'GAME OF DEATH': Three Stars (Out of Five)
Another direct to video Wesley Snipes action film (although it was released theatrically in Japan last November, 2010). In this one Snipes plays a CIA agent who's double crossed by his team on assignment in Detroit. Most of the action takes place in a hospital where Snipes dukes it out with a team of crooked CIA assailants. The film co-stars Zoe Bell, Robert Davi, Ernie Hudson and Gary Daniels (who also played one of the main evil goons in 'THE EXPENDABLES'). It was directed by Giorgio Serafini and written by Jim Agnew and Megan Brown. The film is pretty standard direct to video action fare for the most part but it does have some pretty well done fight scenes and is slightly more entertaining than most, I'd say.
The bulk of the film is played out in movie flashbacks as CIA agent Marcus Jones (Snipes) explains the events of his last assignment to a Catholic priest (Hudson) in a church one afternoon. Jones tells how he was posing as the body guard for an arms dealer named Frank Smith (Davi) when his former CIA team double crossed him and his mentor in an attempt to steal $100,000,000 from Smith and his partner John Redvale (Quinn Duffy). They attack Jones and Smith in the car they're traveling in when Smith has a heart attack and Jones takes him to a nearby hospital. The crooked CIA agents then ascend on the hospital in attempt to capture Smith when Jones takes them on one by one.
The film is somewhat predictable and pretty routine. The directing is stylized and kind of cool at times but not so impressive at others. The martial arts fight scenes are all well done though and Snipes once again makes a cool 'badass' action hero. Hopefully he can get back to doing some more A list work when he gets out of prison in three years (for tax evasion) but these B action films aren't a bad way for him to show his skills either. They definitely make him and other comparable action stars decent money so you can't feel too sorry for Mr. Snipes paying his dues for trying to rip everyone off. Daniels and Bell are good action movie villains as well and the movie as a whole is just about what you'd expect from something like this. Like I said the film is about average, I'd say it's a little better than the usual but not much.
Watch our review show 'MOVIE TALK' at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YU_O9yN8W_E
Another direct to video Wesley Snipes action film (although it was released theatrically in Japan last November, 2010). In this one Snipes plays a CIA agent who's double crossed by his team on assignment in Detroit. Most of the action takes place in a hospital where Snipes dukes it out with a team of crooked CIA assailants. The film co-stars Zoe Bell, Robert Davi, Ernie Hudson and Gary Daniels (who also played one of the main evil goons in 'THE EXPENDABLES'). It was directed by Giorgio Serafini and written by Jim Agnew and Megan Brown. The film is pretty standard direct to video action fare for the most part but it does have some pretty well done fight scenes and is slightly more entertaining than most, I'd say.
The bulk of the film is played out in movie flashbacks as CIA agent Marcus Jones (Snipes) explains the events of his last assignment to a Catholic priest (Hudson) in a church one afternoon. Jones tells how he was posing as the body guard for an arms dealer named Frank Smith (Davi) when his former CIA team double crossed him and his mentor in an attempt to steal $100,000,000 from Smith and his partner John Redvale (Quinn Duffy). They attack Jones and Smith in the car they're traveling in when Smith has a heart attack and Jones takes him to a nearby hospital. The crooked CIA agents then ascend on the hospital in attempt to capture Smith when Jones takes them on one by one.
The film is somewhat predictable and pretty routine. The directing is stylized and kind of cool at times but not so impressive at others. The martial arts fight scenes are all well done though and Snipes once again makes a cool 'badass' action hero. Hopefully he can get back to doing some more A list work when he gets out of prison in three years (for tax evasion) but these B action films aren't a bad way for him to show his skills either. They definitely make him and other comparable action stars decent money so you can't feel too sorry for Mr. Snipes paying his dues for trying to rip everyone off. Daniels and Bell are good action movie villains as well and the movie as a whole is just about what you'd expect from something like this. Like I said the film is about average, I'd say it's a little better than the usual but not much.
Watch our review show 'MOVIE TALK' at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YU_O9yN8W_E