No Mercy (1986)

15% of critics liked it
(13 reviews)
32% of users liked it
(3,721 ratings)

High-powered gangsters move this crime drama along at a fast pace. When two cops, Eddie Jillette (Richard Gere) and Joe Collins (Gary Basaraba), hear about a contract out on local crime boss Losado (Jeroen Krabbe), they go undercover posing as hitmen, and the result is murder. Collins and the man… More High-powered gangsters move this crime drama along at a fast pace. When two cops, Eddie Jillette (Richard Gere) and Joe Collins (Gary Basaraba), hear about a contract out on local crime boss Losado (Jeroen Krabbe), they go undercover posing as hitmen, and the result is murder. Collins and the man who hired them, Paul Deveneux (Terry Kinney) are killed, and Jillette goes looking for the assassin. He ends up in New Orleans where he locates Michel Duval (Kim Basinger), the girlfriend of Deveneux now virtually held a prisoner by Losado. Jillette has his work cut out for him. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: R, 1 hr. 48 min.
Directed By: Richard Pearce
Genres: Drama, Action & Adventure, Mystery & Suspense

In Theaters: Dec 19, 1986 Wide
On DVD: Mar 6, 2001
Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment

Critic Reviews

Janet Maslin, New York Times
A passionate film noir that depends heavily upon Mr. Gere to give it credence, and Mr. Gere delivers.
Paul Attanasio, Washington Post
Count me among those who would be happy never to see another starring role for Gere, except maybe as Felix in a remake of The Odd Couple.
Rita Kempley, Washington Post
A standard-issue cop thriller that amounts to Beverly Hills Cop in a bad mood.
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
An above-average film noir, and its creepy feeling for the back streets of New Orleans and the sultry evil of its red-light suburbs got under my skin.
Pat Graham, Chicago Reader
Pearce pads out his plot with lots of borrowed bits ... but the borrowings don't have any resonance of their own: they simply hang on the story like empty thematic husks.
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat, Spirituality and Practice
Not even the goings-on between Gere and Basinger and the horrific happenings in the exotic bayou settings can rev up this romantic thriller.
Beth Accomando, KPBS.org
Gere and Basinger fizzle rather than sizzle in this lame Bayou thriller.

Read all 7 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

Cassandra M

On the surface, this film, which I like, is like dozens of other revenge-the-death-of-a-cop-partner stories. But the saving grace of the movie is the characters, and some of the dialogue. Spoilers in the following Eddie Jilette is a tough cop. A tough Chicago cop. But what… More
On the surface, this film, which I like, is like dozens of other revenge-the-death-of-a-cop-partner stories. But the saving grace of the movie is the characters, and some of the dialogue. Spoilers in the following Eddie Jilette is a tough cop. A tough Chicago cop. But what distinguishes the film that his Captain is tougher and nastier. In a later scene in the film, the captain and Eddie are in an airport where, in the Men's washroom, after making sure that they're alone, the captain gives Eddie a weapon to kill the villain, and expects him to use it. In most such films, a tough cop usually has a captain who's either a politician or a wimp. How refreshing! The film also has a nice touch. Eddie rents all the rooms of a hotel in Algiers. The only inhabitants were the clerk and a cat. Eddie tells the clerk to beat it, because he's expecting a showdown battle there. Shortly before the battle commences, we see the cat leave the building. One I've watched several times and one that's in my library.
Dean M

Exciting action-thriller of a Chicago policeman (Richard Gere) heads for Louisiana to track down his partner's killer. There he falls in love with an illiterate Cajun beauty (Kim Basinger). Basinger pouts, Gere smoulders, the bayous steam.

Cast

            Richard Gere as Eddie Jillette

            Kim Basinger as Michel Duval

            Jeroen Krabbé as Losado

            George Dzundza as Capt. Stemkowski

            Gary Basaraba as Joe Collins

            William Atherton as Allan Deveneux

            Terry Kinney as Paul Deveneux

            Bruce McGill as Lt. Hall

            Ray Sharkey as Angles Ryan

            Marita Geraghty as Alice Collins

            Aleta Mitchell as Cara

            Mike Bacarella as Driver

            Kim Chan as Old Asian Man

            Caris Corfman as Waitress

            George Dickerson as Reblue

            Charles S. Dutton as Sgt. Sandy

            Victoria Edwards as Bernice

            Annalee Jefferies as Susan

            Pearl Jones as Blind Woman

            Leon Rippy as Man #2

            Thomas Rosales Jr. as Man #4

            Raynor Scheine as Curtis

            John Snyder as Miles

            Bill Hart as Man #3

            Carl Gordon as Lawrence

            John Schluter as Policeman

            Ray Brown as Benny Blue

            Harold Evans as Security Guard
See full cast