Nobody will ever wonder why Billy Blanks or Jalal Merhi never received any acting awards (hell, they are quite poor even at delivering the kind of sarcastic one-liners that Arnie excels at), but they can both fight for real, and "Expect No Mercy" gives them plenty of opportunities to show their abilities. And the good news is, they're going against guys who can fight as well: the highlight of the film may be the fight between Billy Blanks and his equally impressive real-life brother Michael. The "virtual-reality martial arts training academy used as a front for an assassination business" is a fairly unusual concept, and the graphics are what you'd expect from a low-budget 1995 DTV movie. Laurie Holden is beautiful and feisty, though not feisty enough to avoid the "damsel-in-distress" role at the end, as even the (overacting) No. 1 villain Wolf Larson points out. The music score is effective. All in all, if you're looking for lots of martial arts action, this film is just what the doctor ordered. **1/2 out of 4.
Review of Expect No Mercy
