User reviews

Mind you, it's not supposed to be, but it is. As a wee tot, I watched this movie in the theatre (Being a huge wrestling and Hulk Hogan fan). All I remember from the night is we were the only ones in the theater, and that I didn't really like it very much. I blacked the rest out, and for good reason.

A poor film on par with the greats like "Gymkata" and "The Pumaman," "No Holds Barred" is a movie set in the high stakes world of pro wrestling. Well maybe the stakes aren't all that high...and quite frankly I feel dirty just calling these people "professionals" at anything. And really, except for the first scene, there's no wrestling to speak of. So I guess movie is about the marginally low stakes world of amateurish beating-the-c***-out-of-people. Sounds good, right?

Hulk Hogan plays Rip, the champion of the WWF (Never let it be said that Hulk Hogan was typecast, this and movies like Thunder in Paradise showed how he challenged himself with deep roles that really pushed the limits of his talents). Essentially he's playing himself, but with a wardrobe that's more black and blue than the Hulkster's red and yellow. He also has this hand gesture he does. It's kinda like the ozzy devil sign people make at rock concerts, except you stick your thumb in the air, and you curl your index finger in. My friend claimed that it was supposed to look like an "R." Try and see for yourself. If that looks like an "R," well, then, Mars needs women. But anyway.

Kurt Fuller, with his overacting detector obviously on the fritz, plays a TV exec with his slightly homoerotic heart set on getting Rip, who's evidentally bigger than Elvis, on his network. He won't have any of it (And exits the office with a triumphant hand gesture to no one but the camera), and so the movie follows Fuller trying to boost ratings and get back at Rip. He does so when he creates his brilliantly titled "Battle of the Tough Guys." Marketing genius, this guy.

From the numerous hand gestures, to the rather idiotic fight scenes (All played as if wrestling is very real and deadly serious) to the overacting, to the far too frequent shots of Hulk in nothing but undies, this movie has everything you'd ever want in a dumb movie. It's frivolous, not too taxing on the mind, violent, and includes the phrase "What's that smell?" "DOOKIE!" "Dookie?"

A classic for all time.

Hulk Hogan stars as a champion wrestler (A real acting stretch...) named Rip, who is forced to defend his honor, his title and his girlfriend from a greedy corporation that wanted him to sign for their network (Because wrestling sells!) however when Rip declines, the network gets a circuit fighting championship called (and i'm totally serious) "Battle of the tough guys" who's champion Zeus (Played by Tiny Lister Jr) maybe the deadliest man alive. Rip refuses to fight, until his brother is attacked and put in a hospital. No Holds Barred is pretty much what I expected from Vince McMahon production starring the least versatile actor in the action genre (Hogan) it is basically lots of unintentional humor, tons of awkward sequences, a couple okay action sequences and tons of stupidity. In other words it's not unlike wrestling itself, so I give it a fair rating mainly because anyone renting this knows what they're getting. The movie is cheap but well made enough for what it is and really wrestling fans will probably enjoy this. I myself found this to be ultimately hilarious. They're are moments of such absurdity that you only chuckle to yourself. (Such as the way Hogan jumps 20 feet in the air after being stuck in a limo, how he forces a guy to crap himself and of course the way Hogan recites from his cuecard. (I.E:"I'm not going to be around when this check clears!") No Holds Barred is a lot of fun, true, though it's mainly because of how ridiculous it is. Fans of camp should really enjoy this clever clinker.

* * out of 4-(Fair)

Let's face it, "No Holds Barred was a movie made to cash in on the big wave of Hulkamania and for the kids who were fans of Hulk Hogan, it must have been a dream come true. For anyone else, "No Holds Barred" is a painfully stupid watch with plot so unbelievably dumb and requiring such huge amounts of suspension of disbelief to even partly accept it as a reality. It does resemble a movie, but that's almost all it has going for it. To anyone who saw this as a kid, it may be nostalgic, but to any wrestling fans or people looking for a "so bad it's good movie" this is not it. It has a few scenes of that kind which will make you laugh in disbelief, but other than that, it has nothing going for it. Watch only if you are gigantic wrestling/Hulk Hogan fan or don't mind killing your brain cells. 5/10!

it was late one halloween night I had fallen asleep with my TV on and I woke up like 2 in the morning, opened my eyes and this movie was playing. I was a little groggy, but was then awake and couldnt get back to sleep and figured might as well watch this. the thing that surprised me, is, this movie is standard fair as far as fish out of water fighting against incredible odds to win something movies go, but I just LOVED the look of this movie. it was filmed very beaituflly, with some very surreal scenes. such as that rough bar hulk went to and got intoa fight, the look of the bar with the lights shining thru the walls and the colorful look of it really caught my eye. from then on, the strange thing was, while I wasnt incredibly taken with the plot, I thought the film itself, as far as the scenes was really....well........sharp and cool.

