Welcome to Sudden Death (2020 Video) User Reviews

Truly cheap

[Leofwine_draca · 5/10 · 15 October 2021]

A truly cheap follow up to the 1995 Van Damme hit, this essentially follows the same script with a very different look (reader: cheaper) and a few minor changes here and there. The reliably solid Michael Jai White is a good choice for lead, but in terms of plotting it's very much a weak sauce imitator of the original. The good news is that it's a lot shorter, too, and there is plenty of action, even if the fights are cheesy and made cheesier by the hip hop tracks. Even so, I was expecting a lot worse, and was pleasantly surprised in places.

Michael Jai White makes it watchable, but this is a below average version of a much better movie.

[IonicBreezeMachine · 4/10 · 3 October 2020]

Jesse Freeman, a former soldier turned stadium security guard who's still readjusting to civilian life, takes his kids to see a basketball game where he works only for a well armed team of mercenaries to take over the arena and only Jesse can save the day.

Welcome to Sudden Death is the latest in a long line of films produced by Universals Direct-to-video studio Universal 1440, a label that specializes in making sequels to moderately successful theatrical releases like Backdraft 2, Inside Man 2, and a glut of Dragonheart sequels just to name a few. In this case Welcome to Sudden Death is a remake of one of the better Jean Claude Van Damme vehicles Sudden Death from 1995 but the movie takes only the bare bones of its inspiration and slaps it on what feels like the tone and humor of Paul Blart.

First the good, Michael Jai White is still charismatic and brings energy to the movie even if the material is beneath him. What fun there is to be had from this movie is because of the charm and physical prowess of white. The hand to hand combat scenes range from mediocre to okay(with the best one being a sequence in a locker room at the tail end of the movie) and despite not being as well staged as superior White vehicles like Blood and Bone or Falcon Rising they do convey some dynamic and forceful fights.

The bad, the movie is obnoxiously silly. It is over stuffed with comic relief characters like Gus the janitor, Jesse's Kids, and a panicky rapper named Milli who all play their roles over the top with broad humor that does not land. Michael Eklund plays the villain code named Alpha and he is not a good villain. His performance feels more like a deranged hillbilly than a criminal mastermind and even taking into account the movie's goofy tone he still doesn't work.

Welcome to Sudden Death is a pointless remake of an okay 90s action movie. While not completely without merit thanks to the usually reliable Michael Jai White your time would be better spent watching similar fare like Final Score or the original Sudden Death.

Edit: for those of you who duck out before the end credits(or the end of the movie for that matter) the movie has the audacity to try to sequel bait with a post credits scene sting.......yeah, that's not happening.

Copy cat

[rudygomez-72453 · 3/10 · 2 October 2020]

Thought it was a comedy movie then saw that it's just a cheap copy cast version of the original movie with JCVD which was way better. This movie totally sucked.

So bad it's fun!

[hambrickh · 1/10 · 2 October 2020]

I knew this was going to be a low budget movie but this is just terrible! The acting is so bad and the story plot is even worst! I wish MJW would be in a good movie for once! Whoever directed this should never ever do another movie agian.

Don't waste your time

[ellic1 · 2/10 · 2 October 2020]

Go watch the 1995 Van Damme flick. This is a sorry remake of the earlier version

I mean...wow. Just....wow.

[zimmseth · 2/10 · 29 September 2020]

I like Michael Jai White and enjoy his movies. But his one is bad. I mean, damn. The fight choreography looks like it was done by the kids in this movie. I should've passed on this movie. You should too.

Oh Michael, oh Michael

[kjjames81 · 2/10 · 4 October 2020]

Where did it all go wrong for you? Yes I understand that it is very difficult for a cheap movie to get the backing from a major studio but oh boy why did any studio give this the green light? Also why did Michael Jai White sign to do this? sack your agent. Michael is a very talented martial artist and I own quite a few of his movies from the okay, universal soldier: the return to his great movie, blood and bone. This film is way, way down in my estimation, Michael what possesed you make this tripe? I will never know, is he that desperate for money? Another reviewer said that this film was a parody of the first sudden death, ah no it was not meant to be, in fact it was meant to be a serious sequel to it. In fact the van damme vehicle looked like a massive Hollywood blockbuster. Where did this go wrong? Well apart Rom the budget, which we all know about films finding it hard to get backup. Another thing viewers look for in films like this are the fight scenes and this was really bad at it as well. You will always find this in really badly done movies, the moves are done so slowly and loom very amateurish that anybody who has watched a few action movies can do better and just think people get paid for making these dreadful fight scenes. Do yourself a favour and don't watch this, the less people watch this may go and make Michael choose better vehicles to do. Go and watch Security and Acts Of Vengeance, which both made cheaply but are great actioners.

An R rated movie for kids.

[danwkremer · 2/10 · 2 October 2020]

Bad. Very bad. I can't believe I sat through his corny low budget waste of time. Thanks Netflix.

Know what you are watching.

[zsorens · 7/10 · 2 October 2020]

This is a Michael Jai White film, do not expect and exceptional storyline or high quality....well anything. Watch this for its ridiculous nature, and Michael Jai White being over the top and some tongue in cheek action and dialogue that is laughably bad, to the point you can't tell if it's on purpose. Watching drunk is best.

