really by himself here, since the closest he comes to having an opponent who can match his martial arts is Sven-Ole Thorsen as the sadistic champion, but Thorsen's more of a brawler and doesn't contribute a good match. Even when Jeff engages a couple opponents in spear fights within an electrified cage, the result is merely average (how is that even possible?).

At its height, the movie certainly approaches being a respectable drama. The cast also includes the late Guylaine St-Onge as Wincott's wife and Douglas O'Keefe (Nuremberg) as the top henchman, and the result is a film that focuses more on and mostly pulls off its acting content. Jeff's given more legitimate dramatic scenes in this one than perhaps any other of his films from the same era. The problem for me is that the movie is so unabashedly dark and bleak that it gets downright depressing after a while. Here's infanticide and rape in the same movie, not to mention weightier murders than we're used to in films like these, without any substantial payoff - jeez, even THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION knew when to throw a bone, and it didn't even have martial art fight scenes.

Two things I admire about the film are the philosophical (or anti-philosophical?) angle the script tries for and how believable the freezing setting is made, with the performers' breath visible when they're speaking - it probably wasn't the easiest shoot. Altogether, the movie is an interesting departure from the action norm, but the novelty wears off by the time the film is halfway over due to a lack of tradeoff from the action department. On a bad day, this would get two stars from me, but because I can see the genuine effort that went into this one's production, I'll be generous.

Could have been better

[sveknu · 4/10 · 7 March 2010]

I had some expectations for this movie. Jeff Wincott has starred in several great martial arts movies in the past, and the plot looked interesting. It was the typical "people get caught by insane rich guy who has them fight each other to the death while broadcasting it to other rich scumbags who want entertainment" plot again. This outline always has potential, but this time they far from utilized it the way they should. Most important of all: The fight scenes are way too few and way too far between. The point of a movie like this is to have lots of great action, and when that doesn't happen it becomes rather pointless. I don't think the fight scenes were that good either. Wincott was OK, Sven-Ole Thorsen was so-so as the bad guy, and all in all there was nothing memorable in this movie. You will forget about this film an hour after watching.

The Art Of Killing

[fmarkland32 · 1/10 · 22 February 2020]

Jeff Wincott stars as a professor of non violence with 3 10th degree black belts (!) who is abducted by a billionaire broadcaster (Fitzpatrick) and forced into a tournament of to the death matches after said billionaire broadcaster sees Wincottake the news for killing the man who stabbed his pregnant wife (resulting in a miscarriage.) While the initial premise would appear to hint at typically (fun) Kung Fu Hokum, Fatal Combat is merely depressing, ugly, nihilistic and disasterous as these things go

Fatal Combat features such ugly scenes of a pregnant woman stabbed, a man being raped, necks being broken and a relatively mean spirited anti semitic opening from our hero and yet none of this goes anywhere. Like the movie doesn't need any of it and one is often not sure what Damien Lee's purpose is to constantly drill the point home that empathy and humanity are weak, misguided and gets others killed and raped. The underlying theme throughout is Wincott telling his two friends that he's going to figure out a way to get out of said broadcaster's clutches. Also how if he refuses to fight and kill said Billionaire would lose. Yet, these would be moments of enlightenment are dropped in favor of violence and sadism Some might look forward to fight sequences, but because the characters are all kidnapped and being forced to fight to the death against each other, these fight sequences take on a more sad and brutal tone. This is more akin to a movie like Hostel and Saw instead of say Kickboxer or Bloodsport. The fight sequences are fairly uninspired and directed without any type of excitement so we're basically watching fighters against their will, fight to the death. Fatal Combat is probably the worst tournament movie I've ever seen (and I saw Bloodsport 4) because while a lot of these things are awful, they rarely make one feel depressed. This movie pretty much takes the tournament movie and turns it into an unsavory and repellent endeavor. Jeff Wincott is a fine actor (Far better than the genre standard) but ultimately this movie makes his fists of fury depressing, makes his screen presence and charisma negligible by putting him in ugly situations and tarnishes his hero's character by having him open the film in a racist rant that makes no dramatic sense. The entire movie is simply overripe melodrama,but the movie makes it a point to be nasty. Fatal Combat then is an angry and misanthropic message movie, and on that level the movie is simply reprehensible.

0 Out Of 4-(Bottom Of The Barrel)

Forgettable '90s actioner

[Leofwine_draca · 4/10 · 10 October 2017]

I watched this one on Amazon Prime under the title FATAL COMBAT. It's a typical straight to video thriller of the mid 1990s which once again uses the old 'illegal arena fighting' storyline for effect. Here, chiselled fighter Jeff Wincott plays the world's least convincing professor who is spurred into action when his pregnant wife is attacked by thugs. He's thrown into prison where he's forced to fight by a sadistic overlord with murder in mind.

