Double Dragon (1994)

The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

One of the film's great tricks is that, for a time, you think it will go down a rabbit hole of unrealistic glorification.

One of my favourite childhood games gets the typical nineties Hollywood makeover and only just entertains for all the wrong reasons!Set in the future, well, if our year of 2007 really turned out like this, in the city of New Angeles. With vehicles powered by burning rubbish, police curfews, buildings held up by jacks, and lots of colourful clothes and bad jeans, we enter the god awful world of James Yukich's Double Dragon.In a nutshell - Embarrassing acting from most cast members, all but Dacascos, Wolf and Nickson, that only adds to the unintentional humour, terrible make-up, costumes and direction. Its only saving grace is its two gorgeous leading men who give us some decent fight scenes and a number of funny enough one liners!In my opinion - Hollywood, oh Hollywood... For many years you have astounded us with your inability to chose directors that know what they are doing, that suit the project in action, or generally just can't stop ruining great things! Taking a documentary film maker and handing him one of the ultimate and most popular games of that time, should have been the first sign to the studio fat cats that this was going to be as much of a success as the previous years, Super Mario Bros.Haunted by that typical mid nineties costume department that helped make a lot of then films look naff, there is pretty much nothing in this 90 minutes of madness that stays true to the game. Every extra looks ridiculous and is annoying as hell, with most of it playing out like some bastard child from a Power Rangers episode!Is there anything good in Double Dragon I hear you ask? Well, yes if I'm honest. Both its leading men are absolutely gorgeous and perfect leading men material for such a film. They probably act the best out of everyone, and Scott manages to hold his own in the fight scenes alongside the always incredible Mark Dacascos. It is only a shame though that Hollywood executives thought this would be the best film to introduce Mark as a leading man, instead of his classic Crying Freeman which went unreleased in the US for many years!Double Dragon has its moments. It just makes me so angry to see such a great thing wasted, and another case of what could have been if it was in the right hands. In one scene, the spinach feeding scene, the actor in terrible make-up states, 'I'm not acting...'Never a truer word said.

The most fascinating aspect of the human brain is memory. For instance having seen this movie, my brain did not remember what I saw. I would have to watch this piece of sh*t movie again in order to access those memories. Do you think I would go through the effort to remember? No, I would not. If you have seen The Doubled Dragoons then you know why I am never going to try to see this movie again. On a personal note, I like to thank my brain for forgetting. I don't need to remember this movie or what happens, its my gift to myself. Now, let's spend the remaining characters required for a submission talking about something pleasant like pizza. I like pepperoni, it's classic, if I could only eat one kind of pizza for the rest of my life, it's pepperoni.

Movie critics hold up Double Dragon (DD) as a beacon of what-not-to-do when it comes to motion pictures, but I'm going to explain exactly why they're wrong, and DD is a bastion of film-making legend.Overall: Along with a couple B-list celebrity cameos and a helluva lot of tongue- in-cheek comedy, DD delivers many a humorous scenario with lovable, over the top characters. A product of its time, an overtly obvious wit and subtle charm accompany a glorious 90's soundtrack.The Future: While the predictions of the 1994 movie fall far short of how the future actually played out, this time capsule offers an excellent view of what would happen if LA Street Gangs got a hold of virtual-reality technology integrated into their leviathan-esque vehicles. Other: Also the portrayal of the right-wing stance on gang culture is phenomenal. Use of puns by gang members added to the realism, and therefore the viewer's immersion.Double Dragon: The double dragon medallion is a symbol of the duality of the soul, the struggle each man and woman must cope with from the day they are born: the duality of being an invincible, unstoppable ghost; or not.Combat: The fighting style is unique and original, and many scenes require the fighters to improvise with any object they find around. For example, one scene shows a protagonist fighting an enemy with a broom, showing the person has immense versatility as a warrior. One protagonist, Annoying Italian Guy #1, is so moving with his power and speed that I would go so far as to call his fighting style "Poetry of the Fist". Random Asian Henchman #2's incredible ability to take multiple kicks to the face was a nice touch as well.Cross-dimensional similarities: The realism between the fictional Power Corp bears striking similarities to Al Qaeda, in that they are both called terrorists at one point or another, and they are both phallic entities of almost incredulous enormity. A good amount of dialogue is puns that reference other movies and indulge in intertextuality. Dialogue: The only way to describe the dialogue and punchlines in this movie, would be: brave. Seriously, these writers must need wheelbarrows to carry their 200-pound man-berries in.SFX: This movie was incredibly eye-catching from the get-go, but what kept my attention was the time that was clearly spent on the special effects. So compelling was the detail and smoothness it flowed with that I was almost moved to tears.Final thoughts: This movie is a masterpiece - an emotional, action- packed, thought-provoking thrill ride that no self-respecting human being should miss. People will be watching, enjoying, and writing essays about this film for years to come.A+ and 10/10, would see again and recommend to friends.

First off lets talk about what the Double Dragon movie is not. It is NOT a serious movie. It is NOT supposed to be some big deep, thought provoking movie. It is NOT at all a bad movie.Now this movie was obviously made to get fans of the game in the theater regardless of whether or not it was good. However I think people dismissed it after the first few scenes which I feel is unjust. The movie itself does not really follow the story of the game....which is good because the plot of the game was pretty thin (not that this one is complex or anything....but it works). The movie is however what it should be....a buddy action/COMEDY. Thats right people you read that right I said comedy. And no this isn't one of those so-bad-it's-funny movies....the movie actually attempts to be funny and in my opinion....succeeds. Now some of the action is just awesome.....yet other scenes remind you that the studio just wanted a movie as quick as possible. Some scenes get a bit to....how do I say this....Home Alone....or 3 ninjas-type. In other words, when there could easily be a martial arts battle (and given the fact that this is double dragon people expect it) sometimes they just do things like knock over a barrel of balls for the bad guys to trip on three stooges style. Sometimes it can be somewhat funny but for the most part it isn't really needed. The acting for the most part isn't bad....I mean you got Mark "needs to be more appreciated" Dacoscos, Scott "I was on some dumb show but now I can kick a bit of ass" Wolf and Robert "I was the T-1000 bitch" Patrick. All 3 leads know how to act and do a good job with what they are given. Now lets talk about the script/story. It is corny, Cheezy, and at times dumb....but it really works for the movie. It really feels like a comic book on screen or even...(gasp) a video game! Overall, double Dragon suffers the same fate the super Mario Bros movie did....in making it a comedy and a bit different from the game people responded with hate....unjust hate....let me put it to you this way...If you changed the names of the characters so that they are not directly from Double Dragon....and people saw it without thinking about the game...it would be much better received. The IMDb score would be at LEAST a 5.4, and that is something I am sure of.Scoring: Acting:7.8 Action:8 Story:8 Script:7 Overall:7.5 Summary: Double Dragon joins many video game movies that are universally hated for not being a direct carbon copy of the game. However it is a fun, enjoyable adventure/comedy that will most likely entertain kids and adults who want to have a fun 90 minutes. I recommend it as long as you are not a jackass.