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.

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.

Although I'm a huge World Wrestling Federation, Hulk Hogan, wrestling in general & these kind of movie fan (Stallone, Arnold, Van Damme), as an adult I find this movie unacceptable. It really is a pretty bad flick, no acting at all, used to love it when i was 6-7 and maybe I could recommend it to a 6y old, but times are different now and I'm not sure even they would like it. Hulk Hogan is bad, as always, Tiny Lister the same, but Joan Severence eclipsed them all, her 'acting' is something really special. Director Wright is a TV- director and it shows all the way. It is a movie made for a special purpose (wrestling feud), def. fulfilled it's original task and should stay in the late 80's.

I haven't seen this since it came out, so I revisited it on TUBI. It still stinks after all these years. The biggest problem is Hulk Hogan can't act. He's one of the greatest wrestlers of all time, but that doesn't translate to the screen at all. He's painfully bad. His acting is often unintentionally funny. The sign he gives as "Rip" is silly and hackish. His love scenes with Joan Severance are silly, too, mainly due to his bad acting and having no chemistry with Joan on screen.

The supporting players, mainly Kurt Fuller and his 2 associates, are pretty good and are often funny. The scene where all 3 of them enter the dive bar is actually pretty funny and is intended to be so. That one scene is the best in the film. Tiny Lister is pretty ominous as Zeus, Hogan's rival. Joan Severance is gorgeous and deserves to be in a better movie. Despite Hogan's massive popularity in the wrestling world at the time, the film bombed despite massive promotion by WWF/WWE, and now is considered a bad cult classic. Don't bother unless you're a fan of bad movies.

I'm surprised to see this with such a bad rating

OK the acting sucks The Story line isn't the greatest But It is funny. I actually Think this is a good movie for Kids I remember watching this when I was 10 My mate owned this movie. I'm not saying its the best But 3 stars Come-on I gave it 6 out 10 Cause its aim at kids 7 to 13 not adults. It is also very fun to watch.

any way that is my peace, Just think when you vote "would you enjoy this when you were 10 years old." If the answer if yes then

be a bit more generous with your vote If your sure you would think it sucks

fine give it a crap vote

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.

This movie is not supposed to be Oscar worthy. Lets face facts, the script is horrible, the acting terrible, yet anytime this movie is on, I have to watch it. The wrestling is too fake, the one liners are worse, yet, I can't get enough of this film. This movie proves that you can really enjoy a bad movie.

Hulk Hogan does it again a great movie with great acting, directing, and lighting. Hulk Kills people in this movie he electrocutes one guy. Hulk will be in the acting scene for another 50 years i'm sure. Hulk is a hungry young actor in 10 years he will blossom into a rose of an actor. No Holds Barred will take us into the next Millennium.

... in search of the cheesiest "so bad it's good" movie, I've repeatedly laughed at the first fifteen minutes of various films, only to be left disappointed and bored at the end. Not this time!!! My eyes teared up, my belly and my cheeks ached from laughing so hard throughout the movie. Sure, Hulk Hogan is a subpar actor and the plot is utterly predictable, but everyone dives into this movie knowing all this - all anyone wants to see when renting this is Hogan breaking out a can of whoopass, with a bunch of "YEAH BROTHER"s and "WHATCHUGONNADO"s flying from his infamously goateed mouth. And while the Hulkster on the screen pales a bit in comparison to the Hulkster in the ring, seekers of the ultimate cheese will certainly not be disappointed by this backhand gem of a flick. A laugh riot.

In the history of sports movies, there are characters that will stand the test of time: Rocky Balboa, Apollo Creed, Rudy Ruettiger, Daniel LaRusso, and Randy "The Ram" Robinson. All of these pale in comparison to the most well-rounded, charismatic, and fascinating character, Rip Thomas, in Thomas J. Wright's gritty masterpiece, 1989's "No Holds Barred".

This film is a stunning portrayal of a scenario that's all too real in our society: a struggling television network looks to turn their fortunes around by seeking to hire the world's greatest athlete, professional wrestler Rip Thomas, portrayed by classically trained actor Terry "Hulk Hogan" Bollea. Although I'm sure it was a close call for the voting members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, this is a performance that should have easily won an Oscar for one of our most treasured artists.

Not to be outdone, is Tommy "Tiny" Lister, as one of the most quotable characters of the '80s, Zeus, a man struggling with brain damage who's determined to achieve what many believe to be impossible by beating Rip, the Establishment's "Great White Hope".

