As Good As Dead

It was ok for a b-movie. Quite honestly if you are hoping to see a lot of fight scenes with Michael Jai White you'll be disappointed. Limited martial arts, some cool stuff, but was hoping for much more fighting.

This was more gun play than anything else and that is not why we watch these films. MJW is very talented, but I found this film lacking. I don't think anything has surpassed Blood & Bone as far as MJW showing off his skills.

It was a cool concept, but the trailer made is look more exciting than is was, and it made the quality of the production look a little more invested than the film was. Regardless, I will always be a MJW fan, just wish he could land the right vehicle for his fighting skills (Blade?)

If I'm writing a review for Michael Jai White, it's probably skewed on the bias side just a little bit. I can still be fair, but when I see Michael Jai White's name, I automatically click on it. Other than a couple of, Why did I get married projects with Tyler Perry, most of his movies are good action flicks. You can usually count on good martial arts, Gunplay, maybe a couple of car chases, and a decent plot line. They don't have the big Hollywood budgets that other things do, but they're usually a good watch and this one was exactly that. This included a new style of martial arts that I've never seen, that was pretty cool. It included a lot of Gunplay couple of really cool cars and a decent plot. So pop the popcorn grab the significant other and sit down and check out, As good as dead. Nuff Said Mike Out.

What can I say? I'm a fan of Michael Jai White. He's the action star I could have a beer with. You always know what to expect in his action movies, great fight scenes. Berenger is always a great bad guy and Mandylor has a classy style about him that's always cool.

The kid was a bit stiff and unemotional but Ivan was better as the brother. The whole training the kid was a bit rushed, like how long did he train before becoming a kick ass fighter?

Overall it was a good action flick, and anytime White, Adkins, Jaa, Uwais, Chen (Donnie or Tiger), are in it, well yeah, I'm going to check it out.

Better yet, an Expendables type movie with the martial artists named and more would be great.

Anyway, back to this movie, it flowed well with the action. It was a pretty basic kind of plot, but these are all about the action and White always comes through on that.

2.253 / 5.000 "Every year thousands of people leave Mexico, but there are those who go to Mexico, many do it to escape their past..." A good Mexican police action film, nothing too innovative, even a bit cliché, but it maintains a pleasant line between action and a slightly ironic humor, captivating characters, the final stretch takes a downturn, without anything new, moving towards the predictable, loses its spirit, and becomes more of the same... Average...

Bryant befriends a troubled teenager and introduces him to martial arts. As Bryant's mysterious and dangerous past catches up with him, he is forced into a life-or-death struggle to clear his name, save the boy and recover everything he left behind.

There's no way I should've enjoyed this as much as I did, but to my surprise, this was one of the better B films I've seen in a very long time, especially comparing this to the other MJW film I saw yesterday - The Island 2023, which was atrocious and I rated that one 3/10. This was old-school action and entertainment, and fun from start to end.

I guess MJW has a hidden talent for writing, because there was actually an engaging, suspenseful and entertaining story in this film - and bonus points for some actual legit laugh out loud comedy. Fairly newb director R. Ellis Frazier certainly had many rookie mistakes in this film, but still managed to assemble an entertaining viewing. We don't get to see MJW all out kick-butt the entire time, but he still delivered on the action and thrills either with fists, kicks or guns.

Sure the story may have been a little cheesy, but it was the good expensive tasty cheese. It also had many cliches from past great films, but they were genre-mixed and used effectively. The action was well choreographed and well shot. All casting and performances were mostly convincing, and it was great to see Mandylor and Berenger do their thing. Pacing was spot-on and every scene had a purpose, so the 89 min runtime flew by, and I actually wanted more. It's a well deserved 8/10 from me, a definite recommend, and I'd have no problem seeing this again with friends.