Game of Death

Description

Wesley Snipes stars in the straight-to-DVD action thriller Game of Death, which is not a bad thing--such fast-and-cheap flicks are the B movies of our time, and B movies have held up surprisingly well. Game of Death starts with a needless framing device, but once the main story gets underway--which can basically be described as Die Hard in a hospital, followed by Die Hard in a bank--the movie zips along, with lean efficient action (Snipes has a casual, almost lazy authority in his fight scenes) and odd but cheesily entertaining tangents, such as when Snipes gets briefly trapped in the hospital's psych ward. A few offbeat details (Snipes's character is diabetic) and some energetic performances (Quinn Duffy, as a corrupt executive, chews the scenery with particular relish) give the movie unexpected flavor. Don't have high expectations; Game of Death doesn't have the budget for spectacle. But if some straightforward and surprisingly coherent action entertainment is what you're looking for, this might hit the spot. --Bret Fetzer