This B-movie is in essence a prison film mixed with the usual arena fighting material. The fights are okay but the plot is extremely forgettable as are the characters and set-up. It's nice to see Sven-Ole Thorsen (Arnie's regular stand-in) playing the villain of the piece but, truth be told, this is one of those films you'll forget about watching just a few minutes after the credits roll.

Formulaic action film with an all too familiar "fight to the death" theme.

[ChoiBaby · 24 June 1999]

A conspicuous and uninspired retread of Richard Cornell's "The Most Dangerous Game." In spite of that drawback though, FATAL COMBAT has a few strengths and merits that buffer this piece of opus from becoming a total disaster.

Well, here goes, College Professor John Stoneman (Canadian martial artist Jeff Wincott) teaches a course which emphasizes on psychological conflict resolutions. He always dictates the use of moral ethics over violence. While trying to protect his pregnant wife from a gang of obnoxious and murderous thugs, Professor Stoneman is lured and captured by a sadistic entrepreneur of television programming. Here, Stoneman is coerced to participate in a game show that comprises of death matches, fistfights, and run-for-your-life obstacle courses not to mention plenty of booby traps hidden along the way...

Evil, bald and crooked television producer and distributor Armstrong (Richard Fitzpatrick) has designed a most optimum competition meet which forces several fighters of various skills to compete in an eight day tournament being aired live on television across Canada and presumably parts around the world. The contest is called "No Exit," and only the best and strongest of wills can survive this grueling process where tough guys beat the living daylights out of weaklings and even the brave will collapse in disillusion. The current champion of "No Exit" which airs every year is Darcona (Sven Ole-Thorsen). He has a propensity for neck snapping and breaking the spirits out of many of his competitors. He intimidates, then kills his victims like a panther without any remorse...

Stoneman has the temerity to face Darcona, but in a unexpected turn of events, Stoneman has discovered that his wife's soon-to-be born baby has been aborted, attributed to the attack earlier on. Stoneman must keep a calm composure, and somehow, he must fight back against the corporate villains...even if it resorts to breaking the rules...and losing his life...

FATAL COMBAT (also titled NO EXIT) is an interesting clone of "The Most Dangerous Game." This film is surprisingly anemic and mundane for a martial arts showcase. Some rather good fight scenes though and a shrewd, creative touch here and there with the arena and the battle scenarios. The highlights include "The Key," where two opponents race to grab the "key" and thus blow his rival away into shreds. The arena, confined in a small cage where two warriors duke it out with pulse sensory sticks while trying to avoid an electrical, surrounded fence is kind of neat. The brawl at the cafeteria was pretty cool...

What makes FATAL COMBAT a venial though well-intentioned thriller is that the main, robust character and hero, Stoneman normally resolves his conflicts with inner peace and words rather than punches and violence. He manipulates his challengers before they can make their move. However, once Stoneman enters the "No Exit" games, he has no choice but to fight for his life. All his philosophies, his beliefs in non-violent resolutions, peacemaking alternatives, staying unnerved at the face of danger, keeping his provocations inside himself...have vanished once he has competed in the "No Exit" matches. Stoneman was originally someone with high ingenuity and humane rhetoric. Now, all those ideas and thoughts are meaningless and trivial...

Even though FATAL COMBAT tries to deliver a message about only the strongest of souls will survive the fiercest perils, this film has one too many liabilities. First, the low budget does not help though the scenic atmosphere around the Arctic area was well photographed. Second, there are too many cliches which built to a surpassing amount. Stereotyped characters, paltry action sequences, and an involving though trite characterization are examples of the film's banality. Also, what kind of sick individual would also want to rape one of the good guys?

FATAL COMBAT deserves a better criterion. Don't look for anything remotely original or intriguing in this movie. The same effects, situations, and tiresome kicking and hitting are all recycled from earlier films just with different actors trying to repaint and redesign the plot and movie. The cast and director work earnestly with this film; and their message that sometimes, choosing between what is right or wrong can be beneficial as well as detrimental is taken with consideration. Otherwise, this film is labeled with the word "PREDICTABLE" all over it. FATAL COMBAT is in fatal trouble...

RATING: *1/2 out of ****.

I wish there was an exit...

[Aaron1375 · 3/10 · 29 August 2023]

I thought this film would be a bit more cool, have some nice fights and be perhaps a bit fun. However, it is not fun at all, the fights are rather unspectacular and it features hovercrafts in a way that makes me go, "why?" I am sure there may be a person out there that has wanted hovercrafts mixed into his fighting movie and for you, your ship has come in, but for the remainder of the population it was just an odd inclusion. Though not odd, the inclusion of a male rape scene and a vicious stabbing of a pregnant woman are completely unwelcome inclusions. Neither added anything to the plot and just made the film icky.

The story, there is an illegal channel where a rich guy pits fighters against each other in over complicated matches to the death. Jeff Wincott fights guys in a parking lot who stabbed his wife, imagine my surprise when they had nothing to do with the television show. I mean, the television show kidnaps people so I thought that was what they were going to do after testing him, but no, apparently random gangs of dudes go to this hospital parking garage and just attack people for no discernible reason and one of them thinks the guy who just massacred all his friends would react in a good way to him stabbing the man's pregnant wife. Well this attracts the evil people and they kidnap Jeff and a student in the same parking garage and take them to the evil competition. Seriously, get a security camera in that garage, it is like the crime capitol of the world in there!

You have Jeff Wincott who is his usual self. He just does not have that much charisma for my tastes and is kind of bland. The only other person of note was the main fighter antagonist who I have seen in a couple of films. Here he says a bunch of homophobic stuff then rapes a guy...that makes sense

So, not a good film though the plot had potential. The idea of a death tournament being illegally televised is good, but the whole kidnapping part is lousy. Lets kidnap athletes and make em fight and feed them gruel, that is real motivation there. Then instead of fighting they are just running around in a snowstorm with a hovercraft randomly there or running down a hall, not sure anyone would pay millions to see that .

Bland, generic and semi-watchable...

[paul_haakonsen · 4/10 · 12 April 2024]

The 1995 movie "No Exit", from director Damien Lee, was a movie that I didn't know about prior to stumbling upon it by random chance here in 2024. And having just sat through one Jeff Wincott movie, of course I opted to sit down and watch this movie as well.

Writers John Lawson and Damian Lee put together a script and storyline that was semi-watchable. It wasn't a particularly interesting or memorable storyline in the movie, which made it a bit boring to sit through. However, I will say that the movie can be watched a single time, if you have the patience for this type of generic action movie.

The acting performances in "No Exit" were fair enough. It was nice to see Sven-Ole Thorsen on the cast list, though it wasn't as if he delivered an award-winning performance. But he is a fellow countryman of mine, and it was always fun to see him pop up in movies alongside Schwarzenegger and such in the 1980s.

There were a couple of fair enough fight scenes throughout the course of the movie, but hardly anything to write home about. Sure, the action sequences makes the movie a bit more bearable to sit through.

"No Exit" is not a movie that will ever find its way back on my screen for a second viewing. Nor is it a movie that I will recommend for fans of the action genre.

My rating of director Damian Lee's 1995 movie "No Exit" lands on a four out of ten stars.

There's no reason to watch this over any similar title.

[I_Ailurophile · 3/10 · 18 December 2022]

I can forgive familiar and predictable (and in a couple instances, contradictory) strains in the narrative, recognizable from a wealth of fighting movies over the years. I can forgive the contrived trope of a bad guy maintaining a secret base of operations in the middle of nowhere; the rich and powerful are uniformly terrible people, and sadly, there's nothing they can't do. Less easy to overlook are the pointless racism and homophobia in the dialogue, and the gauche, overcooked Tough Guy acting of many in the cast, not least Douglas O'Keeffe, but also including star Jeff Wincott. More difficult still to abide are repetition at the halfway mark of the same speech that opened the film; the use and overuse of slow motion in the weirdest of places; odd choices of sequencing and pacing that chop up any scene, those of action not least; and decisions made about dialogue, characters, and direction that also dampen the potential for and of fight scenes. Even still, none of this completely discounts the possibility of deriving entertainment from 'Fatal combat,' also known as 'No exit,' but it impresses upon us right away that at best there's no especial reason to watch this over any of its brethren.

The screenplay can claim a little bit of cleverness, mostly in the ideas behind a couple of the combat scenarios, though not all, and definitely NOT in the dialogue. The production design and art direction are just fine, and I appreciate what footage we get of the desolate but pretty environs outside the primary setting. Ken Greer's music ranges from "not bad" to bland and generic. Would that we got more actual fights in this action-thriller, because a preponderance of the runtime is just posturing that's too dull to even be laughable - and while indeed there are common threads in the narrative, as a whole it's light and weak, without nearly the vitality to keep one actively invested in and of itself. Wait, why was it, again, that I watched this? I honestly don't know.

Let me be blunt: this is boring. It lacks meaningful action, fighting, or thrills of any kind even on paper, and its construction further hamstrings what small measures we do get. It's poorly written, directed, and acted, and I kind of feel bad for all involved, not least Guylaine St. Onge, who somehow got roped into this to portray the only named female character, and the crew, whose contributions are perhaps the most respectable of the whole picture. Whatever it is you think you might get out of this, I regret to inform that you are mistaken. While it's not the worst thing you'll ever watch, there's simply not enough value here to justify watching 'Fatal combat.' Just keep browsing.