Rating: PG-13
Starring:
Jaime Pressly as Tina Armstrong
Devon Aoki as Kasumi
Holly Valance as Christie Allen
Sarah Carter as Helena Douglas
Natassia Malthe as Ayane
Kane Kosugi as Ryu Hayabusa
Matthew Marsden as Max
Eric Roberts as Donovan
Steve Howey as Weatherby
Brian J. White as Zack
Kevin Nash as Bass Armstrong
Collin Chou as Hayate
Derek Boyer as Bayman
Silvio Simac as Leon
Fang Liu as Gen Fu
Special Features:
“East Meets West” Behind the Action of DOA
Theatrical Trailer
Other Info:
Widescreen (2.35:1)
Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound
French Language
Spanish Subtitles
Running Time: 86 Minutes
Synopsis:
The following is from the DVD description:
“Filled with non-stop action, eye-popping martial arts stunt, and hot, ass-kicking women, ‘DOA: Dead or Alive’ follows a group of super-skilled fighters from across the globe invited to a remote Pacific island to compete for the $10 million title of World’s Best Fighter. Led by pro-wrestler Jaime Pressly (‘My Name Is Earl’) and ninja princess Devon Aoki (‘Sin City’), the finalists must band together to defeat their sinister host. Featuring the high-octane direction of Cory Yuen (‘The Transporter’), ‘DOA: Dead or Alive’ delivers a jaw-dropping, pulse-pounding, heart-stopping finish!”
“DOA: Dead or Alive” is rated PG-13 for pervasive martial arts and action violence, some sexuality and nudity.
Mini-Review:
I’m completely unfamiliar with the video game “DOA,” so I think that made me significantly less forgiving of this film. It came across as a cheap ripoff of “Charlie’s Angels,” “Kill Bill,” “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,” and “Street Fighter.” The plot made very little sense and what little there was seemed like nothing more than an excuse to string random fight scenes together. And those fight scenes were mostly set up to show off the babes’ assets. You want girls fighting in bikinis in the rain? Done. Girls fighting in bikinis on a boat? Done again. Girls playing beach volleyball in bikinis? You got it! Girls fighting topless? Giddy up.
On the plus side, the women were certainly beautiful to look at. No complaints there. It was fun seeing Jaime Pressly kick butt as Tina Armstrong. I enjoy her on “My Name Is Earl,” so this was something completely different. Fortunately they gave her a few comedic moments in this film with her wrestler Dad, too. I was also impressed with Holly Valance as Christie Allen. Like all the other women, she was drop dead gorgeous and handled the action well. I’d like to see her in a better movie.
Unless you’re a major fan of the video game or any of the lead actresses, I recommend you skip this movie. And if you just want to see babes and fight scenes, go buy a Maxim magazine and watch “Kill Bill” again.
This movie was buried upon its theatrical release and it shows in the bonus features. You get one brief “making of” featurette and that’s about it. You do certainly appreciate all the work that they put into the wire work and fight scenes, though. The girls should definitely be proud of that.
