The defence The Adrenaline Seeker
“Momentum is a formal choice.”
The velocity sharpens instinct and tension, making every beat land before self-importance can settle in.
Back to trending 
Wake of Death
Action · 2004
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.
Movie details
Wake of Death
“Revenge was all he had left.”
2004 Action 1h 31m
Critical arithmetic
One number, for now.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
TMDB
6.1 / 10
Community rating
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.
CriticWise case file
What this film says about your taste.
Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.
The archetype split
Who fights over Wake of Death?
For the defence
The Adrenaline Seeker
“If it slows down, you check your phone.”
Read their case For the prosecution
The Auteur Devotee
“You watch the director, not the movie.”
Read their objectionThe split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.
Taste neighbourhood
Nearby on the taste map.
TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.
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Red Heat
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Exit Wounds
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Maverick cop Orin Boyd always brings down the domestic terrorists he tracks, but he ruffles feathers with his unorthodox techniques -- and soon finds himself reassigned to the toughest district in Detroit. When he discovers a group of detectives secretly operating a drug ring, Boyd joins forces with an unlikely ally -- gangster Latrell Walker -- to bring down the rotten cops.
Dark Angel
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Jack Caine is a Houston vice cop who's forgotten the rule book. His self-appointed mission is to stop the drugs trade and the number one supplier Victor Manning. While involved in an undercover operation to entrap Victor Manning, his partner is killed, and a sinister newcomer enters the scene...
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Death Wish II
Action · 1982
Paul Kersey is again a vigilante trying to find five punks who murdered his housekeeper and daughter in Los Angeles.
Foxy Brown
Action · 1974
A voluptuous black woman takes a job as a high-class prostitute in order to get revenge on the mobsters who murdered her boyfriend.
Rise of the Footsoldier
Action · 2007
Carlton Leach rises from one of the most feared generals of the football terraces to becoming a member of a notorious gang of criminals who rampaged their way through London and Essex in the late '80s and early '90s.
Hard to Kill
Action · 1990
Mason Storm, a 'go it alone' cop, is gunned down at home. The intruders kill his wife, and think they've killed both Mason and his son too. Mason is secretly taken to a hospital where he spends several years in a coma. His son meanwhile is growing up thinking his father is dead. When Mason wakes up, everyone is in danger - himself, his son, his best friend, his nurse - but most of all those who arranged for his death
Where it lives
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Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
Philippe Martinez
Written by
Mick Davis · Laurent Fellous · Kristina Hamilton-Grobler · Philippe Martinez
Jean-Claude Van Damme
Ben Archer
Simon Yam
Sun Quan
V
Valerie Tian
Kim
Philip Tan
Han
Tony Schiena
Tony
C
Claude Hernandez
Raymond
Lisa King
Cynthia Archer
Court is in session
Put Wake of Death on trial.
Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.
The prosecution The Auteur Devotee
“Speed as an alibi.”
The film races past its weak spots and hopes acceleration will keep the audience from inspecting the evidence.