Game of Death (2010)

"Forgive me, Father, for I have sinned. I am a killer."

Those words sum up this movie. Despite being a staggering 85 minutes, I still liked it. No star power that I recognize other than Wesley Snipes, though.

Over time, I've become a fan of Snipes and his action films. While he doesn't have the pizzazz and star power of more famous performers, he is likeable by his earnest style. I've seen him in better films, but this was still pleasant.

The film, however, is... strange. It doesn't have the frenetic and goofy pace of Shoot 'Em Up or Rambo and feels flat overall. The plot description had me imagining a far different portrait than it actually turned out to be. There are visual effects that never have an explanation, other than a brief blurry sequence in which we learn Marcus (Snipes) is diabetic and this visual overlay, along with his diabetic condition, vanishes for the latter part of the film, aka the next 25 minutes or so.

There is--again--a brief focus on redemption and all that Christian jazz, along with a cameo by Ernie Hudson, but there is still much to be desired. For people who can appreciate the most straightforward of films (no character background whatsoever) then this might be the film for you. But don't expect much. The film doesn't avoid the same silliness of countless action films before it. Marcus definitely has unlimited ammo, and judging by his accuracy, that is a good thing because he and the bad guys exchange more rounds than Ali & Frazier.

Oddly, I had no problems with it, 4/5. As a fan of martial arts, it was well-shown (think Bourne Trilogy), I didn't feel as though my time was wasted and Marcus was likeable enough. This film was fine within its own padded room, not willing to explore. Clearly it didn't offer anything in which a problem could occur, but I will say that the camera quality was very clear, but again the substance being shown through it was awkwardly paper thin. Seems like a waste of camera quality on such low quantity.