I’m going to do something here that may very well ruin whatever credibility I had on this site. I’m going to recommend DOA: Dead or Alive as a must see movie this summer. Thanks to the DVD hitting Asian markets (yes, the legit DVD, not bootleg), I was able to watch all 83 minutes of quick cut, cheesetastic T&A-filled fighting. Helmed by veteran Hong Kong maestro Corey Yuen, DOA does an impressive job of making this cast (most of whom are not real martial artists) appear like masters with slick editing and all sorts of other techniques this Hong Kong filmmaker had at his disposal.

Kasumi, Christie, Helena, and Tina are the main focus (Lei Fang gets totally shafted). The choice of Devon Aoki as Kasumi is questionable (she’s not nearly cute enough to pull this off), though the rest of the cast matches pretty well. After a video-game style intro to each main character, the story herds them to the DOA tournament by way of invitation where they attend with their own agendas (Kasumi is looking for her brother, Tina wants to prove herself, and Christie wants the prize money and more). What they discover–besides volleyball and partying–is that they will have to fight to save not only their lives, but the lives of their fellow contestants.

In order to truly enjoy the film, there are some prerequisites. Step 1: turn off brain. This will ensure that all understandings of physics, plausibility, reality, meaningful storyline, and so forth will not be an issue. Step 2: enjoy! It’s that simple. The movie is not the best martial arts film ever, nor is it attempting to be. It’s a true testament to a game series founded on pretty girls with big boobs kicking all sorts of ass. Think Mortal Kombat only with much better fight sequences and the king of all villains: Eric Roberts.