DEAD OR ALIVE

[Tuukka]

Director:Corey Yuen

Writers: J.F. Lawton and Adam Gross (Based on a video game)

Jaime Pressly ... Tina Armstrong
Devon Aoki ... Kasumi
Holly Valance ... Christie Allen
Sarah Carter ... Helena Douglas
Natassia Malthe ... Ayane
Kane Kosugi ... Ryu Hayabusa
Matthew Marsden ... Max
Eric Roberts ... Donovan

PG-13, 87 min.

http://www.harshj.com/wp-content/uploads/2006/11/doaposter1.jpg

[Tuukka]

MY REVIEW:

Belive it or not, but this is actually a pretty good, dumb popcorn fun. The film is short, moves at a fast pace, has plenty of action, and the girls are hot and likeable.

In the marketing I thought that all the girls looked really generic, except for Aoki. But in the fact they come off as very different to each other, and charming in a goofy kind of way. And they all wear very skimply outfits throughout the flick, and kick plenty of ass. Even Jaime Pressly, who I don't normally care for at all, is fun and charming in this flick.

The only exception is Devon Aoki, who lacks looks, talent and screen presence. She worked well in Sin City, because the role didn't require her to talk or emote. Her complete lack of charm and acting ability is painfully obvious in this film. All the other girls are much better. Aoki is obviously someone who is going to disappear into obscurity in a couple of years. She has NOTHING going on for her, except for mildly exotic face and a nice body.

The fact that she gets roles is even more weird, since there are so many gorgeous, talented asian actresses, who are trained in martial arts and who can act better in english than Aoki can. And yet Hollywood is not calling them. Go figure.

Anyway, the film has a LOT of action. Like maybe half of the 1 hour 15 minute running time (without the credits). The action is nothing special, but it's fun and well coreographed - especially if you consider that none of these girls know martial arts for real.

It's also 100% goofy from beginning to the end, and has plenty of chuckles to offer.

All in all this movie is the less smart, less funny, less stylish, less ambitious little sister of the Charlie's Angels movies. If you dislike those, you will probably hate this. But myself, I really really enjoy the goofy fun that CA movies offer, and also liked this one, even if less so. I have watched both CA movies twice, I don't think I will watch this again. But it's a good way to kill 80 minutes.

6/10

[NuclearMisfit]

Did they release this movie along long time ago? I swore I seen it before.

[Cronos]

very bad film, shitty acting, laughable script and poor direction to boot...theres also some really shoddy effects from what i remember

3/10

[Tuukka]

Originally posted by NuclearMisfit
Did they release this movie along long time ago? I swore I seen it before.

It opened this weekend in USA, but it has been out for almost a year in the rest of the world.

[Quigles]

This movie was so awesomely bad. I LOVED IT.

It's got to be one of the cheesiest, most awful fighting movies ever... but it's equally as entertaining. Think of it as a mix of MORTAL KOMBAT and CHARLIE'S ANGELS. (If you didn't like those, you'll hate this.)

I mean, c'mon... You got babes in skimpy clothes, crazy sword fights, hilariously awful dialogue, ridiculously over-the-top hand-to-hand combat, a gratuitous volleyball scene, dorky & cartoonish characters, and lots o' crazy martial arts... WHAT MORE COULD YOU ASK FOR IN A DOA MOVIE?

Easily one of the best "so bad it's good" movies ever made.

[Tuukka]

Originally posted by Quigles
This movie was so awesomely bad. I LOVED IT.

It's got to be one of the cheesiest, most awful fighting movies ever... but it's equally as entertaining. Think of it as a mix of MORTAL KOMBAT and CHARLIE'S ANGELS. (If you didn't like those, you'll hate this.)

I mean, c'mon... You got babes in skimpy clothes, crazy sword fights, hilariously awful dialogue, ridiculously over-the-top hand-to-hand combat, a gratuitous volleyball scene, dorky & cartoonish characters, and lots o' crazy martial arts... WHAT MORE COULD YOU ASK FOR IN A DOA MOVIE?

Easily one of the best "so bad it's good" movies ever made.

That pretty much sums up how I felt as well.

