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

Mac Hoggins: [tied to a chair] What the fuck is this? I mean, what the fuck do you want?
Ben Archer: [calmly] Who killed my wife?
[he remains silent]
Ben Archer: Who's Sun Quan?... Who killed my wife?... Who's Sun Quan? Where is he?

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Alternate Versions

In Germany the uncut version didn't get a rating/approval at all (both rating/approval boards thought the film might violate §131, glorification of violence). Therefore the rental version is cut by 81 sec. with a JK/SPIO approval, while the retail version is cut even more (ca. 4 minutes) with a "Not under 18" rating from the FSK. The Dutch DVD also features this same cut version.

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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

Classy action-noir

I have always wanted Van Damme in a french style action-noir movie, like the old Alain Delon movies, I was very pleased when I saw Philippe Martinez mix Jean-Pierre Melville classic anti-hero lead with "MTV" camera work. It works perfectly. Van Damme makes his best performance to date, he really acts. The guy have taken some great amount of heat in his past due to his accent. This time around you can't blame or bash Jean-Claude for being stiff. The action scenes are suitable to the story, the fights are short and bloody. No need for fancy 360 kicks, a punch to the jaw and empty the clip in the chest. Classy. The cinematography is one of the best I have seen in a action movie, within this budget, and that is all thanks to the work by Emmanuel Kadosh. The music works really good for the emotional scenes and the sound is clear and top notch.