rettercritical

Reading reviews on IMDB, I felt it was important to correct the record. "No Tomorrow" is a good looking, high-octane action movie, helped by cannibalising existing films such as NARROW MARGIN and AIR AMERICA into something new. Jean-Luc Godard said that "Good artists borrow but great artists steal", so where do cannibals fit into that? In this case it ends up being an almost Hollywood-level-slick B-movie by PM Entertainment.

Fantastic cast assembled, even if each not all appearing for long ... This is an exercise in pure cinema, about cinema itself and a joy to watch No Tomorrow go through the well-worn territory. And these stars really are used to their full pigment on that canvas. Gary Busey is crazy, Jeff Fahey is quirky eccentric, Gary Daniels earnestness is used as a weapon, Pam Grier is Coffee Brown working in an FBI office, George Cheung comes and goes in the blink of an eye but reassures us that this is a real movie or at least a high-end sitcom with his presence. Hip hop artist and producer Master P bookends the film for scenes where the sh** truly goes down.

Did rapper Master P actually direct this? Or was it in his contract to be credited because half of it was funded by brown-paper-bag hip-hop money? It has everything you want from a latter-period PM film stylistically, such as gorgeous long lens cinematography by Ken Blakey and trademark expressionistic explosions. Theres a moment early in the film where someone is hit by a rocket-launcher, propelling and impaling him against a wall, followed by a PM explosion. More than what 90 percent of action films could ever offer. This was shot at night to show great contrast between the rocket-launchers, flame throwers, sparks and explosions in the dark space. Whatever Master P did, there was a well-oiled technical machine working under him.

Gary Daniels does no martial arts in this, yet its a good action film because it keeps moving with plenty of cool sequences both new and recycled. Daniels is an interesting cinematic construct who struggles dramatically on a technical level, but this has its own pathos and we root for him. A kind of real life edge of your seat drama in terms of "can he pull this off?". Yes he can. By this point he had plenty of experience and a decent mid-Atlantic, but we do remember those early outings.

Yes, No Tomorrow literally takes a few action scenes from existing films and splices them in .. By that I don't mean recreate but take actual footage from other movies.. But like what Comeuppance Reviews (go to their website..) would describe as "Plane Slogs" (fighter-pilot movies that use stock aerial footage), I can admire a film's construction when these scenes are inserted seamlessly and support the film's overall structure. That's why I say these kinds of movies are ABOUT CINEMA .. Like early Soviet works that took German and American films and just re-edited them .. Thus I would say its a film for film-buffs and filmmakers too. Its like that meme that shows the IQ distribution bell-curve .. With a genius on one side, an idiot on the other but a middle-brow person in the center who takes up the majority of the curve. This film is for idiots and geniuses, but not the boring middle-brow person who thinks they are smart by scoffing at the obvious.

And no, its not a film where you have to leave your brain at the door, instead use your noggin to dissect how it was produced .. And on a visceral level, with its cool action and vibe .. Its actually well made within those constraints and totally enjoyable. Its a corporate gangster film with great intrigue until the credits roll. Yes, that means it has a worthwhile plot. You will often find films that re-use footage having pretty good writing and structure, because they need to have a sense of precision to make the collision work between old and new celluloid being cut together. If you didn't realise this film had recycled footage, you would just view it as a slick, entertaining product and be surprised to see it premiere on video. Either way its enjoyable. This is PM Entertainment competing with Hollywood in spectacle and aesthetic, just as they would fly too close to the sun.

This low budget film sits between a cheap genre B-movie, like a Nu-Image or PM Entertainment flick and a genuine 90s indie film with art-house sensibilities. Its flawed, has gaping holes in plot, logic and occasionally poor audio ... Yet overcomes much of this with its mixture of earnest morality tale message and decent style and aesthetic. Its not a Micky Rourke film, but he is well cast as a supporting character. It is cheaply made, but has enough energy, camera movements, stylistic touches and memorable characters to make this worth viewing. Its a nice random DVD-pick-up or late-night viewing.

Gary Daniels has one of the best DTV martial arts movie careers and I think this is one of the highlights ... A half-American and half-Japanese production, shot in a combination of both Japanese and English.

All the action scenes are terrific, Daniels gets to do what he does best but we get the extra element of swordplay. Kiyoshi Nakajoe kind of steals the show with his performance, a super-cool Yakuza character who seems to control the space around him. What I liked about the film was how the dueling narratives of both men intertwined... Cop and criminal that may have more in common than they realise.

I have no idea why this film has bad reviews on IMDB, I think its well worth tracking down and watching if this is your genre. Its very much an above average DTV martial arts film in terms of craft (the often pastel colours give a nice aesthetic feeling) and the action is mostly superb. Would be a good double-feature with White Tiger or one of Gary's PM entertainment flicks.