Reading reviews on IMDB, I felt it was important to correct the record. "No Tomorrow" is a good looking 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 not all appearing for long ... This is an exercise in pure cinema, about cinema itself and a joy to watch go through the well-worn platonic forms. 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, Coffee Brown 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 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 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. 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 becuase 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.
Yes, No Tomorrow literally takes a few action scenes from existing films and splices them in .. 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. Thats 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 the 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. 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. If you didn't realise this film had recycled footage, you would just view it as a slick, entertaining product, which was surprising to see having premiered 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.
