Left for Dead (2005)

Just what I expected

It's not great by any means, but it's a pretty good movie that didn't leave me filled with regret for investing time in it.

Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

When my latest online order of imported DVD's arrived the first one I watched was LEFT FOR DEAD, which I had imported from the UK, when I popped it in my player and started watching the first thing that almost made turn it off was the very poorly staged gunfight sequence in the beginning, I thought to myself then "Oh hell no" but I then decided to watch until the end and give it a chance to redeem itself.Redeem itself it certainly did, the beginning of the film came off almost completely disjointed, I mean to me it looked like this thing was going to be a total disaster, that's how bad it started but as the film progressed it started to look like things were getting more and more organized, such as the editing was very uneven at first but got better as the film progressed, the acting was bad but it also got better and the best action scenes in the film were in the final act that feature a whole collection of well staged and nicely choreographed fight scenes that came up one after the other non stop.Overall, the start of this film might put you off if you are really fussy about the quality of your action films but give it a fair chance, the action in the final act is certainly worth the wait.

I saw LEFT FOR DEAD at the recent Bloodbath festival in Bristol. Along with several other UK and Indie films, it's great to see that there are film makers in the Uk making the best out of very little.With a small budget and humble DV roots, I wasn't expecting much but was pleasantly surprised by this film. It was packed with energy and whilst it was a little too long and a little too much in places I was very impressed by the overall feel and balls of this film.Preceded by a very funny introduction by the filmmakers (pre-tapped) the film from the start never takes itself too seriously with lead characters Williams and Kelso fighting and killing more henchmen in one film than Chuck Norris managed in his entire career.As I said, too long in places, and occasionally struggling to make the most out of it's meagre budget this film was actually very enjoyable, action packed and hopefully will be well received on it's upcoming UK release.Not to everyone's taste but if you like Chan, Norris, Jean Claude and Segal films of the 80's and 90's then you'll most certainly get something out of this.

The film the term 'So bad it's good!' was invented for. This film has all the hall marks of a very bad 80's action movie. The kind of film that was frequented by Jeff Speakman, Michael Dudikof and Jeff Wincott. The kind of film you rented because the cover had ninjas and fighting drawn so badly that it looked more like your grand ma than Chuck Norris.The kind of film where the good guy gets shot, kicked, stabbed, beaten, blown up and yet still manages to take down the bad guys army of 200 highly trained soldiers.The kind of film that had a name like 'American Ninja', 'The Perfect Weapon', 'Ninja Exterminator', 'Invasion USA', 'Eye Of The Tiger', 'Kick Boxer' and 'Missing In Action'.The kind of film that I always chose at my local video shop over the higher budgeted star driven studio fair. The kind of film that, well, that I love so much.Don't get me wrong. Like the films mentioned above (and the many I have failed to mention), this isn't a masterpiece in terms of production value, acting or (sometimes) editing or direction but in terms of bang for buck well this film does what it says on the tin. In spades.And lets face it I never watched Segal movies for the character development or plot. I watched them because I knew, just for that hour and a half, that I'd get to see some tubby white guy kick the crud out of a bunch of bad guys in inventive and fun ways.But the strange thing is, for all its faults and over long running time, this film does just what I wanted. It offers an 80's styled action film that is true to the genre and superb fun to watch.So, in short, if your idea of a good film is Citizen Kane, Remains of the Day or Notting Hill this film is not for you.If however, like me, you grew up on a staple diet of action movies, body counts and ninjas then you 'Left For Dead' is that rare find… a butt kicking, head stomping 80's styled action romp that makes for almost 2 hours of mindless fun, bloody, guts and over the top martial arts moves.--eye--

Can a British crew make an action film with Hong Kong sensibilities? Watch Left for Dead and you'll see.In the vicious city Hope, Kincaid is the boss. He rules with an iron fist and employs soldiers with lethal martial arts skills to make sure no-one encroaches into his territory. Williams is Kincaid's best hit-man. His wife was brutally killed years ago and rage used to fuel his jobs but now William's feels empty and wishes to leave this lifestyle behind. He agrees to do one last job but Kincaid can not let him retire. At the end of the mission his two colleagues, Dylan and Taylor, turn on him and try to finish him off. Needless to say, they leave him for dead. Kelso is a professional kickboxer who's life is ruined when he defies Kincaid and doesn't throw a fight. Forced to leave Hope his only way to make a living is to get involved in illegal bare knuckle fights. Williams soon discovers it was Kincaid who ordered his wife to be killed and decides he wants pay back. He teams up with Kelso and the two go back to Hope to get revenge.Left for Dead is a guilty pleasure. Its one of those films that shouldn't be any good but something makes you enjoy it. Its got a few flaws; the story is a bit clichéd, some of the acting is a bit woolly, the editing is a bit choppy with continuity being a bit sparse in some places and it's a little too long with some of the action being a bit repetitive.But its still a really enjoyable film.All its flaws can be forgiven as soon as you find out Left For Dead was only made for £10,000. It looks a bit scrappy but it easily looks like it was made for 10 times that amount.If you're looking for an action film that's stuffed full of Martial Arts, good stunts and is made by some home-grown talent then Left For Dead is the film for you.