What Movie Should I Watch Tonight? ‘DOA: Dead or Alive,’ a Forgotten, Delightful Video Game Flop

Photo: Dimension Films

Have we entered highest videogame cinema? Financially, nan reply is decidedly yes; A Minecraft Movie and The Super Mario Bros. Movie are 2 of nan biggest family-film hits successful years, and the Sonic nan Hedgehog trilogy has a higher mean gross than nan John Wick series. What’s possibly much astonishing is that a batch of these movies person gotten amazingly decent reviews. Even thing comparatively negligible for illustration this weekend’s crippled adjustment Until Dawn is getting immoderate amended notices than galore of its 2000s-era brethren. Most of these, for illustration nan 2005 movie of Doom, are genuine junk, and beautiful overmuch anyone willing successful the Resident Evil series has gotten nan memo that they’re secretly kinda great. So are location immoderate different artifacts from nan old, bad era of game-based movies that are amended than their reputation? I’m truthful gladsome I pretended you asked! The reply is yes: D.O.A.: Dead aliases Alive, a fighting-game adjustment that is up location pinch nan 1995 Mortal Kombat arsenic 1 of nan astir blissfully silly action movies of nan post-Nintendo era. Because it was a barely-released container agency flop backmost successful 2007, there’s a very bully chance you haven’t seen it, and because it’s presently streaming for free (with ads) connected Pluto, Fandango astatine Home, Prime Video, and immoderate Fawesome is, there’s an moreover amended chance that you tin watch it tonight!

Why watch DOA: Dead aliases Alive tonight?

Photo: ©Dimension Films/Courtesy Everett Collection

It’s easy to understand why D.O.A. flopped successful theaters. It promises fundamentally what you’d get from an rumor of Maxim (it was a different time), which successful astir situations was cheaper than nan value of a movie ticket, and you get to support it besides. But if D.O.A.: Dead aliases Alive is simply a gaming movie pinch hilariously blatant antheral regard – Christie (Holly Allen), 1 of nan 3 lead characters, is introduced while engaging successful a conflict wearing a towel; Tina (Jaime Pressley) spends a batch of her surface clip successful a bikini; Kasumi (Devon Aoki) is simply a ninja princess, but she doesn’t dress overmuch for illustration either – it’s also, somehow, not really a sleazy one. None of nan 3 women are meaningfully victimized, their scantily-clad position is yet little lascivious than galore euphony videos of nan era, and they each conflict for illustration hell.

That’s really nan cardinal to D.O.A. It was directed by nan late, awesome Corey Yuen, a Hong Kong head and action choreographer who directed a bunch of early Jet Li movies successful nan ’90s and choreographed action for American features (some but not exclusively featuring Li) successful nan ’00s. He did truthful overmuch action activity connected 2002’s The Transporter that he received a co-director credit; D.O.A. is credited to Yuen arsenic a solo director, and his last movie successful that capacity. (Sadly, he died during nan pandemic, though it wasn’t publicized until recently.) He went retired connected a weird, delightful achievement; D.O.A. is astir arsenic adjacent arsenic an English-language movie has gotten to Oops! All Fights! The aforementioned Christie, Tina, and Kasumi are among those summoned to an land to participate successful a fighting tournament; they conflict before, during, successful between, and aft nan main event, investigating immoderate mysterious goings-on successful nan process. (Eric Roberts is there; you do nan math.)

These fights are not realistic. They harvester accepted stunt work, ligament work, and evident machine effects. But Yuen knows really to usage these devices together to clone it pinch style. That style is fundamentally if nan gals from McG’s Charlie’s Angels movies were someway transported into a Zhang Yimou movie for illustration Hero aliases House of Flying Daggers. Colors are bright, scarves are flowing, ninjas are plentiful, women are perpetually leaping into nan aerial and balancing themselves connected swords – worldly for illustration that. There is almost nary melodramatic tension, and nan acting could beryllium charitably described arsenic charming.

Charm counts for a lot, though, and acting isn’t conscionable nan recitation of dialogue. Aoki and Pressley particularly springiness awesome beingness performances; moreover erstwhile their moves are impossible, they propulsion themselves into nan illusion. As shameless arsenic nan movie tin seem, there’s besides a pure-cinema constituent to its T&A silliness. And look: How often does a video crippled movie really prima 3 women, alternatively of sticking 1 successful nan fifth-lead slot? I’m not saying nan bikini-heavy fighting movie pinch a volleyball break is Doing a Feminism, but it’s bully to excavation up an artifact of mid-2000s civilization that’s playfully problematic, alternatively than sneeringly so.

Jesse Hassenger (@rockmarooned) is simply a writer surviving successful Brooklyn podcasting astatine www.sportsalcohol.com. He’s a regular contributor to The A.V. Club, Polygon, and The Week, among others.