''Welcome to Sudden Death'' is a 2020 American

sports Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, th ...

action film Action film is a film genre in which the protagonist is thrust into a series of events that typically involve violence and physical feats. The genre tends to feature a mostly resourceful hero struggling against incredible odds, which include life ...

directed by Dallas Jackson and starring

Michael Jai White Michael Jai White (born November 10, 1967) is an American actor, director and martial artist. He was the first African American to portray a major comic book superhero in a major motion picture, starring as Al Simmons, the protagonist in the 1997 ...

, Gary Owen,

Michael Eklund Michael Eklund is a Canadian television and film actor who is known for playing the role of the villain or antihero. His characters are often described as being "creepy". His roles include a kidnapper who terrorizes characters played by Halle ...

and Marrese Crump. It is a remake of the 1995 film '' Sudden Death'', which starred

Jean-Claude Van Damme Jean-Claude Camille François Van Varenberg (, ; born 18 October 1960), known professionally as Jean-Claude Van Damme (, ), is a Belgian actor, martial artist, filmmaker, and fight choreographer. Born and raised in Brussels, Belgium, at the a ...

as a former

firefighter A firefighter is a first responder and rescuer extensively trained in firefighting, primarily to extinguish hazardous fires that threaten life, property, and the environment as well as to rescue people and in some cases or jurisdictions also ...

battling hostage takers during

game seven A game seven is the final game of a best of seven series. This game can occur in the postseasons for Major League Baseball (MLB) (League Championship Series and World Series), the National Basketball Association (NBA) (all rounds of the NBA pl ...

of the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

Stanley Cup Finals The Stanley Cup Finals in ice hockey (also known as the Stanley Cup Final among various media, french: Finale de la Coupe Stanley) is the National Hockey League's (NHL) championship series to determine the winner of the Stanley Cup, North America ...

. Like the original, ''Welcome to Sudden Death'' is a single-location action film in the mold of ''

Die Hard ''Die Hard'' is a 1988 American action film directed by John McTiernan, with a screenplay by Jeb Stuart and Steven E. de Souza. Based on the 1979 novel '' Nothing Lasts Forever'', by Roderick Thorp, it stars Bruce Willis, Alan Rickman, Ale ...

'', with the conceit that the heist storyline runs parallel to, and sometimes intersects with, a sports contest. The new version transfers the action from an

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

to a

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

setting, and trims down the sports

subplot In fiction, a subplot is a secondary strand of the plot that is a supporting side story for any story or for the main plot. Subplots may connect to main plots, in either time and place or thematic significance. Subplots often involve supporting cha ...

significantly. The film was produced by

Universal Studios Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Ameri ...

under their Universal 1440 imprint, in partnership with

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...

. It premiered on 29 September 2020.

Plot

A commando unit led by Alpha (Michael Eklund) and his ruthless right-hand man Omega (Marrese Crump) takes control of a

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wal, Banyà:nyuwá) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1 ...

sports arena during the season opener of the fictional National Basketball League, pitting the hometown Falcons against the New York Knights. Alpha is a disgraced counterterrorist with a grudge towards arena owner and

new media New media describes communication technologies that enable or enhance interaction between users as well as interaction between users and content. In the middle of the 1990s, the phrase "new media" became widely used as part of a sales pitch for ...

billionaire Diana Smart (Sabryn Rock), who funded an investigation into his unit's

abuses of power Abuse is the improper usage or treatment of a thing, often to unfairly or improperly gain benefit. Abuse can come in many forms, such as: physical or verbal maltreatment, injury, assault, violation, rape, unjust practices, crimes, or other t ...

. Security guard and former

US Army Special Forces The United States Army Special Forces (SF), colloquially known as the "Green Berets" due to their distinctive service headgear, are a special operations force of the United States Army. The Green Berets are geared towards nine doctrinal mis ...

veteran Jesse Freeman (Michael Jai White) teams with the arena's janitor Gus (Gary Owen) in an attempt to stop the assailants and rescue his daughter Mara (Nakai Takawira), who has been taken hostage alongside Smart and her entourage.

