Sorry, this movie sucks

People are voting emotionally.

If you like to be scared, if you like to laugh, and if you like to learn a thing or two at the movies, this absolutely cannot be missed.

It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.

Despite the comic-book style editing and the way the film skips from one scene to the next with the aid of animated borders, ANGEL OF DEATH is really nothing more than yet another story about a female assassin out for revenge. It goes for a gritty, SIN CITY style moody look, but to be honest this has all been done so many times before that it feels rather passe.ANGEL OF DEATH features stunt-woman turned actress Zoe Bell (DEATH PROOF) as a professional assassin who's out for revenge against the people who betrayed her. Along the way, she suffers the effects of a traumatic wound, as well as fighting her own conscience. The plot is light and the script lighter, as this is merely an excuse to string together a series of hard-hitting fight sequences.The good news is that the fights are well staged, thankfully avoiding the dodgy shaky-cam work often used these days; they're also pleasingly violent. However, that's pretty much the only decent thing about ANGEL OF DEATH. The script is sub-par, the direction tries too hard to be atmospheric, and Bell just doesn't cut it as a leading actress. The producers win points for casting some B-movie favourites such as Lucy Lawless (SPARTACUS), Doug Jones (PAN'S LABYRINTH) and Ted Raimi (DARKMAN), but it's not enough to make this a good movie.

You know from the beginning this is not Quentin Tarantino nor is it trying to be , it's just a fun popcorn movie, but the main thing that ruins the movie is choosing a stunt woman as a lead actor. She just doesn't have the chops to pull this off. Even the third stringers out-act her here. She's not horrible, but she definitely can't pull off an ensemble part , and doesn't have one redeemable character trait she can use to make her character even slightly real. The movie is over the top violent and ridiculous, with a fun twist, but any other real actress would have solidified the movie. It has all the cliché elements you need for this type of flick, and good production values, but when the extra on the phone in the elevator delivers her lines better than the lead, there's a problem.

I realize that the whole idea for this movie comes from a comic book. Even so, in order to follow this film it requires a person to turn off his brain and accept some totally ridiculous scenarios. For example, the main character is an assassin by the name of Eve (played by Zoe Bell) who has a 6-inch knife embedded in her skull during an assassination attempt. She manages to complete her mission and stumbles out to a waiting get-away car all the same. She is taken to a mob doctor who performs the very delicate surgery by simply pulling the knife out by hand. She then recuperates for a few days and within no time is falling from a high-rise building onto a car and, apparently because there was another body underneath her to absorb the shock, gets up and walks away. Not long afterward she is involved in several fights which include having her head slammed repeatedly on a floor. All of this just after having a knife pulled from her brain. Yeah, right. At any rate, while there is plenty of action I would have preferred less quantity and more plausible quality. The characters were established well enough but the acting left much to be desired. Essentially, this is a film that has no humor and absolutely no realism. Everything hinges on hand-to-hand combat and even the pauses in between are only there to set the stage for the next violent sequence. No doubt there are some who enjoy this kind of movie and probably can't wait for the inevitable sequel or television series. Personally, it doesn't matter that much to me.

I won't lie when I say that before DEATH PROOF I knew nothing of Zoë Bell . I can go on record now and say I love me some Zoë Bell! She's phenomenal in her fight scenes in ANGEL OF DEATH. Zoë Bell is someone I will look out for in the future no matter how crap the movies themselves are. She's physically marvelous and the way she moves through hired guns and assassins in ANGEL OF DEATH was a sight to behold. The film itself is utter sh#t, I'll get that point across immediately, and the plot is uninspired / derivative. Zoë Bell carries this flick on her shoulders, plain and simple..sure director Paul Etheredge toys around with a film style where scene to scene transfers often resemble those story blocks in comics, but the story and characters are weak and one-dimensional. I found the main villains hilarious..these siblings, spoiled brats, a brother and sister are bucking for the top position of their dying mob father's family. Well, the decision of which will gain control rests in the hands of an unlikely adversary..on of their own hit men, a woman named Eve(Zoë Bell). Zoë Bell's this incredible assassin who gets a knife stuck in her head, literally, the handle is sticking out of her freakin' head! This happens during a routine hit where she's supposed to take out this rotund target, but during the process she accidentally shoots his 14 year old daughter. During the escape one of the target's goons stabs her in the head with a knife, and it affects her mentally..she sees the hallucinogenic image of the teenage girl she killed and is commanded by her to take out the mob family who had the 14 year old's pops assassinated. This sets in motion a whole series of unfortunate events for the Downes mob family for Eve will hunt each member(..and the hired goons paid to protect them), eliminating one after the other. That's pretty much it. Jake Abel is Cam(eron), the young man who wants to run the Downes family, but secretly his sister, Regina(Vail Bloom) is operating things..these kids are ruthless and the desire for power brings out the very worst in them. Cam loves using his straight razor to stab and slice people while Regina has the acting chops to manipulate her way out of dire situations where her life is in jeopardy. Justin Huen is Eve's boss(..and lover), Franklin, who is working in concert with the FBI. Franklin is in love with Eve, and vice versa, and is attempting to negotiate his ass out of major trouble when his best assassin begins murdering his employers. Lucy Lawless is Vera, Eve's Christian neighbor..she love snooping through Eve's clothes and this costs her dearly. I just want to make something perfectly clear..Ted Raimi fans should prepare for certain disappointment because he's in the film 10 seconds tops. Doug Jones is Eve's personal physician and Brian Poth is Franklin's other hit-man, Graham.The action set pieces are often breathtaking as Zoë Bell shows her prowess in hand to hand combat against her foes, with plenty of punches and blows connecting in an unforgiving fashion. In particular is an amazing showdown between Eve and a made man(..who has a relationship with the Downes family) in the claustrophobic confines of a bathroom. How Eve settles a fight with an Asian martial artist(..a mobster's enforcer) by putting him through a window, the roof of a car breaking their fall, is quite impressive. The director shoots the more violent acts off screen, depending on sound effects(..probably a blade stabbing or slicing into melons)to add impact when the use of Cam's razor blade or Eve's hunting knife cut into victims. You could see how Etheredge wanted to emulate Tarantino, it blatantly shows throughout the film. Director Etheredge shamelessly leaves open the conclusion in cliffhanger fashion as Eve stares down her next conquest, a crowned mobster she plans to destroy.