Next up and continuing a sort of phase of watching DTV action film, I decided to pick up a copy of Wesley Snipes new film, Game Of Death...
!!!!!!!!!!WARNING! SPOILER ALERT!!!!!!!!!!
I have to admit, I am quite a fan of Wesley Snipes and have been since i first saw White Men Can't Jump, which strangely enough i have yet to own on dvd. From watching WMCJ i would never have thought that Snipes was a martial arts expert and a pretty good one too. Blade showcased his skills as did Demolition man but for an actor who's name has been attached to some big name films and has a star on Hollywood's walk of fame, why does he constantly churn out DTV action films?...but sometimes you come across a film that shows that not all cheap euro lensed films are rubbish and Game Of Death was one of them.
The Plot:
Snipes plays Marcus, a CIA spy who's latest assignment is to infiltrate the corporation of Frank Smith, an arms dealer and eventually take him out. Aided by his long standing team, Zander and Floria, the mission is put into action. But Zander has had enough and six months into the mission, He decides to turn the tables on Marcus with the help of Floria and take $100,000,000 of Smith's (Robert Davi) money. After Smith suffers a heart attack on the way to a meeting, they are diverted to a near by hospital, something Marcus didn't plan on and that's where Zander's plan is put into action where Marcus is framed for murder. Now Marcus has to survive an all out assault by a ruthless team of assassins and clear his name.
The Cast:
Wesley Snipes As Marcus
Snipes is at his bad ass best her, Suited and Booted and given a chance to act a bit more than usual. The Character of Marcus is very familiar to viewers as we've all seen this kind of character before, the dedicated to his work, doing it for the greater good and when his partners decided to turn it's up to him to take them down, but Snipes puts a good spin on this character, he makes him slightly more real and less like the walking war machines that dominate DTV action films. Still not a big enough film for Snipes' talents but it's always great to see him do something.
Gary Daniels As Zander
A lot of people may not be aware of Gary Daniels, a British actor and Martial Artist who has 55 films under his belt from BloodFist IV and City Hunter to Stallone's recent big budget actioner The Expendables and working as Stunt Co-ordinator on Black Dynamite, Daniels may not be the best actor in the world but he's fun to watch and has some great fight skills. The character of Zander is shown as a cold unsympathetic killer who will remove any witnesses he wants and has no remorse. Daniels is pretty good and he seems to be having fun with the role. He has a great roof top face off with snipes at the end too.
Zoe Bell as Floria
Primarily a Stunt woman, Bell has only recently come to the forefront of movies due to a role she had in Quentin Tarantino's Death Proof but since then has proved to be an excellent addition to the action genre. It's also pretty handy to have a stunt woman in the film as she's used to physicality of action cinema. Here she's lost her Aussie accent and does a pretty spot on American one too.
Robert Davi As Smith
Robert Davi is a legend of action cinema, He was Agent Johnson in Die Hard to his role as Franz Sanchez in the Bond film Licence To Kill and even a guest role in Stargate: Atlantis in six episodes, Here he spends most of the film sat down as he's supposed to have just had a heart attack, Davi out acts everyone in the film and is great to see.
The Direction:
The direction of Game Of Death is handled well by Giorgio Serafini, the tight corridor action pieces in the hospital look good and some shots of Detroit look great. My only problem with the look of the film is that again like most DTV films it has this washed out look to it, which drains all of the colour out and there were some seriously bad editing choices as though the editor had just installed a new effects package onto his pc, they were un-necessary.
My Final Verdict:
By no means a flawless film, Game Of Death is however a fun way to spend 95 minutes and while some of the editing and the acting is questionable, Snipes is still a good action performer and the use of only 2 locations for the best part of the film is a good idea. I just wish they would loose the washed out look that is so prevalent in films produced by Phillipe Martinez. So if you want a beer friendly film with a non taxing plot and well handled action, then there are worse films than this.
My Score:
FILM: 6/10
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