Cast

as Jesse Freeman * Gary Owen as Gus *

as Jobe Davis/Alpha * Marrese Crump as Omega * Sabryn Rock as Diana Smart * Anthony Grant as Milli * Nakai Takawira as Mara Freeman * Lyric Justice as Ryan Freeman * Anthony "Mif" Mifsud as Devlin Montez * Gillian White as Gamma * Sagine Sémajuste as Alisha Freeman Kristen Harris and Paul Essiembre appear as the

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

and

governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

, respectively. Sean Skene, Stephanie Sy, Jeff Strome, B.J. Verot and Adam Hurtig appear as the remaining members of Alpha's commando.

Production

Development

Following informal mentions of the impending remake by director Dallas Jackson, including in a June 2019 interview with the ''

Los Angeles Sentinel The ''Los Angeles Sentinel'' is a weekly African-American owned newspaper published in Los Angeles, California. The paper boasts of reaching 125,000 readers , making it one of the oldest, largest and most influential African-American newspapers ...

'', Netflix officially announced the project in August of that year, promising a humorous take on its 1995 inspiration. Kim Todd was listed as one of the

producers Producer or producers may refer to: Occupations *Producer (agriculture), a farm operator *A stakeholder of economic production *Film producer, supervises the making of films **Executive producer, contributes to a film's budget and usually does not ...

, however Rhonda Baker is credited in the finished film. A new

sidekick A sidekick is a slang expression for a close companion or colleague (not necessarily in fiction) who is, or is generally regarded as, subordinate to the one they accompany. Some well-known fictional sidekicks are Don Quixote's Sancho Panza, ...

character, Gus, was added to the story by Jackson. The role was given to

comedian A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing Amusement is the state of experiencing humorous and entertaining events or situations while the person or a ...

Gary Owen, who had previously supported Michael Jai White in Universal's ''

Undercover Brother 2 ''Undercover Brother 2'' is a 2019 American action comedy blaxploitation film directed by Leslie Small and starring Michael Jai White. It is a sequel to the 2002 film '' Undercover Brother''. Plot Undercover Brother tracks The Man to his lair i ...

''. White recommended Michael Eklund for the role of main

villain A villain (also known as a "black hat" or "bad guy"; the feminine form is villainess) is a stock character, whether based on a historical narrative or one of literary fiction. ''Random House Unabridged Dictionary'' defines such a character a ...

Alpha, based on his performance in 2011's ''

Tactical Force ''Tactical Force'' is a 2011 Canadian-American action film written and directed by Adamo Paolo Cultraro, and starring Steve Austin, Michael Jai White, Michael Shanks, Keith Jardine, Michael Eklund, Darren Shahlavi and Lexa Doig. The film conc ...

'', which co-starred himself and

Steve Austin Steve Austin (born Steven James Anderson; December 18, 1964), better known by his ring name "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, is an American media personality, actor, and retired professional wrestler. Widely regarded as one of the greatest and most ...

. The star's

spouse A spouse is a significant other in a marriage. In certain contexts, it can also apply to a civil union or common-law marriage. Although a spouse is a form of significant other, the latter term also includes non-marital partners who play a social ...

and frequent on-screen partner Gillian White also joined the project, as did his go-to

fight choreographer Stage combat, fight craft or fight choreography is a specialised technique in theatre designed to create the illusion of physical combat without causing harm to the performers. It is employed in live stage plays as well as operatic and ballet pr ...

Larnell Stovall.
Several contributors to the picture, such as Jackson, Crump and musician

Howard Drossin Howard Drossin is an American composer for film and video games. His work includes co-scoring with longtime collaborator RZA, ''The Man with the Iron Fists'' for Universal Pictures, starring Russell Crowe and Lucy Liu; several award-winning vide ...