Avoid at all costs......

[kmvhamilton · 1/10 · 29 September 2020]

Some of the worst acting I've ever seen! Avoid this if you can, I wish I had. I had hoped some of the fight scenes might make up for the acting but......Nope😳

funniest action movie I have ever seen

[elenaphysics · 10/10 · 2 October 2020]

I really do not understand the bad ratings This movie was pure fun. It was like a parody of sudden death. It is hilarious. Michael Jai White was great for the role. Even if it is an action film that looks like a parody of an action film it has nice fight scenes and it kept me alert. I did not get bored Why people are hard on this movie? What did they expect to see? Gone with the wind?

I liked this movie a lot.

[asage19 · 7/10 · 29 March 2021]

Great kid characters, for one thing ;> Lots of humour throughout, for another. Great fight scenes. Explosions! Fine way to spend some time. Filmed in Winnipeg! Bonus :D Bunch of familiar faces, for me. Did I mention explosions? ;>

Feces just Feces!!!

[miagary-94971 · 1/10 · 30 September 2020]

I'm speechless! It's a joke! I can't believe Michael Jai White accepted this role! He's awesome, but he must have needed the $ bad.

Nothing to Spoil Here..it is already rotten

[rdamian1963 · 2/10 · 6 October 2020]

This movie is just plain bad. Characters are stereotyped, the acting is bad and the fight sequences are horrible. The storyline is simple and the script poorly written. Other than Michael Jao White being in it, this movie has nothing to offer.

DOA

[jwhedrick · 3/10 · 2 October 2020]

This movie is "dead on arrival". A highschool drama club could provide better acting.

Lame with hardly any good fights

[ravencorinncarluk · 2/10 · 30 September 2020]

I didn't expect a whole lot, but somehow my expectations were still too high. The dialogue is atrocious and delivered poorly. Some of the characters quip like they know they're in a movie. What few fight sequences there are have been chopped to pieces. The motivations seemed like they existed just for the writer to attempt to make some statement about the military complex.

Only gets two stars because Michael Jai White is awesome. Even though he was clearly phoning it in for this movie.

Wow

[hrmartin-312-294127 · 1/10 · 2 October 2020]

Talk about copy cat movie from the original Sudden Death movie! From Jean-Claude Van Damme. This movie was super cheesy super bad.

Is this a joke?

[malgrimes · 1/10 · 5 April 2021]

What did I just watch? Is this a high school project? I've seen better story line, acting, special affects and tension on Saturday morning kids TV.

This is ridiculous. Don't waste your time,unless you're looking for a HowNotToDoIt example.

A fun self aware vibe.

[DarkVulcan29 · 6/10 · 25 October 2020]

That's what this action has going for it, it's in no way a great film, but it has fun with it's awfulness. You see it in Michael Jai White's performance, even he knows it's not a good movie, but he has fun with it anyway.







This is a sequel to the Jean Claude Van Damme film from 90's, which I did not see. The stadium scenes are pretty good, the bad guys are cartoonishly over the type. Fight scenes are pretty fun also. Go into this movie not expecting a great film, but just an enjoyably bad action film, you'll just have fun watching.

Cheesy

[seancook-69881 · 1/10 · 4 October 2020]

I expected Expected cheesy, but it was bad too. Watch at your own risk.

Dazzling Fun

[lensview · 10/10 · 22 October 2020]

This movie is a pure joy. The good guy wins. He's invincible The bad guys lose. They deserve it. I cheered. I laughed. I enjoyed a happy ending. People who pan this movie just don't get it. You want Shakespeare? You're in the wrong place.

Enjoyable

[minunimion · 7/10 · 27 October 2020]

I'm able to enjoy masterpieces and movies like this. A lot of haters who are not able to enjoy their lives and try to ruin the other's lives... I'm sorry Guys, it doesn't work like that, you will only to make your lives worse. A decent movie, acting was honest, I like martial arts, so I really enjoyed the fighting, for me Michael J White is very good at, but as I'm not expert, I can't judge anything about. The pace was good, the actions much more than acceptable. Predictable, nothing new? So what? When I watch a movie I want to have some fun and about this movie I don't have anything to complain. If you are used to enjoy even the small things that the life offers you, then you will appreciate this movie as it is, otherwise...

Dont waste.your time on this

[enginatesh · 1/10 · 3 October 2020]

White, come on. Is it your first movie?. On first scene , waking up showed how bad this acting gonna be. Junk movie, instead they should have spend money for homeless people.

Serious PASS

[jgoryance · 1/10 · 5 October 2020]

The low reviews are spot on. If anyone rated this a 10 out of 10 they deserve to be committed to a mental facility. Some scenes are decent at best but overall it's just really awful acting from almost everyone involved. The lead is a good actor but he's the only one. The dialogue is atrocious and I would only watch this movie if that's your thing and you're into watching bad movies. Otherwise if you do waste your time, prepare to be extremely disappointed.

Unentertaining

[shekbhi · 2/10 · 4 October 2020]

There is no aspect of entertainment but a lot of flaws to watch for. There were scenes were Dallas Jackson was smiling despite the scene being a serious one. Many scenes seemed apparently erroneous. Wish the director and crew put some extra effort to make a better movie.