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Damning with Faint Praise: GAME OF DEATH

No, not the good one with Bruce Lee.

This is a 2010 action movie with Wesley Snipes, Zoe Bell, Robert Davi, Ernie Hudson, and Gary Daniels.

A bodyguard (Snipes) is injured along with the man (Davi) that he’s protecting when some assassins botch an attempt on the protected man. Both go to the same hospital for treatment, and the assassins (including Bell and Daniels) track them there.

The ensuing slobbernocker ranges from the mental ward to the infant care ward.



Verdict
How the mighty have fallen.

I think the first thing I remember seeing Wesley Snipes in is Major League.

Since then, I’ve seen him in King of New York, New Jack City, White Men Can’t Jump, Passenger 57, Boiling Point, Rising Sun, Demolition Man, Drop Zone, To Wong Foo Thanks for Everything Julie Newmar, Money Train, US Marshals, Blade, The Art of War, Blade II, Blade: Trinity, and Chaos.

So I think I count as a fan.

I’ve seen some of his straight-to-video fare, but they blur together. I get the sense that Hollywood doesn’t challenge him anymore, the way it did with films like Jungle Fever and To Wong Foo.

I watched Game of Death, despite my reservations, because it seemed like Zoe Bell and Gary Daniels, along with Ho-sung Pak and Simon Rhee, could keep up with Wesley Snipes physically.

Now, let’s face it: We don’t watch movies like this expecting multidimensional characters, memorable settings, and intricate plots. We watch movies like this for action, thrills, and fights.

Simon Rhee served as fight coordinator and stunt coordinator for the movie, and he has a lot of experience. In addition to that, he has a 7th-degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do and a 4th-degree black belt in Hap Ki Do.

Unfortunately, a good fight scene requires two good fighters. While everyone else brought their A-game, most of Wesley Snipes’ scenes look like his heart wasn’t them. Maybe it wasn’t.

The man turned 50 in 2012. He’s in a federal prison for tax issues (his trial had already started when he filmed this). He’s clearly typecast, and making the same kinds of movies over and over again.

I wouldn’t blame him if his heart wasn’t in it.

Soapbox
Snipes’ character, Agent Marcus, is diabetic. It comes up exactly once in the movie, fairly early, and then never raises its head again.

Writers: Don’t do that.

It doesn’t make a character interesting. It doesn’t add depth. It’s insulting to those who actually struggle with whatever disease or condition you wanted to give your character.

Think of it like this: You are a sculptor. Your job is to trim away absolutely everything that does not serve character, context, or conflict. If you don’t need it, get rid of it.

I think most writers (myself included) tend to think of writing as adding words, of building a written piece. We even talk about plot as a framework for what we’re building.

Movie making is more about removing. Every bit of dialogue takes time, and time is money. Every action must be filmed, and film is money. So be merciless with yourself when editing.

Yes, I know, someone other than one of the writers might have said, “Let’s make him diabetic. It’ll make him more human.”

Yes, I know, there might be footage lying in an editing room somewhere that shows the payoff for a whole “diabetes subplot.”

Whatever. Just don’t.

Conclusion
Enjoy Wesley Snipes’ past glories, and forget about this.

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