Title: Game of Death
Director: Giorgio Serafini
Script: Jim Agnew, Megan Brown
Starring: Wesley Snipes, Zoë Bell, Gary Daniels, Robert Davi, Jaime Moyer
Released: February 21st 2010
Format: Blu-ray

Wesley Snipes is a really fun actor…. more than that he’s a really fun performer to watch. I’m a big fan. Demolition Man was one of the best action films of the 90s and he was perfect in the role of Simon Phoenix a defrosted bad guy looking to get his revenge on Sly Stallone’s Demolition Man. The Blade franchise was all sorts of fun, swords, vampires, guns, what more could you want? Ace. Snipes’ finest hour? It’s got to be as street wise basketball player Sydney in White Men Can’t Jump alongside Woody Harrelson. A perfect film if ever there was one. And if more proof were needed he is also a highly skilled martial artist and also proved his acting chops in films such as Mo’ Better Blues and Jungle Fever. Okay so there is the odd turkey on Snipes resume but that’s to be expected of any actor. They can’t all be winners can they?

But Snipes has been in trouble of late for alleged tax evasion and now he’s paying the bills with some straight to DVD release junk. Game of Death happens to be one of them. It’s a shame and I really hope he can sort out his problems and get back to some great acting soon in some better roles.

Snipes plays Agent Marcus, an undercover operative who specialises in getting up close and personal with his targets before taking them out. And by that I mean he’s a trained, hired killer, not that he takes them out to restaurants to wine and dine them.

Marcus’ right hand man is Zander (Gary Daniels). Also on his team is Floria (Zoe Bell). But on his next big job – to get close to arms dealer Mr Smith (Robert Davi) and then dispatch him – his colleagues decide to turn against him and take his share. Well naturally any character played by Snipes is going to have none of this sort of behaviour and an all out fight begins. If this all sounds good then I’m doing it a disservice. It’s really all rather boring to be honest. I didn’t want it to be. I wanted it to be a kick-ass film, but it’s not. It’s dull and Daniel and Bell are both terrible in their roles.

What makes the film unbearable however is the awful editing and direction. It’s really annoying Director Giorgio Serafini and Editors Kevin Budzynski and Todd Ramsay appear to have gone a little bit mad. Every now and then the otherwise pin-sharp, beautiful Blu-ray image goes all blurred, or horribly grainy, or turns to black and white for no reason whatsoever. There are numerous needless pieces of camera movement like swish-pans and ultra zooms. It’s enough to make you feel physically ill. This is strange and also a real shame because elsewhere the quality of the Blu-ray transfer is top quality. This is a real high point for this release. It may not be a good film, in my opinion, but it looks fantastic. The picture quality is outstanding. Pin-sharp and great colours, it’s one of the best I’ve seen, which as I say is odd, because the weird editing spoils what is otherwise crisp, beautiful images.

Overall, Game of Death is a pretty disappointing and is pretty frustrating as well. It did have some potential to be good but there’s not enough tension or momentum, or for that matter sensible plotting or a logical script. Those visuals will blow you away though so if you do end up thinking it’s an enjoyable film then you’re in for a treat visually.