By Patrick Luce Sep 17, 2007, 11:16 GMT
DOA: Dead or Alive is an entertaining movie filled with lots of eye candy and high wire martial arts. It is easy to enjoy the movie. Just shut the brain off and look at all the really hot women doing their best Bruce Lee impersonations. With that said, the movie has some problems (mostly in the less than stellar acting) and the plot is extremely cliché (but it is based on a video game).
DOA: Dead or Alive is based on the best selling “Dead or Alive” videogame franchise where the women “have the looks…that kill.” The film version of the game was directed by Corey Yuen (The Transporter) and written by J.F. Lawton, Adam Gross, and Seth Gross.
It stars Jaime Pressly ("My Name is Earl"), Holly Valance ("Prison Break"), Devon Aoki (Sin City), Sarah Carter (Skinwalkers), Natassia Malthe (Skinwalkers), Kane Kosugi (War), Eric Roberts (“Heroes”), Kevin Nash (The Punisher), and Matthew Marsden (Resident Evil: Extinction).
DOA’s plot is pretty straight forward – hot women dressed in skimpy outfits doing high wire martial arts with some laughs thrown in for fun. I am not too familiar with the video game franchise, but the filmmakers said they worked hard to keep some aspects of the game in the movie (such as the way the characters looked and an impromptu beach volleyball game). However, some aspects of the story were changed to fit the big screen.
Basically, the film focuses on Tina (Pressly), Christie (Valance), Kasumi (Aoki) and Helena (Carter) – the four main characters who each receive an invitation to take part in an illegal martial arts competition (think Enter the Dragon or even Bloodsport). The competition’s prize is ten-million-dollars and the right to claim you have beaten some of the toughest fighters on the planet.
Of course, there is more to the competition thanks to bad guy Donovan (Roberts) – who hosts the event. He injects all the fighters with nanos to gain their skills in a computer download program (which requires him to sport some really bad looking sunshades). Naturally, the girls stumble upon this mystery “Scooby Doo style” and the final showdown between a nano-powdered Roberts and the women is set into motion.
Along the way, the movie also has some pretty decent comedy thrown in thanks to Pressly (who really seems comfortable in the role), and Nash (who plays her father Bass Armstrong). I wish Nash could have had a larger role because he added a lot of laughs by constantly walking in on his daughter at the wrong time.
Along with the eye candy provided by the film’s very hot women, DOA also offers some pretty decent high wire martial arts. The fight choreography is fast-paced, and for the most part pretty natural looking. Pressly, Valance, and Aoki seem believable in the fighting sequences, and help sell the high wire stunts.
The action isn’t enough to help the movie overcome some of its faults (which are mostly due to acting; the story being so cliché; and the PG-13 rating), but it keeps the film entertaining.
The DVD is a little light on special features – consisting of just a behind the scenes look at the making of the movie. It is interesting and has interviews with pretty much everyone involved in the film.
They discuss how the movie differs from the game, and the lengths they went through to get the some aspects of the game into the film (such as the look of the characters and the tournament’s setting).
Overall, DOA: Dead or Alive wasn’t as bad as I expected it to be, and is entertaining as long as you know what you are getting. It is one of those films that just require you to turn the brain off and enjoy the ride.
I would recommend it if you are a fan of video game based movies or want something that requires zero thought to watch. Just turn the DVD on and look at all the hot women kicking serious ass.
DOA: Dead or Alive is now available at Amazon and AmazonUK. Visit the DVD database for more information.
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