, are part of Robert "RZA" Diggs' extended artistic circle, and Diggs' record company provided most of the songs heard on its soundtrack.
Irit Raz, an ''

Undisputed Undisputed may refer to: Film * ''Undisputed'' (film), a 2002 action-thriller-drama film ** ''Undisputed'' (soundtrack), the soundtrack to the film * Undisputed II: Last Man Standing, a 2006 American martial arts film * Undisputed III: Redempt ...

franchise Franchise may refer to: Business and law * Franchising, a business method that involves licensing of trademarks and methods of doing business to franchisees * Franchise, a privilege to operate a type of business such as a cable television p ...

alumn with some familiarity for Stovall and White's style, was the original choice to edit the film. Eric Potter was later brought in at Universal's behest. This resulted in some interference with White's vision, as the studio-appointed editor relied on an abundance of quick cuts, which are often used to enhance the performances of non-

martial artists Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defense; military and law enforcement applications; competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; and the preserv ...

in mainstream action cinema. ''Welcome to Sudden Death'' was originally slated for a June 2020 release, then delayed to late September of that year.

Filming

''Welcome to Sudden Death'' was shot in

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...

and Selkirk,

Manitoba Manitoba ( ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population o ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. Principal photography was scheduled to begin on 6 August and wrap up on 4 September 2019.

Cinematography Cinematography (from ancient Greek κίνημα, ''kìnema'' "movement" and γράφειν, ''gràphein'' "to write") is the art of motion picture (and more recently, electronic video camera) photography. Cinematographers use a lens to focu ...

was handled by Canadian

Mark Irwin Mark Irwin (born August 7, 1950) is a Canadian cinematographer. He was born in Toronto, Ontario, and studied political science at the University of Waterloo and filmmaking at York University. He is widely known for his early collaborations ...

, who earlier in his career lensed another film in the same genre, ''

Passenger 57 ''Passenger 57'' is a 1992 American action thriller film directed by Kevin Hooks. The film stars Wesley Snipes and Bruce Payne, with Snipes portraying a security consultant who finds himself forced to foil a plot to free a captive terrorist during ...

''. The film used Winnipeg's

Bell MTS Place Canada Life Centre (formerly MTS Centre and Bell MTS Place) is an indoor arena in downtown Winnipeg, Manitoba. The arena is the home of the National Hockey League's Winnipeg Jets and their American Hockey League affiliate, the Manitoba Moose. T ...

as stand-in for Phoenix's fictional Odyssey Center. Some backgrounds hint at the film's actual shooting location, such as a food stand named the Aviators' Grill—after the

Winnipeg Jets The Winnipeg Jets are a professional ice hockey team based in Winnipeg. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference, and is owned by True North Sports & Entertainment, pl ...

—and selling

poutine Poutine () is a dish of french fries and cheese curds topped with a brown gravy. It emerged in Quebec, in the late 1950s in the Centre-du-Québec region, though its exact origins are uncertain and there are several competing claims regarding it ...

, a traditional Canadian dish that is seldom offered in basketball arenas of the

Southwestern United States The Southwestern United States, also known as the American Southwest or simply the Southwest, is a geographic and cultural region of the United States that generally includes Arizona, New Mexico, and adjacent portions of California, Colorado, Ne ...

. The production relied on local talent for its basketball sequences.

Fort Richmond Fort Richmond is a provincial electoral division in the Canadian province of Manitoba. It was created by redistribution in 2008, out of parts of St. Norbert and Fort Garry. As of electoral redistribution in 2018, which took effect the followi ...

's Dan Becker, a former

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

player with the

Colorado Buffaloes The Colorado Buffaloes are the athletic teams that represent the University of Colorado. The university sponsors 17 varsity sports teams. Both the men's and women's teams are called the Buffaloes (Buffs for short) or, rarely, the Golden Buffalo ...

, appears as the New York Knights'

head coach A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manager", as in assoc ...

and helped stage the on-court action. He previously served as an actor and consultant for the

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...

college basketball drama '' A Season on the Brink: The Bobby Knight Story'', which was also shot in Winnipeg.

