Tekken – Blu-ray Review

The Film:

The 1990′s were a fine time for being a fighting game fan. Of course, you can’t mention fighting games without the arcade and eventual console hits Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat. But with innovation comes evolution, and due to the changing nature of the gaming industry, graphics and gameplay evolved. Such was the case in the fighting game genre, as the 2D fighters became 3D, in terms of environment and gameplay, and for all of the hoopla over Virtual Fighter, it was Tekken and especially its sequels that ruled the market. Outside of Mortal Kombat, who gave a good damn about story, although Wiki has Tekken‘s plot, I really don’t mind the attempt here by director Dwight H. Little (Marked for Death), although the film shares a companionship with the failed Street Fighter movie starring JCVD, meaning Tekken has guilty pleasure written all over it.

Surprisingly faithful to the game series, Little’s film is sadly a little to one-dimensional in the most important part of a tournament fighting film: heart. Tekken takes places in 2039, with plenty of mumbo-jumbo of its future setting, but its plot is strictly old school “avenge a death story line”, where Jin (played by Jon Foo) witnesses his mother die by a greedy corporation CEO Heihachi Mishima (played by Mortal Kombat‘s Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa), and enters into the Iron Fist tournament looking for vengeance. Nothing original, despite the attempt to jazz it up with the futuristic stuff, Tekken is in the vein of a Best of the Best or a Kickboxer. Little makes the most of its low budget, crafting a good looking film. Imagine Repo! A Genetic Opera meets 1994′s Street Fighter.

That’s a weird mix for sure, where camp and fun sometimes merge. The film is pretty weak in the key component of fighting. While all of the characters are represented (Marshall Law, Yoshimitsu, Steve Fox, and Eddie Gordo) as are their signature moves, the film feels really safe and predictable. Even though the film is PG-13, the fighting feels G. Plus, any emotional investment isn’t gained since the only motivation for Jin are flashbacks of his mother training him. Jin is “The People’s Choice”, a hero dubbed in the notion of hope to end the corporation’s tyranny, yet why is Jin so amazing? He beats Marshal Law (played by Fighting‘s Cung Le), as easily as the big bads. Hmm.

Tekken isn’t the total loss as it sounds. It’s breezy, safe, and quick. It’s a decent game adaptation, and despite its flaws, it gets what it is, unlike the putrid Street Fighter: The Legend of Chung-Li or a Double Dragon. But the lack of creative fighting, limits it. Little might be known for his entry in the Halloween series, but his Rapid Fire and Marked for Death are stellar. Tekken just plays it too safe.

The Blu-ray:

Audio/Video: Anchor Bay Entertainment offers up a really good HD disc. Colors, blacks, and details pop. While Little’s scope of the film’s future is small, the attention to a slick production is aided by this great HD image. The DTS track is loud and aggressive, like we need for an action film.

Stunt Stars: Here’s a unique extras. Made of a Canadian TV station, this featurette (running 51 minutes) has fight choreographer Cyril Raffaelli giving us an honest and interesting look at the life of a stuntman in action films. Slick and well-told; totally worth the watch.

Trailers round out the extras.

The Film: Rating:

The Blu-ray: Rating: