Underrated Gem: Merchant of Death (1997)

Plot: A doctor (Linda Hoffman) helps a policeman (Michael Paré) get revenge on those who killed his family long ago. 

I’ve been curious about Merchant of Death ever since I saw the trailer a few years ago but didn’t get a chance to watch it until now. 

Michael Paré is an actor that I’ll watch in anything whether it’s good, bad, mediocre, etc. and this is one of his better films which showcased that he could’ve been an action star. 

Speaking of the action, there are some great set pieces particularly during the finale which felt very influenced by John Woo, albeit not as good but still well done. 

The story is very straightforward and not overblown keeping this well paced. 

My only criticisms are that the middle slows the pacing down quite a bit, and the villains are your typical cliched bad guys that you’ve seen before. 

Overall, Merchant of Death is a fun action film that has a capable lead, has some solid action throughout, has a simple but mostly effective story, and moves at a fairly decent pace. Definitely check it out when you get a chance, as of right now it’s on Tubi.

As an added bonus All Outta Bubblegum did a Kill Count a while back so we can see how many goons Paré takes out.

Kill Count: 76

76!! That’s amazing!