No Exit

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 ****.