Release

In the United States, ''Welcome to Sudden Death'' premiered on 29 September 2020 on

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...

, and on VOD via Netflix and

FandangoNow Vudu is an American digital video store and streaming service owned by Fandango Media, a joint-venture between NBCUniversal and Warner Bros. Discovery. The company offers transactional video on demand rentals and digital purchases of films ...

. On Netflix, the film peaked at number 4 among

feature films A feature film or feature-length film is a narrative film (motion picture or "movie") with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole presentation in a commercial entertainment program. The term ''feature film'' originall ...

during the weekend following its release. On FandangoNow, which operates on a

pay-per-view Pay-per-view (PPV) is a type of pay television or webcast service that enables a viewer to pay to watch individual events via private telecast. Events can be purchased through a multichannel television platform using their electronic program guid ...

model and ranks programs by revenue, the film was priced at the standard $5.99 and ranked 7th for the week ending 4 October 2020. ''Flix-Patrol.com'', which uses a proprietary point system, ranked ''Welcome to Sudden Death'' as the 18th most popular feature film on Netflix USA for the month of October 2020. In the UK, the film premiered on

Sky Cinema Sky Cinema is a British subscription film service owned by Sky Group (a division of Comcast). In the United Kingdom, Sky Cinema channels currently broadcast on the Sky satellite and Virgin Media cable platforms, and in addition Sky Cinema on ...

Now TV Now most commonly refers to the present time. Now, NOW, or The Now may also refer to: Organizations * Natal Organisation of Women, a South African women's organization * National Organization for Women, an American feminist organization * No ...

on 13 March 2021. The physical version followed on 22 March, and reached 11th place in the national DVD sales chart.

Reception

The film's critical reception was generally unfavorable, with most reviewers bemoaning its generic look and sound. Some felt that the sports/crime crossover was not as smoothly executed as in the original, in part due to some narrative twists, such as the titular sudden death, not translating well to professional basketball.
Opinions were divided on the film's humor, and most praise was directed at its dynamic

martial arts Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defense; military and law enforcement applications; combat sport, competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; a ...

sequences, which made good use of White and Crump's natural charisma. Veteran critic Roger Moore summed up his thoughts by stating, "This slow-footed, jokey, half-assed remake of Jean-Claude Van Damme’s ''Sudden Death'' is better than it has any right to be, mostly thanks to White. That’s still not very good, alas."

Soundtrack

The film's

soundtrack album A soundtrack album is any album that incorporates music directly recorded from the soundtrack of a particular feature film or television show. The first such album to be commercially released was Walt Disney's ''Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs'' ...

has been released digitally by Back Lot Records, a subsidiary of

NBCUniversal NBCUniversal Media, LLC is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate corporation owned by Comcast and headquartered at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, United States. NBCUniversal is primari ...

that has issued

soundtracks A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack of ...

for many of their properties. It was preceded by two digital singles. The album features two tracks from the original score by

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

arranger In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orches ...

, one song by Anthony Grant (who plays rapper Milli in the film), and a further nine songs under licence from 36 Chambers Records. The song "

How I Could Just Kill A Man "How I Could Just Kill a Man" is the debut single by Hip hop music, hip hop group Cypress Hill from their eponymous debut album, ''Cypress Hill (album), Cypress Hill'', and was their first major hit in 1991. It was released as a double A-side to " ...

" by

Cypress Hill Cypress Hill is an American hip hop group from South Gate, California. They have sold over 20 million albums worldwide and have multi-platinum and platinum albums. They are considered to be among the main progenitors of West Coast and 1990 ...

also features in one of the film's climactic scenes, although it does not appear on the soundtrack album.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Welcome to Sudden Death (Film 2020 films 2020 action thriller films American action thriller films 2020s English-language films Films shot in Winnipeg Films about terrorism in the United States Films set in Phoenix, Arizona Films about special forces American basketball films Universal Pictures films Films with screenplays by Gene Quintano 2020s American films Universal 1440 Entertainment films