Four beautiful rivals at an invitation-only martial-arts tournament join forces against a sinister threat. Princess Kasumi (Devon Aoki) is an aristocratic warrior trained by martial-arts masters. Tina Armstrong (Jaime Pressly) is a wrestling superstar. Helena Douglas (Sarah Carter) is an athlete with a tragic past. Christie Allen (Holly Valance) earns her keep as a thief and an assassin-for-hire.
Dead or Alive is a film adaptation of a popular fighting video game franchise, Dead or Alive. I watched this many years ago but recently decided to purchase and give it another watch since Kevin Nash is in it.
Dead or Alive is about an invitation only fighting tournament, among the many invitees are the professional wrestlers, Tina Armstrong (Jamie Pressly) and her father Bass Armstrong (Kevin Nash). The film really nails the fun parts of the Dead or Alive franchise with a slew of wild characters, including the very attractive female fighters. It even includes a volleyball scene which is reference to a series of offshoot games in the franchise, Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball.
If you’re watching this movie, you’re probably here for the girls and the fights, which this has in spades. Some of the fights are pretty frenetically edited, but they’re all pretty great. Some of the highlights of the film are the soundtrack and the fight announcements lifted from the game. I really think this film is probably the closest adaptation of a video game that I’ve seen put to film.
My favorite part of the film though is Kevin Nash as Bass Armstrong, Tina’s father. The Armstrong’s are both pro-wrestlers but her father is much more over the top. Kevin Nash looks like he is having a blast in this role and I am totally here for it. His outfits in the movie are outlandish and his fight scene on the river against Tina is my favorite fight of the film. It’s just a shame that we only get to see him fight Tina as I would have loved to see some other matches with him.
Kevin was perfect for this role since he is a professional wrestler as well as an actor. I had so much fun with this movie. I connected with it much more than I originally thought I would. I watched it when I was younger only because it was a video game adaptation whereas now I watched it again because I am such a fan of professional wrestling and the games. Dead or Alive is a lot of fun and I recommend it for fans of martial arts movies, fans of professional wrestling, and fans of the Dead or Alive franchise.
Jamie Pressly as Tina Armstrong enjoying a drink with her father Bass Armstrong played by Kevin Nash
Wrestling With Film 