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As Good as Dead
Movie

As Good as Dead

2022 • Unknown

Woke Score
2
out of 10

Plot

An ex-cop in self-imposed witness protection in Mexico becomes a target when a fight video of his apprentice goes viral.

Overall Series Review

As Good as Dead is a straightforward, low-budget action film featuring a classic hero with a mysterious past. Michael Jai White plays Bryant, an African-American ex-cop in self-imposed witness protection in Mexico, who takes on a mentor role for a local troubled Mexican-American teenager, Oscar, teaching him martial arts. The central conflict is purely a genre plot: a viral video of Oscar's fighting exposes Bryant's unique style, alerting a powerful, corrupt white ex-cop and crime boss from his past. The film's energy is directed toward high-quality, grounded action sequences and the development of the male mentor-protégé relationship. Themes of meritocracy, personal accountability, and protective masculinity dominate the narrative. The story avoids engaging with contemporary social or identity politics, focusing instead on universal action film tropes and a battle between an elite, moral hero and a definitively evil, criminal antagonist.

Categorical Breakdown

Identity Politics3/10

The protagonist, an African-American man, mentors a Mexican-American boy based on the universal merit of martial arts skill and character. The narrative is not centered on race or privilege lectures. The primary antagonist is a corrupt white ex-cop and crime boss, a standard action film trope for a villain, which is the only minor point toward the vilification of whiteness.

Oikophobia2/10

The plot critiques corrupt American institutions, specifically a crooked former cop and crime boss from the hero's past, rather than condemning Western civilization as a whole. The Mexican setting serves as a place of refuge and a fresh start for the American hero, but the conflict originates from a corrupt part of the American system.

Feminism1/10

The movie focuses entirely on a male mentor-protégé relationship and traditional action dynamics. Masculinity is protective, and the hero steps into a father-figure role to save a boy whose mother has died. There is no presence of a 'Girl Boss' trope, emasculation of males, or anti-natalist messaging.

LGBTQ+1/10

The narrative is a conventional crime and action thriller. There is no inclusion of alternative sexual or gender identity themes or any political lecturing on gender theory. The structure is entirely normative.

Anti-Theism1/10

The movie is a genre picture focused on action, crime, and personal redemption. It does not engage with religion or spirituality either to support or demonize it. Moral values are grounded in the objective pursuit of justice and the protection of the innocent.