Tekken

Anchor Bay

R4 DVD

Tekken is an unapologetic take on the martial arts action thriller. Directed by Dwight. H. Little, the director of Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers it is based on the hugely popular computer game of the same name. I generally don’t think much of computer game adaptations but there are always some which surprise, such as Prince of Persia, sadly this doesn’t fall into that category.

The world has collapsed and is now divided post-apocalypse into various zones ruled over by military business conglomerates. The US is run by Tekken, Tekken uses shock troops to sustain control and operates an economy where only the rich succeed and the rest are outside the walls in various zones living in poverty and degradation.

One of the ways the poor are kept from focusing too much on their plight is through entertainment and the Iron Fist competition takes competitors from various world zones and plays them off against each other. In Tekken, an extra competitor is allowed, the people’s favourite, but he must complete his way past a range of deadly warriors.

Each of the competitors have their own style and persona. But do not expect any great character development, they are stereotypes taken to the nth degree and are simply used to show off various fighting styles. The plot certainly doesn’t have any great depth but serves it purpose. During an earlier tournament a beautiful competitor is raped and beaten by the son of the Tekken leader. He is so disgusted by his son’s brutality that he arranges for her to be smuggled out of Tekken city and to be nursed back to health. It is from this union that Jin, The People’s Choice is born.

By about 15 minutes in the story arc is obvious and the plot and characters really take second place to the fight set pieces. Gamers will love the biffo while others will have seen it all before. Even the addition of flash of exploitation cinema can’t lift this film about the mediocre. If you set your sights low and simply accept it as a mindless hour and a half of martial arts mayhem then you will enjoy it; but don’t expect too much.

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