I'm going to start by saying that there has only ever been one great video game to move adaptation and that was the terrific Mortal Kombat and that should give you an idea of what direction I'm going in with this review.
I'm not your average movie goer, I am first and for-most a retro gamer and in the 80's and 90's I lived and breathed computer and video games with Double Dragon being one of my all time favourite games. It's now 2014 and for 20 years I have avoided seeing this film. I deliberately dodged it when it came out because I just knew in my heart of hearts that not only would it have nothing to do with the game but it would be watered down kids action with bad acting all round.
Well guess what, I was right!
Double Dragon: the Movie is atrocious!!! Seriously, it really is that bad. Now I'm a big fan of low budget post apocalyptic action films from the 90's but even then Double Dragon takes the biscuit for just sheer lack of quality on all counts.
The film features I think THE worst acting I think I have ever seen. the delivery of the cringe worthy lines is so bad it makes King Of The Kickboxers look like an Oscar winner, but then those kind of films are backed up with a quaint charm and great fight scenes, Double Dragon has absolutely none of that whatsoever and is a magnificent turd from start to finish.
I'm convinced that video game adaptations were simply cash makers given to first time or music video directors to dip their toe in the film world because the name would generate at least a bit of revenue and it really didn't matter whether the actual film was good or not.
As for the game well, it had a pretty thin story I'll admit, but there was no reason why they couldn't have taken that thin story and built on it instead of making up this mystical nonsense and almost completely changing everything which just p*****d off fans of the game who should have been the films main target instead of the simpering under 10 year old's that it was aimed at.
I will be fair, there are one or two positive points in the film but they are extremely trivial. One is the matte paintings used for wide shots of the earthquake ravaged city, they are quite nice and add a bit of atmosphere. Two is Mark Dacascos, he is a fine martial artist and a decent actor but even he struggles in this film. Third and finally is Robert Patrick who genuinely looks like he's having some fun. When he accepted this role Mr Patrick was either desperate for work or he is the absolute King and master of not giving a f**k and I suspect it is the latter because he seems to take a lot of glee in hamming it up and ham it up he does, but with a bit of a wink.
Another small point I'd like to make in the interest of fairness is that if you were young and saw this film when it came out then I can totally understand the nostalgia value attached to it and how that can make any film seem so much more enjoyable but being such a huge fan of the game I was never going to have that even if I saw it in 1994 so this review is completely objective.
That's about it! I don't think I've ever given any film a 1 before but Double Dragon truly deserves it. A great, steaming pile of utter s**t that bears practically zero resemblance to the great game on which it is based and is an absolutely terrible example of film making in itself.
I'm not your average movie goer, I am first and for-most a retro gamer and in the 80's and 90's I lived and breathed computer and video games with Double Dragon being one of my all time favourite games. It's now 2014 and for 20 years I have avoided seeing this film. I deliberately dodged it when it came out because I just knew in my heart of hearts that not only would it have nothing to do with the game but it would be watered down kids action with bad acting all round.
Well guess what, I was right!
Double Dragon: the Movie is atrocious!!! Seriously, it really is that bad. Now I'm a big fan of low budget post apocalyptic action films from the 90's but even then Double Dragon takes the biscuit for just sheer lack of quality on all counts.
The film features I think THE worst acting I think I have ever seen. the delivery of the cringe worthy lines is so bad it makes King Of The Kickboxers look like an Oscar winner, but then those kind of films are backed up with a quaint charm and great fight scenes, Double Dragon has absolutely none of that whatsoever and is a magnificent turd from start to finish.
I'm convinced that video game adaptations were simply cash makers given to first time or music video directors to dip their toe in the film world because the name would generate at least a bit of revenue and it really didn't matter whether the actual film was good or not.
As for the game well, it had a pretty thin story I'll admit, but there was no reason why they couldn't have taken that thin story and built on it instead of making up this mystical nonsense and almost completely changing everything which just p*****d off fans of the game who should have been the films main target instead of the simpering under 10 year old's that it was aimed at.
I will be fair, there are one or two positive points in the film but they are extremely trivial. One is the matte paintings used for wide shots of the earthquake ravaged city, they are quite nice and add a bit of atmosphere. Two is Mark Dacascos, he is a fine martial artist and a decent actor but even he struggles in this film. Third and finally is Robert Patrick who genuinely looks like he's having some fun. When he accepted this role Mr Patrick was either desperate for work or he is the absolute King and master of not giving a f**k and I suspect it is the latter because he seems to take a lot of glee in hamming it up and ham it up he does, but with a bit of a wink.
Another small point I'd like to make in the interest of fairness is that if you were young and saw this film when it came out then I can totally understand the nostalgia value attached to it and how that can make any film seem so much more enjoyable but being such a huge fan of the game I was never going to have that even if I saw it in 1994 so this review is completely objective.
That's about it! I don't think I've ever given any film a 1 before but Double Dragon truly deserves it. A great, steaming pile of utter s**t that bears practically zero resemblance to the great game on which it is based and is an absolutely terrible example of film making in itself.