Movie Review Tekken

Tekken (2010) 

Directed by Dwight Little 

Written by Alan B. McElroy 

Starring John Foo, Kelly Overton, Cary Hiroyuki Tagawa, Cung Le, Luke Goss 

Release Date March 20th, 2010

Films based on video games rarely succeed. In fact, most of them are laughably bad. The most recent one is Tekken, a film based on Namco’s fighting game of the same name. While it doesn’t offer much in the area of story or character development, it does deliver some fast paced and extremely well choreographed fight scenes. It’s also nowhere near as bad as any of the Street Fighter films.

The film follows Jin (Jon Foo), a man who makes his living running from gangs and providing contraband to rebels fighting against the Tekken corporation; the corporate owner of what used to be America. The United States, along with every other country, was lost in war years ago and corporations rose up and took over.

To maintain order and placate the masses, the Tekken corporation instituted martial law and offered people the Iron Fist Tournament, a yearly ultimate fighting battle in which fighters from around the world battle to become the world champion. This, along with a thuggish, mindless army called Jack Hammers, keeps most of the population from rising up against their corporate overlords.

Jin was content to stay out of any possible rebellion until his mother was killed by Tekken soldiers. Newly motivated, Jin enters the Iron Fist Tournament intent on killing the rulers of the Tekken corporation, Heihachi (Cary Hiroyuki Tagawa) and his son Kazuya (Ian Anthony Dale). Along the way, Jin befriends an ex-fighter named Steve Fox (Luke Goss) and falls for fellow competitor Christie Monteiro (Kelly Overton).

One problem with the film is that the rules of the Iron Fist tournament are unclear at best and a complete mystery at worst. In the end, the tournament reaches its semifinal with eight competitors remaining and then suddenly moves on to the finals. Whether women compete against men in the tournament is unclear; but the ladies definitely fought guys in the game and the lack of girl vs guy fights in Tekken the movie is a politically correct choice that is likely to irk long time fans.

Speaking of fans ,those who enjoy the Tekken video game series, especially those in fealty to its legendary characters and storylines, should be prepared to be offended. Much of the lore and many of your favorite characters have been excised in favor of a slightly more straight forward storyline.

The fight choreography in Tekken was crafted by Cyril Raffaelli, the groundbreaking Parkour master who became famous for his incredible work on District B13 and its sequel. Raffaelli is aided by a well trained cast of mixed martial arts specialists, including a pair of Strikeforce champions, and star Jon Foo, who trained under Jackie Chan and is skilled in multiple fighting styles. While the plot of Tekken is extraneous and unimportant and the acting is so-so, the satisfyingly bloody and video game-esque fight scenes alone are worth the price of a rental.

As for the Blu-Ray presentation of Tekken, Anchor Bay is releasing the Blu-Ray and the transfer is more than adequate for a film of such limited visual dynamism. The filmmakers saved the best stuff for the fight scenes which really pop on Blu-Ray, with color and fast pace. The sounds of fist pounding flesh, bones breaking and the pulsing heavy metal score comes through with ear aching clarity in Dolby  True HD 5.1 and dialogue is always centered and clear.

As for special features, Tekken isn’t exactly the kind of movie that requires a film school dissection. There is one feature though that is quite good. It’s a look at the film’s excellent fight scenes and it’s dedicated to the extraordinary efforts of stunt coordinator Cyril Raffaelli. Considering that Raffaelli’s work is the best thing in the movie, it makes sense that it gets the only feature. Also included is a trailer, if that interests you.

If you’re going to pick up Tekken, know what you’re getting into. It’s by no means a great film, but it’s passable. The fighting is fantastic and it does manage to entertain. Those who are fans of the videogame may not take kindly to some of the creative choices at play here but overall, this isn’t nearly as bad as some of the other videogame based films that we’ve seen.

Movie Review Pandorum

Pandorum (2009) 

Directed by Christian Alvart 

Written by Travis Malloy

Starring Ben Foster, Dennis Quaid, Cam Gigandet, Antje Traue, Cung Le, Eddie Rouse

Release Date September 25th, 2009 

Published September 25th, 2009 

Pandorum, we are told during the movie of that title, is a form of mental illness that develops from prolonged exposure to the nothingness of space. The crew of the Elysium space ship are more than a little prone to this ailment. Their trip is longer than any man has ever undertaken and there is no going back, Earth is gone.

As we join the story, the Elysium crew is informed that they are the last of humanity. From there we are shot into the future, how far is part of the film's mystery plot. In a hypersleep pod awakens Cpl. Bowers (Ben Foster). He has no idea who he is or where he is, only the vague notion that he has a mission. Next to him in another pod is Lt. Payton (Dennis Quaid). He is supposed to be the ship's captain when it is his turn but finds himself and Bowers trapped in one room far from the control room.

Bowers soon has escaped through an air duct to search for help and finds himself in the middle of what can only be described as an alien invasion. Worse yet? These are zombie-cannibal aliens with a deep need for human flesh. With the ship hurtling toward nowhere, Bowers needs to crank up the engines for survival all the while avoiding getting eaten.

On his journey Bowers meets Nadia (Antje Traue) a ship's scientist turned survivalist and Manh (Cung Le) a member of the crew's foreign contingent; he speaks no English. These three alternately save each other's lives and call on one another to run away quickly from danger.

Meanwhile, Lt. Payton is joined in his little corner of the ship by Lt. Gallo (Cam Gigandet). He comes in the same way Bowers escaped only Gallo is covered in blood and balling like a small child with a skinned knee. He has an idea of what happened to the rest of the crew but may be too far gone mentally to help. Worse, his illness may in fact be Pandorum which points to one very disturbing reason for his being covered in blood.

Pandorum is directed with some flair by newcomer Christian Alvert. Alvert bathes the familiar plot inside his talent for atmosphere and tension. It's not until you leave the theater and really reflect on the movie that you realize how much of the story adds up to different characters yelling 'RUN'.

While you are watching Pandorum however, it's easy to get swept along by its creepy I Am Legend meets Alien plot. Dennis Quaid is his usual stabilizing, fatherly presence, even as he starts to lose it at the end. And Ben Foster is a surprisingly effective lead. Taking strong advantage of his odd vibe, Foster turns his weakness, skinny-nerdiness with a dash of creep, into a strength, his heroism is so unexpected.

He sparks well off of Traue's Nadia and their rather perfunctory scenes together take on a bit of life beyond all the running and the yelling of the word run.

If Pandorum comes up short for most audiences it is really more in the faded glow after it's over. While it's on, it is effective and compelling. Well acted, atmospheric and rarely boring. That may not be enough for some audiences, those who cannot endure the post show disappointment that comes from being hoodwinked, but for the forgiving audience, Pandorum is kind of fun while it lasts.