The King Of Fighters (2010)

 

The King Of Fighters (2010)- * *

Directed by: Gordon Chan 

Starring: Sean Faris, Will Yun Lee, Maggie Q, Bernice Liu, Monique Ganderton, and Ray Park

An evil baddie named Rugal (Park) wants to stay on top as the KING OF FIGHTERS. He has his own special dimension of existence where he can fight whoever joins him there using a Bluetooth earpiece. Certain relics are needed to help defeat Arugula or whatever his name is, so that’s where Mai Shiranui (Q) and Kyo Kusunagi (Faris) come in, because naturally Kyo has “the Kusunagi Sword” or some such thing. Iori Yagami (Lee) also is an opponent of Rugelach and Terry Bogard, a non-fighter, wants to know what the heck is going on. Vice (Liu) and Mature (Ganderton) are also fighters in the tournament. Will anyone be dexterous enough to beat Rugtime?


It must be an interesting challenge to turn a fighting video game into a 93-minute movie. Obviously you can’t have opponents fighting each other for the entire running time, so you have to fill the spaces in between the fight scenes with something. While, in The King of Fighters’s case, it took three people to accomplish this task, still the outcome fails to engage the viewer.

It’s all pretty slickly done in the visual sense, but there’s no emotional or intellectual aspects to lock on to. The end result is like watching someone else play a video game. And we all know how much fun that is. With King of Fighters, we don’t even get the pleasure of moving our thumbs around a plastic controller. It’s a video game that someone else is playing for you, and you can’t even press X to skip the cut scenes. That’s what the plot consists of.

The target audience for this movie seems to be obese middle-schoolers or otherwise very undemanding people that enjoy Mountain Dew and Cheetos as their main source of sustenance.

Sean Faris was an odd choice to play the Japanese Kyo Kusunagi. Mainly because he’s Sean Faris. He’s a himbo of the highest (or perhaps lowest) order. He seems like he’d be much more at home on the CW, delivering highly melodramatic dialogue about turbulent teenage relationships. Ray Park is no stranger to video game-related projects, including having been in Mortal Kombat: Annihilation (1997), which looks like a masterpiece compared to the brainless and taxing King of Fighters. If Gary Daniels or Scott Adkins played this part, it still wouldn’t have saved the movie, so perhaps it was better that it was Ray Park.

So while some scenes are somewhat stylish, it seems like the aforementioned Mortal Kombat: Annihilation might be enough for any sane viewer. That’s kind of the last word on movies like this – in other words, a bunch of people flying around in video game style while techno music plays on the soundtrack. And there is a ball of CGI snakes in there for good measure.

Featuring the end credits song “Go Fly” by Yoshitaki Iwai, King of Fighters is not recommended viewing, unless, for some reason, you’re trying to watch every video game movie out there. If so, you’re on your own there, buddy.

Comeuppance Review by: Brett and Ty

Also check out a write-up from our buddy, The Video Vacuum!

Accident Man (2018)

Accident Man (2018)- * * *1\2

Directed by: Jesse V. Johnson

Starring: Scott Adkins, Ray Stevenson, Brooke Jonston, Michael Jai White, Amy Johnston, Ashley Greene, Ray Park, Tim Man, and David Paymer

Mike Fallon (Adkins) is part of a firm of hitmen (and one hitwoman) who each have their own specialties when it comes to killing. Some are brutal, some are careful, but Mike's own unique brand of offing his clients comes in the form of making their demise look like an accident. He was brought up under the wing of Big Ray (Stevenson), his mentor and fellow hitman who now runs the local pub where all the hitpeople congregate.

When his beloved Beth (Brooke Johnston) becomes the target of assassination, Mike goes rogue to find out who ordered the hit. While it's bad that this course of revenge shatters his carefully-crafted life, the really bad part is that he is then the subject of a dreaded "Kill Brief" and all his former compatriots now come after him, and he has to fight his former friends and expert killers one by one. Will he finally get to the truth? Will it be a conspiracy that goes all the way to the top? What will become of the ACCIDENT MAN?

Not to be confused with the Yahoo Serious romp Mr. Accident (2000), Accident Man is an entertaining good time starring the ever-reliable Scott Adkins. He's joined this time around by a very solid cast of fan favorites such as Lady Bloodfight herself, Amy Johnston, as well as Ray Stevenson and Michael Jai White, among others. Adkins and White have not one, but two fights together and the action overall is well-executed. There's a strong sense of humor throughout and a lot of good energy propelling it all along.

It appears the story was based on a comic book, and that feel is definitely there. It's like a DTV Guy Ritchie movie, but better, and there appears to be a healthy dose of the John Wick series added to the mix for some extra flavor. 

But the whole thing is uniquely British and Adkins really seems in his element here. There are several references to their English identity, including pro-Brexit sentiment. Two songs by The Jam are on the soundtrack (can you guess which ones?) and Adkins does a very enjoyable voice-over narration of the tale. The soundtrack has some nice synthy moments that 80's fans will appreciate. 

Speaking of 80's classics, we have Michael Jai White screaming while shooting a machine gun and a classic barfight. The idea of a hitman club with its own unique characters, which then splinters and becomes a case of "best vs. the best" is an appealing one. It's done with style and you care about what's going on. It's all totally professional and should have gone to the theater here in the U.S. In days gone by it would have, but these days it doesn't have a chance at a theater release, sadly. But there's always Blu-Ray, DVD, and streaming services.

Scott Adkins and the gang have turned in another winner, and we absolutely recommend Accident Man.

Comeuppance Review by: Brett and Ty