DOA: Dead or Alive was inspired by a videogame and...(Excuse me while I laugh uncontrollably at the absurdity of using the word "inspired" in that context... Just a minute... Just a minute... OK, I'm fine now.)
And as you might expect, narrative complexities and subtle character nuances are not its strong suits. On the other hand, as I acknowledge in my Variety review, if you show up with sufficiently lowered expectations, you can enjoy the flick as an exuberantly trashy trifle, the sort of nonstop, wire-worked kung-foolishness in which increasingly elaborate set pieces are interrupted only sporadically by something resembling a storyline. Credit director Corey Yuen for staging such show-stopping spectacles as a babe-versus-babe blade battle in a bamboo forest where gravity is just a sometime thing, and an against-all-odds swordfight on an outdoor stairway that looks like a collaboration between Gene Kelly and Bruce Lee. Another highlight: Two bikini-clad cuties in a slow-mo smack-off on a rain-swept beach, suggesting what might happen if a fight broke out during a location shoot for a Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue.
So there you have it: Big swords, cool fights, scorchin' chicks. If it's a hot night, and the theater's air-conditioned, what the hell...
