Customer Reviews

No Holds Barred [VHS]

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Over a decade before The Rock became a movie star in "Scorpion King", big Hulk Hogan got his chance to be a movie star. Who could forget his starring debut as WWF champion, Rip Thomas? Rip is the biggest star on cable and this is bad news for a competing network run by the evil Mr. Brell (played by Kurt Fuller), who demands Rip sign to his station. Rip won't do it though as he is signed with another company and "his word is his bond". When he is turned down, Brell looks elsewhere for talent and promotes a tough man contest where the winner gets a whole lot of money and a spot on his network. Enter Zeus, a convicted killing machine who takes out the competition.

While Zeus makes for huge ratings, Brell still isn't happy. He wants to promote a match between Zeus and Rip. He will stop at nothing to get it either as he hires a female assistant to seduce Rip and has Zeus hospitalize his little brother. This of course sends Rip on a rampage and results in the ultimate showdown between the two massive stars.

This movie is one of those "so corny, it's great" films and actually inspired several real-life matches between Hogan and actor Lister on WWF pay-per-view. Fuller as the scumbag network executive is just priceless and the scene where Hogan's Rip is getting pummeled while his brother watches from his wheelchair and sad music plays in the background is reason enough to pick up this forgotten gem. Hogan has never been better.

No Holds Barred could be the best movie ever made. How did the Acadamy over look this movie for best picture in 1989. Not since Rocky III have we seen Hulk Hogan light up the big screen like he does in this movie. RIP Thomas (played by Hul Hogan) is a successful wrestling champion who is is forced to battle the ultimate oponent, Zeus (Tom "Tiny" Lister Jr.) The movie brings you to the edge of your seat with a climatic battle with Zeus and will leave searching for those tissues when RIP's brother (Mark Pellegrino("Murph Calzone in Drowning Mona") is tragically paralyzed. My favorite scene in the movie is when RIP is caught up in a violent robbery at a diner. Instead of surrending to the crooks, he throws pies and other baked goods at them. He through them so fast the robbers did not have time to fire their machine guns. I dont want to give to much away, if you have not seen this movie you are depriving yourself of cinematic genious! I am still waiting for the DVD version so I can see behind the scenes footage of thhis masterpiece.

This 89 minute long film works ultimately on the levels of parody.How can a film with such awful dialogue,bargain basement production values and atrocious,atrocious acting have any hope of being taken seriously?About 80% of the script consists of Hulk Hogan,Tiny Lister and the other huging macho guys making noises along the lines of ''raaaaahaaaah'',''grooooooar''and ''aaaah''and the sets,especially those used in the end showdown,look like they cost about all of $150.The video I own of this movie is at least eight years old,so being played on a VCR in the day and age of DVD players,the sound volume,especially if played late at night ,is practically mute.Never has something so influential been so low key.The video was brought for me as a gift,and over the years,I've come to appreciate it on it's camp levels as a strictly wrestling/revenge motif flick,and certainly not as Shakespeare.Having said that,in amongst all the macho rubbish,Kurt Fuller does give a fairly involving performance as the slimy villain.Otherwise,this is a film you will definitely have to accept for what it is...or else.

This could be one of those so bad they are good movies. This is pretty much a very silly film, where no one can act, or I should say, everyone overacts ridiculousy. The story is not too intriguing. Nevertheless, it is No Holds Barred wrestling fun.

No Holds Barred is The Hulkster's first lead in a film. He is "Rip", a character that is very similar to the real life Hulk Hogan. His fights are extremely popular, and the network that carries him has rating overs the top. Naturally, a competing network wants Rip, but he is not interested. In attempt to gain ratings one way or another, the network's owner and 2 of his employees visit a trashy bar, where huge, filthy wrestlers duel out in a no rules ring, where you are lucky if their bodies even stay within the ring. Intrigued by the event, the owner televises a tournament there called "Tough Guy Competition" where anyone with the guts can fight for $100,000. Zeus "Tiny Lister" comes and scares the heck out of everyone, destroying everyone he touches. The network owner is happy, and does what he can, hurting Rip's younger brother and girlfriend to get him to fight Zeus on television. The final fight comes and it is a whopper - lasting about 10 minutes, and truly is a no holds barred spectical.

The movie is rather laughable most of the time, and doesn't take itself seriously. Hulk gets some tender moments in, and while his intentions are good, the acting isn't. Then there's the good ole "what's that smell scene". I coudn't stop laughing it was ridiculous. Zeus is one crazy guy, and spends most of his time grunting, and when he speaks he still grunts. Built like a machine and with a blind eye, he has the look of a villain no less.

There are tons of action throughout the film, whether iy be wrestlers throwin each other around at the bar fights, or Hulk going insane with anger at Zeu's gym tearing up the place. The last fight is worth it all though - its total fun.

So silly of a movie, but sometimes those are the best one's. There aren't really many wrestling movies out there like this, so if you want to see Hulk going all out in a film, this is your best bet. A guilty pleasure all the way.

