DOA: Dead or Alive

I've been playing Dead or Alive since the Playstation release back in 1998 (I still do~~) and was shocked when I heard someone's gonna turn it into a movie. As a fan, the first thing, the major concern I had happens to be the actors playing the fighters. Not that it was a complete let down (especially since most of the attitudes of the characters in the game and movie were quite different), I had to anticipate it being (forgive the term) somewhat 'Americanized'. But ah, well. That's how it was. Don't know if Tomonobu Itagaki liked seeing Hayate not so often in the film, though (Hayate WAS modeled after him, the DOA creator). So when it was released, I avoided watching it, until now.

Corey Yuen did an amazing job directing this one. The choreography of the fight scenes were really good, but the script and the plot... those needed work. It was fun seeing Robin Shou and Collin Chou in this film. But props to Jaime Pressly for the amazing portrayal of Tina! She, in my opinion, stole the show from Devon Aoki.

But really, this is more of a fan service (in glorified kick-ass fights!) than a supposed movie in its own right. But it was better than most game adaptations and it was fun to watch.

One thing's certain- I didn't like the portrayal of Ayane.

This film is about a group of fighters getting invited to a fighting contest. Along the way, they find out there is a plot behind it and they work together to fight the bad guys.

There are quite a few problems with the movie. The plot is implausible. The DOA logo gets an on screen appearance too much that is very annoying. The love relationships seem so poorly built up that it exists just for the sake of existing. Not to mention the numerous soft porn scenes that make the film look cheap. Oh, and Devon Aokiwears the same facial expression on her face all the time, and her dialogs are spoken in such a plain and mundane way that is devoid of any emotion.

However, there are good things about the film. The film is pure brain-off entertainment. The fight scenes are very well thought out and rehearsed. This alone makes the film fun to watch.

Producer Paul W. S. Anderson had done a really acceptable job with the first adaptations of Mortal Kombat and Resident Evil, but with DOA the result was minimal. The curious thing is that the director was an expert choreographer in martial arts who had stood out quite a bit, but it seems that when directing a film things turn out differently. This adaptation was another failed attempt to adapt another well-known video game of the time and lacks good writing. It has a simple plot, but with a lack of depth and no character development. The script is just pretty bad. The digital effects are quite obvious and we could say that it is a B-series action movie, which is not strange considering the strong influence that Roger Corman had on Paul Anderson. The film has a childish and humorous tone, but the action is what stands out a lot. It really has good fight scenes, making the plot irrelevant and only the action matters, that is, it is a film that is enjoyed only for the action. Also what stands out the most in this film are the beautiful women in the cast. Another detail that cannot be ruled out is Junkie XL's soundtrack, which accompanies the combat scenes quite well. DOA as a film and adaptation is clearly bad, with a poorly written script, but it manages to remain enjoyable and entertaining thanks to the action scenes and the beautiful actresses. My final rating for this movie is a 6/10.

Wow. I never thought In my wildest dreams that I would be standing behind this film, sticking up for it opposed to slandering it with the rest. I actually went to see it for a laugh and so what if there were a half dozen beautiful girls flaunting there stuff right? well the first 10 minutes kinda made me think I was gonna be dead right, but not entirely. Sure it was a very poor excuse for a plot, but the action was really quite good. Before I get into that I need to make a remark, a lot of people have been slandering this movie because of it's story line, fair enough, but if you say that it doesn't make sense, you must be one thick chimpanzee, The story is so linear it hurts, and very, I repeat VERY easy to understand! Back to the movie. The acting was fine, I was especially pleased at Holly's Performance, A perfect role for her I would say, if Anyone's ever seen any of her film clips

Plot: Pro-wrestler Tina (Jaime Pressly), master thief Christie (Holly Valance), and ninja princess Kasumi (Devon Aoki) are competitors in a martial arts tournament with a $10 million prize.

That pretty much sums up the basis of the plot haha but yeah. Good Action, Hot Girls, a worth while watch. Oh and another thing, Sarah Carter who starred in 3 episodes of Smallville plays another butt kickin' Babe, very sexy. It was kind of refreshing be able to watch a movie where the plot wasn't really a problem at all, all you had to do was focus on what was going on, no having to think about how this person knows this person and why they want to kill each other. It was also good to see a 'Girl Power' Flick which wasn't cheesy in the way that Charlie's Angels was, yeah it was cheesy in other ways, but none of that, "come on angels, let's go get 'em" All in all a good watch, I just hope they don't try and do a sequel *sighs* and IF they do, I hope they get a damn script writer!!!!

7 Stars

As a fan of the DOA video games, it was in my nature to go see this film. Even though I knew it was going to be shocking, I was surprised (a bit).

Following the storyline from the games, DOA is about a fighting tournament held on a secret island were all is not what it seems. Princess Kusami (Devon Aoki) joins the tournament to find her brother. Tina (jammie Pressley) a distinguished womens wrestler joins to prove to the world she's not fake, like her "fighting style". Christie (holly valance)playing a sultry thief joins in order to steal a vault full of money, hidden on the island. Over time they meet other characters and they learn to work together in order to stop the main villain, Donovan (Eric Roberts).

Like most fighting video game/movies the really isn't much of a story and a few of the actors are below par (espesially from Kane Kosugi), I was really impressed by Holly Valance and Sarah Carter.

Most reviews can tell you that this is strictly for teenage boys, and I can tell you there right, through some racy shots of Holly valance and Jamie Presley. But what Impressed me the most with DOA is the fight sequences. Kane Kosugi has one of the best I've seen In a while on a flight of stairs and Sarah Carter and Holly Valance battle it out in the rain making it an almost glorified wet t-shirt Competition.

If your looking for something innovating form this genre, keep walking, but if your looking for a great way to spend and hour and a half with some friends, then see DOA.