Wake of Death (2004)

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

Director:

Philippe Martinez

Writers:

Mick Davis, Laurent Fellous,

Stars:

Jean-Claude Van Damme, Simon Yam, Philip Tan

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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

Storyline

Ben Archer is a thug/enforcer for a criminal organization. Tiring of the work, he tells his coworkers that he's ready to retire. His wife Cynthia is a social worker for the INS. She brings a Chinese refugee girl to their home. Soon, Sun Quan wants his daughter back. Cynthia Archer is murdered, and Ben's son Nicholas disappears, along with the Chinese girl. Ben must save the children and avenge his wife's murder.

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Plot Keywords:

murder | immigrant | brothel | drill | revenge | 

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Taglines:

Revenge is all he has left.

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Genres:

Action | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong violence, language and sexuality

Details

Official Sites:

Bauer Martinez Studios Limelight Distribution [fr]

Country:

UK Germany France South Africa

Language:

Cantonese French English

Release Date:

19 January 2005 (France)

Also Known As:

After Death

Filming Locations:

Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa

Box Office

Budget:

$14,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Bauer Martinez Studios, UKFS, Frame Werk Produktion GmbH & Co. KG

Technical Specs

Runtime:

91 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

After Ringo Lam left the project, Cess Silvera was brought in to direct, but was fired after two weeks of filming in Cape Town, South Africa.

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Goofs

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.

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Quotes

Ben Archer: [while interrogating and torchuring Hoggins] Hey Tony, I think he wants to call the police
Tony: [Sarcastically] Give him a fucking quarter then

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Connections

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

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Soundtracks

"Sirens"
Composed by Paul Clarke and Tam Nightingale
Published by Campbell Connelly and Co Ltd
Recorded by Paul Clarke and Tam Nightingale
Courtesy of Nightingale Music

User Reviews

Very Well Done Action Revenge Flick..Good Performance by Van Damme.

This is not your average Van Damme flick. Its also not your average action/revenge movie either. There's no doubt that this is a huge step up for Van Damme. His acting is very impressive, in my opinion his best work yet and he is still in great shape and can perform the kicks, no problem. The story is simple but it gives more to you then it should. We get to see Van Damme's character completely break down, and for this you feel for him, which makes his revenge just as sweet as it is for him, for you. Aside from Van Damme the rest of the acting is pretty good. There are also some great fight scenes and car/motorcycle chases. Another thing I noticed is that this movie looked like it had a nice budget..100 times better then Derailed and better then In Hell..It was nice to see that Money was being dished out for Van Damme again. Anyway overall I give this a 10 for Van Damme's great performance, the stylish action and the way the story was executed. Van Damme fan or not, try and check this one out.