No Holds Barred (1989)

No matter how low your expectations are going into this absurd late 80s Hulk Hogan vehicle, it's quite likely to limbo right under them.

Hogan is the "star", but he actually gets very little screen time, disappearing for large chunks of the film while the focus is on the villain of the piece played with a "Hey, it's a paycheck" glee by Kurt Fuller. When he is on screen, Hogan struggles playing a character that is more or less the same one he'd played for nearly a decade in the WWF.

None of this would've mattered much had the film at least given us some entertaining wrestling moments and perhaps a few good montages set to cheesy rock music, but it can't even seem to do that right.

'No Holds Barred' is awful even by the standards of low budget late-80s wrestling movies, of which it may be the only one.

Fmovies: What's the only difference between this film and pro-wrestling? The movie is more predictable. Also, Hulk Hogan is not as good an actor on the big screen than he is at, say, WrestleMania. But if you're looking for mindless pro-wrestling dramatics, by all means, remember the name: NO HOLDS BARRED!

Back in 89 Hulk finally got his first starring role and you can tell he had a lot of fun with it. He plays Rip, the WWF champion with a heart of gold. But when Rip doesn't switch networks, the greedy promoter Brell gets down and dirty, and eventually finds the massive Zeus to lure Hogan into their trap.

Overall, a fun movie to watch, especially if your a big Hulkster fan like myself.

No Holds Barred fmovies. Bottom line it, HUlk Hogan is the next Eastwood, well with a little less hair, they are the same age aren't they?

Never saw a better non actor do a better job since last night when I was watching an " early" Traci Lords movie, God Bless her.

Any real American, or Hulkamanic, this is a must own video, sorry to say for some reason many places, well all ( I was just trying to be nice) do not sell this monumental film.

So I suggest that you go to your local video store and just slip it under your coat, make sure you dust it off first, I am very sure they won't notice. Good Luck and remember to train, say your prayers and drink beer

Ah 1989: we were coming to the end of the "go-go 80's" Reagan had been booted from office by term limits Rescue 911 debuted the slasher flick genre was winding down and WWF (now know as WWE) was the undisputed king of televised pro wrestling in most of north America.

Anyone who was a child during the 80's and early 90's knows how popular Hulk Hogan was but did he really need this seventeenth rate vanity project.

While he was WWF champion on and off (mostly on) for eight years feuding with such legends as Andre The Giant Randy Savage "Rowdy" Roddy Piper and many other mainstays of 1980's WWF his popularity and ability to draw huge money was undisputed then Vince McMahon decided that it would be a good idea to make No Holds Barred as a way to further Hulk Hogans career popularity and wring just a little more money out of the cash cow that was Hulkamanina.

Unfortunately this decision would backfire even further when after the release of this movie they actually brought "Zeus" (AKA Tommy Lister) into the WWF for cross promotion purposes in the form of a "real life feud' between Hogan and the movie villain Zeus which had it not failed so spectacularly (it died a quick death very shortly after Survivor Series 89) would have most likely led to a Zeus VS Hogan match at Wrestlemania 6 which supposedly would have been billed as "No Holds Barred-The Final Showdown" or some other silly name.

The movie itself is pure 80's schlock at its worst with hammy over and underacting (especially from Hogan and Lister) hideous writing exceptionally low production qualities (which is not a surprise considering they had a reported budget of between $8-9.000.000).

I saw this in theaters when I was seven years old and I thought it was stupid then, unfortunately after more than twenty years it hasn't gotten any better and probably never will.

A success, a brilliant success. The only movie to inspire a Green Day album. This Hulk Hogan classic tells the story of Jesus Christ's fight against the Romans in this modern day battle. Instead of the battle field taking place in the days of old and our hero getting crucified, the battle is in a bar and our Hulk gets Zuesified. Jesus (aka Rip) lashes out the same way 2000 years later...with raw muscle power and brute force. Could Jesus be locked in a car by a bladder deficient limo driver...NO...either could the Hulkster. Hulkamania lives on, and rises again every Easter.

Simply stated, worship the Hulkster, or chances are you will suffer eternal damnation. This movie is a quality family flick that should be watched religiously every Sunday. The Creator may have rested on the 7th day, but on the 8th he made No Holds Barred.