Wake of Death (2004)

User Rating:

5.5/10   

Director:

Philippe Martinez

Writers:

Mick Davis (writer)
Laurent Fellous (writer)

Release Date:

19 January 2005 (France)

Genre:

Action | Adventure

Tagline:

Revenge is all he has left.

Plot:

After his wife is brutally murdered, an ex-cop wages war against the Chinese triads.

Plot Keywords:

Murder | Drill | Torture | Revenge | Female Frontal Nudity

Cast

Jean-Claude Van Damme	...	Ben Archer
Simon Yam	...	Sun Quan
Philip Tan	...	Han
Valerie Tian	...	Kim
Tony Schiena	...	Tony
Claude Hernandez	...	Raymond
Lisa King	...	Cynthia Archer
Anthony Fridjohn	...	Max
Danny Keogh	...	Mac Hoggins
Pierre Marais	...	Nicholas Archer
Warrick Grier	...	Da Costa
Tom Wu	...	Andy Wang
Jacqui Chan	...	Mamma Li
Burt Kwouk	...	Tommy Li
Joon Chong	...	Kim's Mother

Also Known As:

After Death (USA) (working title)
L'empreinte de la mort (France)

MPAA:

Rated R for strong violence, language and sexuality.

Runtime:

86 min | USA:90 min

Country:

UK | Germany | France | South Africa

Language:

Cantonese | French | English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Germany:18 (cut) | Germany:18 (JK/SPIO) (cut) | UK:18 | France:-12 | Argentina:16 | Brazil:16 | South Korea:15 | Hong Kong:III | Netherlands:16 | Australia:R | Canada:18A (Ontario) | Japan:R-15 | Norway:18 | Singapore:M18 | USA:R | Finland:K-18 | Germany:BPjM Restricted

Filming Locations:

Cape Town, South Africa

Company:

Bauer Martinez Studios

Trivia:

Ringo Lam was the original director but he left the project after a few weeks of filming in Canada.

Goofs:

Continuity: During the motorbikes chase, in the mall part. Ben Archer's bike switch from Supermoto to Motocross when he jumps to the first floor from a ramp, then switch back to Supermoto for the rest of the chase.

Quotes:

Sun Quan: The only thing you postpone in life... is death.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Making of 'Wake of Death' (2004) (V)

Soundtrack:

Crushed

The Comeback starts here!

I am a huge movie buff, and have enjoyed IMDb.com for years. This is the first time i have bothered to register to voice my opinions- and it is with good reason. I am a huge Van Damme fan, but i am also a realist. His last few films have not been great - particularly Derailed & Knock Off. However credit to Jean Claude for TRYING to do other things such as IN HELL and WAKE OF DEATH. Unlike his co-action hero's Steven Seagal who can't even be bothered hanging around to loop his on voice on his movies- VAN DAMME is making a comeback.

This film marks a great, stylish, action movie- driven by revenge in a yakuza environment. It reminded me of early John Woo movies, Seagal's Hard to Kill and early dirty harry films. JCVD's acting is only getting better with age, the action is short,sharp & powerful. Bloodsoaked action scenes & being hardcore (women shot in the head/guy is shot in head by shotgun) shows this is ANYTHING but "standard/watered down/pg action" that is all to common today. Do yourself a favour and SEE IT THEN OWN IT! If you are a JCVD fan & have been disappointed by his recent films, give this one a go- you will enjoy. Cheers, Dan