alanbobet Review of Angel of Death

Angel of Death (I) (2009)

Imitation "Alias"/"La Femme Nikita" vehicle for Zoe Bell

[4/10 · 14 July 2009]

I have just seen the Unrated & (so called)Unedited DVD version of ANGEL OF DEATH starring stunt actress Zoe Bell in her first starring lead acting role, since Ms. Bell basically played "herself" in the Quintin Tarentino mini movie, DEATH PROOF, as part of the GRINDHOUSE double feature of 2007. While I consider Ms. Bell as the best stunt actress alive, her acting talents are still quite limited and is still a work in progress. The film which is really a compilation of mini episodes shown on the Internet based on a script by comic book writer, Ed Brubaker(Marvel Comic's Captain America)lacks a cohesive plot with credible and believable characters, especially the main female lead that remains as cyphers thruout the film, which really lasts only 78 minutes. The plot as it is, a combination of TV's ALIAS and LA FEMME NIKITA, has Bell as a hit woman working for a crime syndicate, who suffers an almost fatal blow in the head by a knife during a botched assassination attempt and then because of that blow, she suffers a change of heart in her profession and then decides to go after her bosses. The action scenes, especially with Ms Bell herself doing her own stunts & fight scenes, are quite good, but every time Ms Bell tries to act in the film with scripted dialogue, the film goes downhill, since she is obviously out of her league, especially acting with pros like Lucy Lawless(ZENA), Ted Raimi and Doug Jones(HELLBOY). Ms Bell here commits the same error as another favorite stunt actress/ martial artist Cynthia Rothrock,who is also great in her own fight scenes but can't act or deliver dialogue convincingly. It also streches credibility when the lead character suffers a knife blow to the skull with a seven inch knife, but suffers no serious motor trauma to the brain, except for some minor seizures. The film as directed as such, has a TV movie, made for video quality to it and doesn't work as a theatrical feature. The film just ends when it's reaching it's climax and leaves the door wide open for a sequel, but unlike Tarentino's KILL BILL, which this film unsuccessfully tries to emulate, the viewer doesn't have enough sympathy for Zoe Bell's character in the same way audiences felt for Uma Thurman's character or Anne Parillaud's character in NIKITA or Jennifer Garner's character in ALIAS. My sincere advice to Zoe Bell is to continue doing bit parts in film and TV to be able to fully develop her acting skills before trying another lead role in a film again or her career will end up just like Cynthia Rothrock and Mimi Lesseos doing Grade Z action flicks released straight to video.