[God of War]

One of the worst movies I have ever seen. Not even the girls in it could save it from my 2/10 rating :D And for anyone whos hasn't played the game series of the same name. Do yourself a favour and play it. It's fun!

[XCoRyX]

Saw it before - and its an awesomely fun cheesy time.

Really enjoyed it due to my love for bad/cheesy flicks.

If it was playing around me i'd see it again.

[jbar1026]

I saw the trailer and said to myself wtf are they kidding how do you make a movie look worse than the original streetfighter movie in a 30 sec trailer. they would have to pay me to watch this.

if i had a game that sold millions of copies. i think i would treat it better in movie form by tring to make a film people would watch again and again not just cash in for a quick buck.

just my two cents
doa trailer 1/10

[XCoRyX]

you can't exactly get the godfather out of a game like DOA.

[Tuukka]

Originally posted by XCoRyX
you can't exactly get the godfather out of a game like DOA.

That's pretty much what I thought as well. If someone wants to make a loyal adaptation of DOA game, it NEEDS to have bad writing, bad acting, bad dialogue, etc. Because that's how the game was.

[jbar1026]

or they could take the primise and hire a good wrighter and then director.
one strong actor for the lead and then just some ok actores for support .

look at mortal kombat 1 good movie based on a game
then at mortal kombat 2 shit on a stick

could 2 have been as good as 1 hell yes! but something was lost between 1 and 2 imo a good script

sorry i cant beleive that just because the movie is based on a game it has to be bad. they can and should have made at least a decent movie.

[Tuukka]

Originally posted by jbar1026
or they could take the primise and hire a good wrighter and then director.
one strong actor for the lead and then just some ok actores for support .

look at mortal kombat 1 good movie based on a game
then at mortal kombat 2 shit on a stick

could 2 have been as good as 1 hell yes! but something was lost between 1 and 2 imo a good script

sorry i cant beleive that just because the movie is based on a game it has to be bad. they can and should have made at least a decent movie.

But if they write a good script and have good actors, the movie isn't loyal to the game anymore, because the game had a crappy script and crappy acting.

People always bitch that movies based on videogames are not loyal enough.

[jbar1026]

thats when things change from good to bad not vice versa

another example is street fighter the movie and street fighter the animated movie both movies are based on the same thing however only one of them sucked balls

resident evil not the best movie but it is good if it had the bad acting of the original game no one would have liked it

no one complains when movies are good

there not a "so good it sucked" catagory

[Iacon5]

the entire movie was on Google video for months a while back.
it was great in the "so bad it's good" sense but i cant imagine paying money to see it.

[Mr.HyDe807]

Damn, i was reading the plot synopsis in the news, and holy crap, most of it sounds like a bit of it was taxed off the film version of Mortal Kombat.

PErson looking for their brother's killer? Check

Person wo comes to the tournament to show that she isnt a fake? Check

Then again, Mortal Komabt couldve taxed the same thing from another movie. Its a vicious circle:D

[Ron34]

if DOA has an NC-17 rating, ill be sooo there!

[Vash_4_Prez]

Originally posted by Ron34
if DOA has an NC-17 rating, ill be sooo there! Its not, I think its PG-13. Its one movie, on a list of probably one movie, that would have actually been better had Uwe Boll directed it. Before you stone me, remember: he had nudity in House of the Dead, and we all know we'd love to see nudity from the chicks in DOA.

[Superplasmatron]

Originally posted by NuclearMisfit
Did they release this movie along long time ago? I swore I seen it before. yeah they did, not only that but its a piece of shit

[Badbird]

Wow. It dropped 91% in its second week!

Box Office Guru (http://www.boxofficeguru.com/weekend20.htm)

Scroll down to "below the top ten."

And am I the only one who thinks it's stupid that the name of the movie is basically: Dead or Alive: Dead or Alive?

[Moviefan02000]

It wasn't awful but it wasn't exactly good. The first hour was so bad that it was non-stop fun, after the first hour and when the movie actually took a serious tone, the movie falls to pieces. Still, not an awful way to waste an hour and a half.

5/10 ( C )

[Bourne101]

This looks terrible. There are plenty of other GOOD movies out there with hot chicks whoopin' ass.