This movie will leave you wondering which of these heroes you want to cheer for, as we, the audience, have a chance to see all facets of their characters' backgrounds and motivations. You'll find yourself applauding one minute and holding your breath in anticipation the next, as Rip and Zeus battle to reach their ultimate goal of proving why America is the greatest country known to both man and alien lifeforms.

I remember when they made a big deal about this when it was coming out. They showed clips every week on WWF TV and everyone was excited. It debuted opening weekend at number two behind Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. Then it did a nosedive. Critics HATED this film. I don't remember seeing one good review. Everyone agreed it was bad and sometimes grotesque. I didn't know they meant back then but now I do since the movie makes references to gay bars, women getting slapped hard and nearly raped and a disgusting looking bar restroom with overflowing urinals lol. When I was younger, I didnt care for that. It was Hulkamania, brother!!!

Now I find this pretty bad, but still fun to watch once in a while when its paired with Bodyslam (which has a better storyline). First off, Hulk Hogan's acting skills just aren't great. he is one dimensional like the character he plays in the wrestling ring. And actually, Rip and Hulk are not to far off from each other. Kurt Fuller is a good actor, but he is not good at playing the bad guy. He is better at comedy and nervous drama characters. He is just not believable as Brell. There isn't much character development in this film and the ones that suffer are the characters of Randy, Rip's brother and Charlie the trainer (In wrestling its unheard of a trainer escourting a wrestler to the ring lol). Tiny Lister plays Zeus the way its supposed to be played, so there isnt any problem there. Joan Severence is passable and for all you softcore hounds, she does have a lingerie scene lol. By the end, you figure, what's the point?

For this one (as with other wrestling films or films that feature wrestlers as the main star), turn your brain off. You'll enjoy it more if you do.

Its Hulk Hogan. It's an enjoyable movie if you realize its Hulk Hogan playing himself. Love the Hulkster but he can't act. But this is probably his best movie overall. It's basically a Hulk Hogan match played out for a movie. He makes his big comeback and wins in the end. That's why it works. It's the Hulkster. And shout out to Stan Hansen for his role. I was laughing my ass off during his scenes.

One of the all-time great howlers. This was made back in the days when Vince McMahon and pretty much everybody else in wrestling tried their best to keep the "secret" from being revealed. That secret being, of course, that pro wrestling is staged and choreographed. So you had movies like this and a few others from the time that treated it as though it was real. The plot to this is pretty stupid. Hulk Hogan plays a version of himself named Rip, who is the WWF Champion. Kurt Fuller runs a TV network that loses to wrestling in the ratings due to Rip's popularity. So Fuller tries to come up with his own pro wrestling alternative called Battle of the Tough Guys. Seriously. Through a series of ridiculous events that involve a lot of big men grunting and fake-hitting each other, Fuller discovers his own champion: Zeus, a hybrid of Mr. T and Frankenstein's monster. Zeus is played by Tommy "Tiny" Lister, who went on to a long career in everything from A-list theatrical releases to garbage that shows on the SyFy channel at 2am. The rest of the movie is a long wait until the inevitable showdown between Rip and Zeus.

Hogan and Lister are both so awful you can't help but enjoy them. They snarl and growl and carry on like animals marking their territory every time they're face to face. The real star of the movie, though, is Kurt Fuller with one of the most over-the-top performances you'll ever see. He's got more ham in him than Porky Pig. Objectively, it's a terribly-made movie. Its only redeeming quality is that it has some merit as an unintentional comedy. For current fans of professional wrestling, it will all seem pretty dull. The wrestling matches mostly consist of guys clubbing each other with their forearms and posing a lot. For people who grew up with the Hulkster and the old school WWF like me, there's a lot of nostalgic appeal here. Fans of "so bad they're good" movies may also find something to like about this turkey. Many memorably bad scenes and corny lines. One of my favorites is when Hulk starts throwing food at two thugs trying to rob the diner he's eating at while the Hank Williams, Jr. song "All My Rowdy Friends" plays in the background. Movie gold.

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.

Niche AF, and twice as cheesy. Hogan pulls off a less than stellar performance like most of his segments in WWF. That is why you should watch this. If nothing else the dated music and hand gestures make it great. Also, that limo destruction about 14 minutes in, is great.

What's that smell? Dookie? No, it's No Holds Barred.'

This movie is a massive pile of garbage. Just about everything is done wrong. The acting, the directing, the script, the stunts, the silly violence, the blatant parallel to WWF vs NWA, No Holds Barred is a terrible let down. I was a huge fan of Hogan and the WWF, and as a ten year old this movie never interested me. The following Zues storylines were big for a while, but he can't act or wrestle, and Savage carried him as far as he could. Speaking of Savage, he would have been much better as the lead villain in this movie.