As Good as Dead (2022) Poster

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5/10
Eh
melansonkeith19 December 2022
It was ok for a b-movie. Quite honestly if you are hoping to see a lot of fight scenes with Michael Jai White you'll be disappointed. Limited martial arts, some cool stuff, but was hoping for much more fighting.

This was more gun play than anything else and that is not why we watch these films. MJW is very talented, but I found this film lacking. I don't think anything has surpassed Blood & Bone as far as MJW showing off his skills.

It was a cool concept, but the trailer made is look more exciting than is was, and it made the quality of the production look a little more invested than the film was. Regardless, I will always be a MJW fan, just wish he could land the right vehicle for his fighting skills (Blade?)
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4/10
Rambro
nogodnomasters1 May 2023
Warning: Spoilers
Mr Davis (Michael Jai White) works as a surveyor in Nogales, Mexico near the border. The opening clues us he is in hiding. He also works out doing his unique brand of fighting outside of his secured trailer. Oscar (Luca Oriel) is a local boy who watches Davis and eventually trains with him as we have a short Mr. Miyagi scene. Oscar learns quickly and goes with his "17" gang brother (17 gang are good guys in this film somehow) and using his unique style of fighting which consists mostly of hiding your head behind your elbow, he beats up the local champion fighter which gets caught on phone camera and posted. The wrong people see it and know this kid was trained by Mr Davis or Bryant as he was called in his past cop life. A small army goes to Mexico to kill him and I don't have to tell you how things turn out against a man they call 'Rambro" but not to his face.

Poor Michael Jai White, still looking for a good script. He should have taken over for the Black Panther. Predictable film. Questionable acting and script.

Guide: F-word. No sex or nudity.
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3/10
what a waste of time
shenyxu31 July 2023
Warning: Spoilers
The actual movie was nothing like the trailer.

MJW was great in every aspect but the storyline and the presentation was garbage.

Many, too many scene doesn't make sense and lack of basic logic.

Spoiler alert.

-bullet proof house, okay sure, but no bullet holes on windows or any mark on anywhere?? Where can i buy those windows

-professional hitman? I will snipe one with a crossbow and the other one will come close to the house with no weapons, no sidearm, no knife on him. After all, no one can open the door and shoot him, it's perfectly safe. Amazing place to force a fight scene.

-driving scene mostly fake, done with photoshop. How much it cost to actually drive around?

-kidnappers let you talk on the phone and send GPS data -pretend to type on phones was very dumb -the 2 guards on the tower was killed like 3 times each -everyone has M16 without any tactical attachment, probably got a batch of toys in the second hand props shop -blood pack too expensive, let's photoshop some bullet wounds.

-most actors talk like a robot, with no emotions -15 cartel guys, only one has a pistol. He dies, no one pickup his pistol, what else can go wrong?

-shoot 2 cartel, out of ammo, force a machete fight. Do you even check your ammo before fighting 15 people? And where is your sidearm? Who goes to the lion's dent with only 2 bullets?

-goes to the villa with a big shield, got shot, drops the shield, leave the shield on the ground. What, one time disposable shield?

-guard this windows with this M16. Wait, where did you found a sniper shotgun, didn't like your long rifle?

-the girl has like nothing to do with the progression of the story.

I can go on and on with more scenes that doesn't make any sense.

In conclusion, the movie was very poorly made with budget allocated to the wrong place. The story is not intriguing, the presentation was bad and the trailer was a scam. Unless you really like the actor, don't waste anytime on it. I wish i can get my time back. A student director could of done a better job.
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8/10
I dug it.
themonk-9717617 December 2022
What can I say? I'm a fan of Michael Jai White. He's the action star I could have a beer with. You always know what to expect in his action movies, great fight scenes. Berenger is always a great bad guy and Mandylor has a classy style about him that's always cool.

The kid was a bit stiff and unemotional but Ivan was better as the brother. The whole training the kid was a bit rushed, like how long did he train before becoming a kick ass fighter?

Overall it was a good action flick, and anytime White, Adkins, Jaa, Uwais, Chen (Donnie or Tiger), are in it, well yeah, I'm going to check it out.

Better yet, an Expendables type movie with the martial artists named and more would be great.

Anyway, back to this movie, it flowed well with the action. It was a pretty basic kind of plot, but these are all about the action and White always comes through on that.
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8/10
Think, Rambro meets Jairate Kid.
Top_Dawg_Critic27 July 2023
There's no way I should've enjoyed this as much as I did, but to my surprise, this was one of the better B films I've seen in a very long time, especially comparing this to the other MJW film I saw yesterday - The Island 2023, which was atrocious and I rated that one 3/10. This was old-school action and entertainment, and fun from start to end.

I guess MJW has a hidden talent for writing, because there was actually an engaging, suspenseful and entertaining story in this film - and bonus points for some actual legit laugh out loud comedy. Fairly newb director R. Ellis Frazier certainly had many rookie mistakes in this film, but still managed to assemble an entertaining viewing. We don't get to see MJW all out kick-butt the entire time, but he still delivered on the action and thrills either with fists, kicks or guns.

Sure the story may have been a little cheesy, but it was the good expensive tasty cheese. It also had many cliches from past great films, but they were genre-mixed and used effectively. The action was well choreographed and well shot. All casting and performances were mostly convincing, and it was great to see Mandylor and Berenger do their thing. Pacing was spot-on and every scene had a purpose, so the 89 min runtime flew by, and I actually wanted more. It's a well deserved 8/10 from me, a definite recommend, and I'd have no problem seeing this again with friends.
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10/10
As Good as it Gets
compugor15 September 2023
Without being all critical about movie-making techniques, cinematography and all that, this is a top 19 favorite movie solely based on its entertainment value, and as a fan of Michael Jai White, this was an enjoyable pleasure to watch as he was in top form. As the writer, producer and star of the film, MJW portrayed himself as the ultimate black rambro, even on a Steven Seagull level with much more coolness to go with the invulnerability and super-human skill set. Van Damn gets his butt kicked way too much, and I love movies where the hero does ALL the butt kicking and triumphs spectacularly in the end. Awesome gun play and fight choreography of course, and not a bad supporting cast. Exhilarating! More serious movies can be watched on other occasions. For just plain fun action entertainment, this is as good as it gets.
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10/10
Wonderful movie
eyadtoma19 August 2023
This movie is so amazing man Wow, wonderful movie as always by michael jai white i really enjoyed this movie its fun and entertaining and there is a lot of action in it. I like this movies who mix the fun with the action, also this legendry actor michael jai white is just in another level love this dude so much i just love every movie that he act in. Also this video is really as good as dead nice title for the movie name, for me i hope there is another part next year or this year this movie deserve a spot, maybe not everybody will agree with me but i think this movie is good for watching especially when Michael Jai White is in it.
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