Customer Reviews

Among Dead Men

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Among Dead Men is your typical straight-to-video bare knuckles action movie in the style of Lionheart. The fight choreagraphy is average, although the editing of the fight scenes was done well.

The soundtrack is interesting, a blend of industrial rock and electronic music, with plenty of reggaeton and salsa sprinkled between fight scenes.

My biggest complaint about the film is that it simply borrows from too many movies. Convicted felon and pit fighter Bobby Delgado, played by Avelino "El Rico" Lescot, is a diesel Latino living in Australia with an unexplained French accent. Not only does Bobby Delgado sound like Jean Claude Van Damme, but most of the movie is patterned after the 1990 film Lionheart. Delgado, like Leon, is mentored by a retired street fighter.

There was real potential with the fight scenes, but almost no diversity in the fighting styles save for Delgado's clash with a Wushu Kung Fu artist in prison. What does give the movie a little flavor are scenes involving real-life Wing Chun Grandmaster William Cheung, cast as Delgado's former trainer. But that also leads you to wonder why Delgado doesn't fight in his master's style, or why his teacher seems perfectly accepting of his pupil fighting for money.

The film follows a predictable format from start to finish. Delgado is an amazing unbeaten fighter, and along comes another deadly unbeaten fighter to challenge him. Of course, Delgado no longer wants to fight, so his mentor needs a good slapping around to encourage him. Rather than a grand audience showdown a la Fighting or Lionheart, the director takes the Rocky V approach. The film's conclusion is neither suspenseful nor surprising, and is over entirely too quick.

El Rico has an interesting look, and is a decent physical actor, but this poorly-written film just isn't the right vehicle for his career. Watch it once before deciding whether to buy it.

CONS: Unfocused, meandering script. love-interest for main character that serves absolutely NO purpose other than to show he got a "hot chick" (though she IS hot). Cliched fortune-cookie cutter kung-fu master/mentor who bogs down the already confused script with a fight scene written specifically for him that doesn't further the plot at all.

PROS: Surprisingly good cinematogrophy, a couple of awesome naked babes (sorry, but this is a "guy" flick, after all), an absolutely convincing cast (except for the police woman, who really didn't have a reason to be), competent (if uninteresting) fight choreography, kinda "cool" musical score that's a little different, and a directorial style that would be at home with any hollywood big-budget blockbuster.

I only see 2 problems with this film. 1) It's too well made to be fun for poking fun at, but not good enough to be a must-see, and, 2) The excellent casting and professional level cinematography and directing will be lost on the type of audience that looks for movies about such subject matters. I watched this over SyFy's "Mammoth", about a revived, prehistoric creature that sucks out people's souls. I think I made the wrong choice. However, I give it 4 stars for its level of technical skill, and for the actor who played "Pit"; he single-handedly kept me from turning the movie off(well, other than the above-mentioned naked babes, that is).

martial arts heaven with a great soundtrack. new action star, EL RICO, get it while its hot......