Wake of Death

"Revenge was all he had left."

2004 1h 31m EN

😐

6.1

MID

★6.1TMDB · 283

ActionAdventureThriller

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Ben Archer, an ex-mob enforcer, seeks revenge against a ruthless Chinese kingpin responsible for his wife's brutal murder. When Archer joins forces with his old underworld friends, an all-out war is waged against the Chinese Triad.

“Revenge was all he had left.”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Jean-Claude Van Damme
Ben Archer
Simon Yam
Sun Quan
Valerie Tian
Kim
Philip Tan
Han
Tony Schiena
Tony
Claude Hernandez
Raymond
Lisa King
Cynthia Archer
Anthony Fridjhon
Max

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Philippe Martinez
Writers: Mick Davis, Laurent Fellous, Kristina Hamilton-Grobler
Languages: English, Cantonese
Countries: United States of America, United Kingdom, Germany, France

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Earned back only 4% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 22 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, Cantonese.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 4 countries: United States of America, United Kingdom, Germany, France.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Philippe Martinez, shot by Emmanuel Kadosh. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Guy Farley. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Christopher Robin Bell shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Jean-Claude Van Damme and Simon Yam and Valerie Tian carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Philippe Martinez directs. Emmanuel Kadosh behind the camera. Guy Farley scores. Christopher Robin Bell cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. A commercial under-performer on release. Produced in United States of America, United Kingdom, Germany, France. Dialogue in English, Cantonese.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Earned back only 4% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.
2Released 22 years ago.
3Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, Cantonese.
4International production across 4 countries: United States of America, United Kingdom, Germany, France.
5Directed by Philippe Martinez, shot by Emmanuel Kadosh. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
6Original score by Guy Farley. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
7Editor Christopher Robin Bell shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
8Jean-Claude Van Damme and Simon Yam and Valerie Tian carry the top of the cast.
9Marketing tagline: "Revenge was all he had left.".
10IMDB entry: tt0367478 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

The technical file

Cinematography: Emmanuel Kadosh
Original score: Guy Farley
Editing: Christopher Robin Bell
Production design: Hans Van der Zanden
Makeup / hair: Gino Zamprioli
Sound: Stefan Korte
Stunt coordinator: Dominique Julienne
Runtime: 91 min · 1h 31m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $14,000,000
Box office: $521,918
Return: 4% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Wake of Death (2004)

Also by

Philippe Martinez

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Community reviews

What people are saying

Dark Jedi2014-11-14
★ 8/10
When I sat down to watch this movie last evening I expected a fairly ordinary direct-to-video (actually it was released to cinema in France) action movie with Jean-Claude Van Damme that would, at best, be somewhat entertaining. Well I was wrong. After having watched the movie I had to say: Wow that was a good movie! Now the threshold for that wow was of course a bit lower than usual since I was not expecting that much from the movie but still, this is a surprisingly good movie. Sure it has its silly moves and plot holes like most movies of this kind but it is miles away from the usual brain-dead run-of-the-mill action movie. First of all, Jean-Claude Van Dame makes a quite decent, even good, performance. Personally I am not much for these sentimental cry-scenes but Jean-Claude manages to make these parts well and at the same time he is brutally cool when he is out seeking his revenge. The action in the movie is also very enjoyable whether it is car chases, motorcycle chases or martial art displays. When it comes to the latter Jean-Claude proves that he is still good at making these scenes unlike for instance Steven Seagal who mostly stands in one spot waving his hands while trying to hide his beer belly. At times the movie is quite cruel. There is a torture scene which is really good without being unnecessarily graphic. Speaking of graphics, the entire movie is well shot. The cinematography is simply very good. I would even say that for this kind of movie it is great. At times this is a very dark movie and those parts of the movie are really the best. For me this was a very positive surprise and I found this movie very well worth watching

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