In this movie Hulk Hogan plays himself. But because this is a fictional story, his character's name is Rip. Anyway, Rip is a pretty big deal in the Wrestling World. Not unlike Hulk himself around the same time. We know Rip is a nice guy because he's always hanging around children, not in a creepy way, but because they're sickly or orphaned or stupid or something. But while this is going on, a new guy rises to the top called Zeus. Not the Greek God, some wrestler dude. Anyway Zeus wins some competition, which makes him even bigger than Rip/Hulk, so Hulk gets mad and the film ends with a Wrestling match between Rip and Zeus. Anyway the public doesn't like Zeus as much as Rip, because he doesn't hang around sick kids, and he works for some evil guy named Brell. Even though 60% of Wrestling fans are Redknecks, and Hulk himself has been accused of racism, I'm sure it has _nothing_ to do with him being black.

In the course of this film we see Hulk on top of the world, fall a bit, train a bit and climb his way to the top, all while courting a girlfriend in a manner that, anywhere else in the civilised world, even in 1989, would be considered sexual harassmant. God Bless America!

For a wrestling fan, this is undoubtedly a must-have. Ignore Suburban Commando and Mr. Nanny. This is Hogan's best movie. It's over-the-top with Zeus, aka Tiny Lister, aka Dee-bo, taking out cinder blocks bare-fisted and showing off his lazy eye. When Hogan goes from a siting position in a limo to flying five feet out through the roof, you know it's good. Buy this vhs and burn it to dvd.

No Holds Barred is crazy and drop-dead hilarious. Mind you, it isn't supposed to be, making it all the more endearingly funny. Starring Hulk Hogan, this movie follows the adventures of big wrestling star Rip Thomas as he wins the heart of his account executive Samantha and battles the maniacal wrestler Zeus, controlled by the evil tv executive Brell.

In terms of entertainment, No Holds Barred delivers the punches. There is hardly a dull moment, and this doesn't just reach to the numerous, rather gritty fight sequences, either. As those good people at i-Mockery have rightly stated, Rip would make an awesome pirate, growling and generally destroying anyone foolish enough to take him on. When he's not giving them his guns, though, he's the nicest guy there is, even reluctant to advertise his name (something the real Hulk Hogan never had much of a problem with, if my memory serves me). And of course Rip has a love story with his beautiful account executive Samantha (Joan Severance). Then we have the dubious inclusion of Rip's apathic younger brother Randy, whose range of emotions can be counted on one hand. He mainly serves the purpose of getting his hide kicked to give the hero some motivation to face the bad guy.

Ever-angry tv exec Brell (Kurt Fuller) is determined to pull his tv network out of the depths of ratings hell (largely thanks to Rip getting all the spotlight to his channel). So, after failing to make a deal with Rip, he comes up with a stroke of brilliance; getting a bunch of crazy, testosterone-raving misfits into the ring of the No Count Bar in the aptly-named "Battle of the Tough Guys". Marketing genius. When demented wrestler Zeus makes short work of the competition, Rip sees he has to face him.

Needless to say, No Holds Barred is highly entertaining. There are a lot of action scenes, most of which underline how completely badass Rip is. However, this entertainment often leads into the territory of puzzling, but hilarious, madness. Rip can explode through the roof of a limo and literally cause a bad guy to soil his pants. Hell, he can even defeat two restaurant-robbing bad guys with pies - that's how badass he is. Zeus (Terry Tate) is both good at wrestling and growling and roaring like a maniac, for no reason at all. He barely speaks an intelligible line in the entire film, apart from ecstatically sighing his name, "Zeuuuuussssss..."

The No Count Bar, however, takes the cake. This seedy hangout is about the craziest place you can imagine. Here we have a bar with a ring taking most of the space, so that fights can take place easily. There is a midget who hangs out in a cage suspending from the ceiling, for no reason at all. The bathroom doesn't look so much as a bathroom as the most disgusting alley you could imagine, with urinals overflowing with bile and a dog chained to the wall for no plausible reason. The set designers had a field day on this movie. The characters that hang out at this bar constitute my favourite moments in this film. The Battle of the Tough Guys sees such aptly-named characters as Klondike Kramer and Brock Chisler (who even has a funny eyepatch joke). However, the most mental of the bunch are the toothless Bubba and his sister the waitress. Their interaction with Brell's terrified cronies are fidget-inducingly funny. I can just hear them laugh "Tayeneee! Tayneee!" I'm sniggering as I'm writing this.

As you can see, No Holds Barred is a great deal of fun. It's entertaining and hilarious to boot. It may not be intended to be as funny as it is, but it's a charming quality that the movie would be lesser without. The extreme macho attitude of the movie should also make it a favourite pizza outing. Nobody will be bored, I assure you.

a good video it shows how hulk can act but its in his type of atmosphere wrestling.

the 80's were awesome. I havent seen this movie since i was a kid.. bring it to dvd

THIS MOVIE OWNS! Best Hogan movie ever. We NEED a DVD release of it!