I was a little disappointed with 'Wake of Death'. In my humble opinion 'Wake of Death' has a lot of wasted potential. The film could have been so much better, if a little more thought had been given towards the plot's structure and also the film's action scenes. The film has a few faults in the dialogue, which annoyed me. For example, one character is told by another that two men wearing ski masks entered a brothel and killed Andy Wang, however when this character repeats the story later, he only says one man entered the brothel and killed Andy Wang. There were other faults in the dialogue also, which bothered me.
The plot is simple and Van Damme gives a surprisingly solid performance but unfortunately the film suffers from amateurish direction. Sure, the film looks flash, but it's a case of style over substance. With a little polishing and tinkering, the script could of been improved, and this, I feel would have greatly benefited the film.
In terms of action scenes 'Wake of Death' was on the right track but unfortunately it never really takes off. Sure, we are given some fights and shootouts but it never feels like enough and I was left wanting more. If only Van Damme had thrown more punches and performed his trademark 360* degree airborne kick.
The film's biggest disappointment is its climax, or should I say anti-climax. I was expecting a grand finale fight between Van Damme and the main villain(Simon Yam) but to my surprise there is no end fight. This is made even worse, because the film teases us, by showing the main villain doing tai-chi early in the film, so we're given the impression he may be a martial artist. I couldn't believe that this film didn't have a big fight showdown at the end. The climax was a major disappointment.
Overall, I feel that 'Wake of Death' was a real missed opportunity for Van Damme. The film's bad points out weighed its good points but I can't say I hated the film. I give 'Wake of Death' a solid 5/10.
The plot is simple and Van Damme gives a surprisingly solid performance but unfortunately the film suffers from amateurish direction. Sure, the film looks flash, but it's a case of style over substance. With a little polishing and tinkering, the script could of been improved, and this, I feel would have greatly benefited the film.
In terms of action scenes 'Wake of Death' was on the right track but unfortunately it never really takes off. Sure, we are given some fights and shootouts but it never feels like enough and I was left wanting more. If only Van Damme had thrown more punches and performed his trademark 360* degree airborne kick.
The film's biggest disappointment is its climax, or should I say anti-climax. I was expecting a grand finale fight between Van Damme and the main villain(Simon Yam) but to my surprise there is no end fight. This is made even worse, because the film teases us, by showing the main villain doing tai-chi early in the film, so we're given the impression he may be a martial artist. I couldn't believe that this film didn't have a big fight showdown at the end. The climax was a major disappointment.
Overall, I feel that 'Wake of Death' was a real missed opportunity for Van Damme. The film's bad points out weighed its good points but I can't say I hated the film. I give 'Wake of Death' a solid 5/10.