Rating summary

Movie		0.5
Video		3.5
Audio		3.0
Extras		1.0
Overall		2.0

Game of Death Blu-ray Movie Review

Is death a better fate than watching this latest DTV debacle?

Reviewed by Martin Liebman February 14, 2011

I am a killer.

Rehash the Wesley Snipes (Brooklyn's Finest) personal life drama elsewhere; the only thing that will be on trial in this review is the actor's latest DTV feature, Game of Death. The verdict? Guilty for giving even the direct-to-video film a bad name. Game of Death is a miserable with a capital-M movie that's lacking in every key area: acting, direction, and story, not to mention the most important part of the equation for the DTV Action movie, action. Game of Death is miserably-paced, too, beating out only watching water boil, paint dry, and grass grow, but even those offer some tangible, worthwhile something at the end of the day: hot water for that perfect cup of tea, a new look for a tired room, or a lush lawn to enjoy barefoot on a warm spring day. Game of Death offers no value of any kind either during or after a watch. A laborious, tiresome endeavor, Game of Death is an example of how not to make a direct-to-video movie, a poster child for a subset of film that seemed already replete with ill-fated efforts but has, maybe, its crowning achievement of bad now and forevermore.

What in the world is going on here?

CIA Agent Marcus (Snipes) is a killer; he confesses as much to a local priest. He proceeds to recount his most dangerous and soul-searching endeavor. His task: infiltrate a crime ring headed by the dangerous criminal Frank Smith (Robert Davi, Die Hard), go undercover as head of Smith's personal security, and when the time is right, make his move and kill his boss. Marcus succeeds at maneuvering into Smith's inner-circle, but when a group of rogue CIA agents try to kidnap Smith and kill Marcus, things go awry. Smith is rushed to the hospital with a heart attack suffered in the middle of a running gun battle, and his life hangs in the balance as Marcus fights off goons and head bad guy Zander (Gary Daniels, Hunt to Kill) takes a goodhearted surgeon hostage and charges her with keeping Smith alive at all costs in an effort to secure millions of dollars for himself and his gang of CIA agents gone bad.

The story is as worthless as the execution, and about the only good thing Game of Death has going for it is a pretty slick cover art that suggests a movie of greater emotional import and craftsmanship. Alas, Game of Death offers neither. A miserable failure from the top-down, Wesley Snipes' latest picture will leave audiences longing for the good old days of Passenger 57 and Demolition Man, midlevel movies to be sure but at least structurally sound and generally fun pictures with followable plots, average direction, and acting that actually passes muster for the generic Action movie. Snipes is on cruise control in Game of Death, delivering a performance that demonstrates absolutely no pride for the craft and that he could have given in his sleep, and considering how slow the action is throughout the movie, he may have very well been dozing through several takes. Who's to blame him, though, when everything around him is so awful: supporting characters who can't act, a script that's incoherent in places and dull in others, and uninspired execution that stylistically meanders, like the movie was some sort of test subject for wannabe avant-garde filmmaking but that only comes across as sloppy and unfocused. It's no wonder that Snipes takes the money and runs.

For all the negatives, Game of Death could have been an average DTVer. The devil's in the details with this one, the small things that really stand out to make an otherwise bad movie an epic waste of time and disc replication. A major character in the movie keeps on retainer a lawyer who costs $800 per hour and he's sitting on millions of dollars in a vault, but his laptop that sits atop his nice-looking, freshly-finished wooden desk is a raggedy old piece of junk that's completely worn down and banged up? Set decorations and costumes that look like they came from the after-season clearance at Wal*Mart? Prop guns that even at a glance look obviously fake? Game of Death digs its own grave with every passing moment thanks to a nickel-and-dime feel, and it doesn't help that in a broader sense the film already suffers from a style that's decidedly bland and sterile at best and confusing and tiresome at worst. Then again, it's almost a shame to criticize it this badly. After all, Director Giorgio Serafini can boast another credit to his name and with a fallen but nevertheless instantly recognizable star in the lead role. That's worth something -- a half-point movie score -- but not much.

Game of Death Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Game of Death was filmed digitally on the Red One camera. Sony's 1080p transfer shows flashes of brilliance -- particularly early on and in any scenes inside the church -- but it occasionally appears flat, sterile, unattractive, and absent any character. At its best, the image yields remarkable detail in skin textures. Close-up shots of Marcus and the priest offer striking attention to detail, as do the fancy adornments around the church. Even each individual pew appears to have a character of its own, with small imperfections in the wood clearly visible. Colors, too, are fantastic in such scenes, the transfer revealing the subtle differences in the rich shading of each pew. Unfortunately, parts of the rest of the image sport flat and in some cases smeary details and pedestrian colorings, particularly in those scenes inside the hospital which is admittedly bland by nature. Still, the drop-off in color and texture is obvious. The image is fairly clean and crisp in most spots, though, even if it does appear flat and devoid of much in the way of vibrancy and life. Blacks are solid and flesh tones are stable. The biggest issue is the severe banding that plagues almost the entire middle section of the movie. It's maybe even the worst banding ever seen on a Blu-ray disc, appearing so heavy at times that it literally circles the entirety of the image like an ugly frame. Otherwise, the transfer is certainly passable, but it won't dazzle even the easiest-to-please of viewers.

Game of Death Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Game of Death sports a decent DTS-HD MA 5.1 soundtrack that's good here and subpar there. It rounds into form as a decidedly average track, not because of Sony's efforts but because the film seems to sport a fairly bland sound design by its very nature. Even some of the more high-powered elements come up lacking; spinning helicopter rotors sound fairly clear but never seem to slice through the soundstage. Gunfire, albeit many shots emanating from suppressed weapons, lacks any kind of oomph on projectile impact into hardened surfaces, and even the film's music seems to see its energy level drop and rise for no apparent reason. When the track is on, it's suitably crisp, accurate, and even a bit spacious; music flows across the front and the surround channels carry a fair load of the material. Minor atmospherics -- the steady hum of a jet engine as heard inside the cabin, for instance -- are handled nicely. Dialogue is clear, robust, and focused right up the middle. Still, this is a bland soundtrack accompanying a bad movie; there are jolts of energy and hints at superiority, but the entire package comes up lacking just enough to lower the score by a couple of points.

Game of Death Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Game of Death contains a few self-explanatory and short throwaway featurettes.

• Behind-the-Scenes Featurettes (1080p): A Look at the Story (1:55), The Action of 'Game of Death' (2:08), The Cast (1:03), Working with Director Giorgio Serafini (1:52), Behind the Stunts (0:58), and Shooting in Detroit (2:43).
• Previews: Additional Sony titles.
• BD-Live.

Game of Death Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Game of Death's best action scenes are the ones that don't leave audiences wanting to stop the movie or start twiddling their thumbs, and those rarely make an appearance. It's an exercise in endurance to be sure, and while it's certainly not the absolute worst film reviewed on this site, it's pretty bad, separated from the worst-of-the-worst only because Blu-ray.com does not allow reviewers to rate a movie "0/5." Sony's Blu-ray release of Game of Death delivers serviceable video and audio for those who choose to watch, and there are even a few scattered extras for gluttons for punishment. Skip it.