Wake of Death (2004)

After his wife is brutally murdered, club enforcer Ben Archer 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 Fridjhon	...	Max (as Anthony Fridjohn)
Danny Keogh	...	Mac Hoggins
Pierre Marais	...	Nicholas Archer
Warrick Grier	...	Da Costa
Tom Wu	...	Andy Wang
Jacqueline Chan	...	Mamma Li (as Jacqui Chan)
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 of a nude woman | murder | immigrant | brothel | drill | 

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Taglines:

Revenge is all he has left.

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | 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 [France]

Country:

UK France Germany Spain South Africa

Language:

Cantonese French English

Release Date:

19 January 2005 (France)

Also Known As:

After Death

Filming Locations:

Romania

Box Office

Budget:

$14,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$112,381 (Spain), 13 May 2005, Limited Release

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$1,206,134, 15 March 2009

Company Credits

Production Co:

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

Technical Specs

Runtime:

91 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

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

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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

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

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Connections

Referenced in Decker: Sonrise (2017)

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Soundtracks

Vibrato Tempest Blond
Performed by Sagat Guirey
Published by Cutting Edge Music Holdings
Written by Sagat Guirey
Licensed by Sagat Guirey

User Reviews

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