Title: D.O.A.
Starring: Natassia Malthe, Jaime Pressly, Devon Aoki, Brian J. White, Holly Valance
Directed By: Corey Yuen
Produced By: Andreas Schmid, Daniel Kletzky, Steve Chasman
Genre: Action/Adventure and Adaptation
Release Date: June 15th, 2007
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for pervasive martial arts and action violence, some sexuality and nudity.
Distributors: Dimension Films
D.O.A.'s plot goes something like this: Four beautiful women must stop the bad guy while also winning a fighting tournament. Plus, each character has their own little subplot to flesh things out. Hey, it's based on a video game, what do you want from me?
D.O.A. is pure dumb entertainment. You already know this if you have ever played any of the games that this movie is based on. Both movie and games are filled with sexy women in skimpy outfits beating the crap out of guys as well as each other. Definitely geared for young male gamers, D.O.A. is almost the perfect video game adaptation. With a ludicrous plot, not so great acting and cheesy characters you would expect a movie like this to be a train wreck. Which it is, don't get me wrong, but it's a really fun train wreck. Some of the things that hurt the film also help, if you are a fan of the game, that is. Each character is almost exactly the way they are in the game. So if you are wondering why there are some outlandish characters such as Zack, blame the game. Great fight scenes. Are they over the top? Of course, but when it's Jaime Pressly, Holly Valance, Sarah Carter, Devon Aoki and Natassia Malthe doing it, who cares? And what makes them so good is that the fight choreographer is none other than Corey Yuen, who directs this as well. He is mostly known as the director of the first Transporter film and the martial arts choreographer for the sequel.
Jaime Pressly, as Tina Armstrong, is the best thing in the movie. Imagine her character from My Name Is Earl, but with martial arts and wrestling skills. Funny, sexy and an ass kicker to boot, she rocks. The other stand out in the bevy of beauties that make up most of the cast is Sarah Carter as Helena. Game fans may be disappointed in the treatment of her character as she is nothing like her game counterpart but she is a key player in the plot and cute and spunky. Slightly more serious and just as beautiful is Holly Valance, who is also a popular pop singer overseas, as Christie, the thief who is after a cool 10 mil. Devon Aoki, who we last saw in Sin City, is the weakest of the bunch. Just a little wooden in her performance which could just be a part of her character.
After that, there really isn't much to be said about D.O.A.. It's a rather faithful adaptation of a popular fighting game that is just as ridiculous as the game. If exotic locations, beautiful women, bad one liners, and great ass kicking is your cup of tea, then D.O.A. is just the movie for you. Now I am sure that this movie will disappear from the marquee very quickly, so if you have any interest, you better go see it soon.
Oh, yea, there is even a volleyball scene taken right from Dead Or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball, so if that isn't an incentive guys, I don't know what is.
Keep reading,
Mitch E
mitchemerson@hotmail.com
1 comment:
Your take on DOA was not too different from mine, though I had a harder time forgiving some of its shortcomings. Jaime Pressly is awsome!
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