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The female assassin flick is a rarified genre that frequently provides for some good action and occasionally a good bit of sexiness. It’s apparent after watching a few female assassin flicks that you can’t kick ass and kill people without being hot… and this is the whole premise of Angel of Death… at the very least, that’s what the subtext is implying.

The film is the breakout role for Death Proof’s Zoe Bell, a stuntwoman turned actress who first charmed theatergoers as the bawdy and tough version of herself in Tarantino’s half of Grindhouse. Even though that film left a little to be desired, you had to feel that Zoe Bell was destined for greater things. While Angel of Death may not be “a greater thing,” it’s certainly a step in the right direction, and as long as Bell doesn’t go the route of Cynthia Rothrock, she should be able to climb to the top of the action genre in the blink of an eye. Part of this is due to her undeniable charisma, but most of it is due to her excellent physicality. One of the biggest hurdles for a chick becoming an action star is the fact that they look silly as fuck fighting, and frequently aren’t believable as a badass. This is not a problem for Bell, and she kicks ass efficiently and believably in Angel of Death.

The story of Angel of Death is as follows: A female assassin is sent to do a job. She gets stabbed in the head and accidentally shoots a teenage girl. This event precipitates a philosophical switch in the ruthless assassin, and with the help of some bloody visions, she sets about making things right. It’s a run of the mill storyline for an assassin flick, which is kind of disappointing, but it’s executed in a solid manner and Bell carries much of the flick herself.

Director Paul Etheridge does a great job in a couple of departments, but he could use some improvements in some areas. The action scenes are well-done, fast-paced and utterly believable. There are a couple of scenes where you can’t really see what happened, but then there are some scenes which seem almost out of place they are so good, such as one scene of a dude getting his throat cut and dying. The pacing of the entire film is solid, and you have to hand it to Etheridge for not making the film longer than it needed to be. Its 78 minute runtime is just right for the film, and rather than pad the film with shitty scenes, Etheridge keeps the film Spartan and filled with scenes that are vital. Some of the setups on the non-action scenes could be a little more interesting, as they feel like stock exposition scenes, but Etheridge never spends that long on these scenes, so they aren’t enough to derail the flick.

Angel of Death features a solid cast, which does everything right. Zoe Bell, as I’ve already discussed, is the true star of the flick and makes Angel of Death everything that it is. Doug Jones, who we normally see outfitted in weird costumes, is awesome as a creepy doctor, who must help Bell’s character recover from getting stabbed in the brain. It’s awesome to see Jones as a real person, and he provides a nice level of quirkiness to the film. Jake Abel is the other real standout ion the film as Cameron Downes, a sadistic crimelord’s son, who takes pleasure in killing. The rest of the cast feels a little too generic to be remarked upon, and all they do is distract from looking at Zoe Bell’s ever-present cleavage.

Overall, this film merits a watch. It has it’s flaws and some of the sets look cheap, but there are enough stylish moments combined with Bell’s charisma to make the film worth watching. It feels like a throwback to the late ‘80s/early ‘90s action flicks, and for fans of those movies, it’s definitely worth checking out.

Final Synopsis: Angel of Death is pretty cool. You could do worse at the video store. I recommend a rent.

Points Lost: -1 for some bland setups during exposition scenes, -1 for a couple of generic supporting actors, -1 for some weak production design, -1 for a rather generic storyline

Lesson Learned: Getting stabbed in the brain isn’t as serious an injury as you’d think it would be.

Burning Question: Why isn’t the film called Stabbed in the Brain? That’s much cooler than the generic Angel of Death.

Angel of Death
6/10

Tags: 2009, action, adventure, assassin, Doug Jones, female assassin, jake abel, latest movie reviews, lucy lawless, paul ehteridge, recent3, ted raimi, vail bloom, zoe bell