Deadly Bet [DVD] [1992] [Region 1] [US Import] [NTSC]

Jeff Wincott is a hardcore gambler who is about to leave Vegas, but not without paying off a debt he owes. When he pays it off he ends up getting bullied into a fight. He loses the fight, his money, and his girlfriend.

Ugh, this movie is pretty bad. Everything is predictable, and the acting by the girlfriend is horrible. The only good thing is Jeff Wincott. He gives a good acting performance, and like always he shows some great emotion in his fight scenes. There are a ton of fights in this movie, but none are really good. Gary Daniels gets a decent cameo fight, but the only fight I liked was the finale. Not even the finale was that good, but it picks up by the end of it. So in short, I recommend passing on this movie unless you are a really huge fan of Jeff Wincott.

2/5

Picture quality on the Madacy DVD is decent. Best thing about this DVD is that it has 45 minutes of trailers.

Here we have one of the better films of one of the better action heroes of yesteryear, Jeff Wincott. If you ask me, it's not quite as good as his best martial arts-themed work (that being Mission of Justice and Martial Law II: Undercover), but it just manages to scrape a high rating via its strong script and a handful of standout karate fights.

The story: despite the efforts of his girlfriend Isabella (Charlene Tilton, Dallas), Las Vegas fighter and compulsive gambler Angelo is drawn back into debt by a costly in-ring loss to his archrival Rico (Steven Leigh, Ring of Fire). With his girl gone and his life half-destroyed by the gambling disease, Angelo must find some way to lift himself out of debt ad free himself from his addiction.

Socially relevant topics like addiction, gambling-related or not, are rarely provided more than lip service or window dressing in action flicks, and off the top of my head, I think it'd be sixteen years before another action picture was made about a compulsive gambler, in the form of Pistol Whipped. I don't know why, because the aptly named "Deadly Bet" provides a fairly good portrayal of the temptation, consequences, and personal turmoil the addiction can lead to, with Jeff Wincott getting to flex his acting muscles a bit. Beyond this and a surprisingly classy musical montage, the movie's a bit more conventional as an underground fighting film, though the acting content's on the higher rungs of the PM Entertainment scale, thanks in part to a strong showing by Michael Delano (Ocean's Eleven) as an antagonistic loan shark.

Movies like "Deadly Bet" prove that the appeal of DTV films is to indulge where Hollywood tends to be moderate, and in this case it's in the form of hand-to-hand action. I can't remember the last mainstream production that had sixteen full brawls in it, so this one's a bit of a love letter to fans of martial arts ring fighting. The undercard here is stuffed with B-movie dragons that fans will recognize: Gary Daniels, Art Camacho, Leo Lee, Gerald Okamura, Ian Jacklin, Steven Ho, Ron Hall... With that said, far from all of the fights are satisfying, with plenty of them having a very generic feel due to facetious editing. Still, the best encounters are relatively memorable, including a match between tiny Gerald Okamura (Weapons of Death) and kickboxing giant Dino Homsey (Death Match) and a judo fight featuring real-life legend Hayward Nishioka.

The DVD's scarcity and relatively high price make it a bit of a collector's item, but it's one that fans of Jeff Wincott should definitely go after. When knowledgeable folks talk about how good of a career Wincott had in B-movies, they're talking about productions like "Deadly Bet," and it's cool that a film like this holds up even today for viewers who appreciate straight martial arts action above gunfights, car chases, and explosions. Try and find it!

It seems that just about every kickboxing movie that takes place in Vegas ends up being pretty decent, and Deadly Bet is no exception. Its always nice to see flashy Vegas lights, casinos, and betting, but Jeff Wincott is just about good in every movie he is in. He has great martial arts skills but is also above average as a martial arts movie actor than most B-movie actors. Steven Vincit Leigh is also in Deadly Impact, one of my more favorites as well, usually playing the villain, and does here.

Deadly Bet is about a man (Wincott) who puts up one last bet before leaving Vegas for good to live with his fiance in Colorado. He loses his bet to Rico (Vincet Leigh) which includes his fiance. There isn't a deep story to the movie, but it is interesting to see everything the Wincott character goes through to repay his debt, try to get back his fiance, and change his life around for the better by loosing his bad habits.

Most of the action takes place in ring fights where guests place bets. The fights are a bit above avergae, but I have seen better. There are plenty to keep you entertained. The final tournament last almost 15 minutes, with Wincott in the ring against Vincet Leigh at the end (lasting about 5 minutes there). They actually have a fight in the beginning of the movie too.

The acting is decent in the movie, even though the script didn't give a whole lot to work with. There are a couple of songs in the movie that actually aren't very cheesy, unlike most songs of the 90's era that are used in martial arts movies.

If you like Vegas kickboxing movies such as "To Be The Best" or "Final Impact", Deadly Bet will be just as enjoyable, if not a little more. Deadly Bet is definetly an above average B-movie.

I think Jeff Wincott is a good martial artist and shows charisma in this film. Its a different sort of storyline than the average B Grade but i like the way its been put together. Its about Jeffs character who is a local living in Las Vegas and has a bad habit for gambling, drinking and whatever else, one night as he was planning to leave the city for good with his wife he begs her for one last bet on an illegal fight organized by Rico (Steven Vincent Leigh) who he ends up fighting eventually but not only does he lose all his money, he mistakingly bet his wife as well! thinking he could beat Rico. It takes a while until he turns over a new leaf, gets back into training and tries to convince his wife he has changed for the better.

Not the most original storyline: a guy heading nowhere with his life. His only assets are his muscles which he uses in ways that don't make for an honest living. His gambling and boozing drives his finacee (Charlene Tilton) to the arms of his adversary, Rico. He cleans up his act, but must fight one last fight. Guess who wins? Wincott and Tilton are too talented for such a lame script, but Jeff Wincott's talents make up for it.