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Hello, Dan’s Movie Report readers! As far as I remember, this film was initially titled White Tiger, and it has been shelved for as long as I can remember. I truly never thought it would be released. I became eager to watch it because it was the last movie Joe Lewis shot before he passed away. My friends Cynthia Rothrock and Don ‘The Dragon’ Wilson have reminisced about how exceptional the shooting experience was while looking forward to seeing Rothrock as the villain for once. It is a huge contrast from her effortlessly innocent yet loyal, tough-as-nails sweet characters.
In Death Fighter, after the cop’s partner dies, he decides to join forces with a mercenary to eliminate the people who killed his partner. Like many other Thai action films, it has careless production but serves the plot nonetheless. It was previously called White Tiger (which has no connection with the mesmerizing Gary Daniels’ collection) but underwent a title change around when it was finished in 2012. Even though this movie has a low budget, it does use limited resources towards keeping the humour and action alive.
Despite how charmingly American it is, Michael Turner (portrayed captivatingly by martial artist Matt Mullins) is a name that will leave you hunting for its origins. Among the most prominent ones is Yu, played by Chiranan Manochaem, who is extraordinarily enticing but also too skinny to be believable. She assists in taking out the corrupt Peter (Jawed El Berni) along with Valerie (Cynthia Rothrock) because she wants justice for the brutal killing of her partner, Conrad, who was played by the late fighter Joe Lewis in his most recent appearance. There’s a particular character that makes this entire movie worth watching, and that is ‘the dragon’ himself, Don Wilson, who astonishingly looks as fit as ever and is the key reason one should bother renting this. There is not much more to the plot; those are the main highlights.
While it doesn’t fully utilize The Expendables sort of envelope it promises, this one is still worth a look as it doesn’t lack reasonable production values, utilizing the talent of both veterans and newcomers (no bait and switch here) and maintaining the KISS principle. The camera work is never jerky or out of sync with the digital camera speeds and is commendable at the use of natural scenery without the dreaded overexposure and low sound decibels too many indie films become embroiled in. The music is blended wonderfully modern day heavier gritty and electronic music which the goofy 80s/90s childhood Filipino tapes are a proper oeuvre and not the overdone ‘big’ budget film “trying too hard” vibe.
The film lacks a certain mischievous quality and amusing dialogue that would have transformed it into more than just a conventional ‘action movie’, and while there are slower moments, it is safe to say that the fast-forward option is not necessary for this movie. As it is, the film is better than a lot of indie films in a lot of ways and because Wilson manages to carry the film single-handedly, it is definitely worth watching. Added benefits include the feel-good ambience, the effortless tone, Mullins’ attempt to polish his B-Action reputation, the Rambo-style ending, and the montage of Wilson fighting Rothrock.
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