Dead or Alive (the movie)

(image from Perspective Radio)

The Good The fighting was surprisingly good. Well, maybe not so surprising since it's directed by Cory Yuen, but still... for a video game movie starring an almost all (non-Asian) female cast, the fight scenes were pretty slick. One thing Cory understands is how to make a punch or kick look devastating. Nothing is worse than watching a fight sequence where the blows look like love taps. The punches and kicks need to "snap" and for the most part, they do.

The Better Jaime Pressley... wow. Honestly, I had no idea it was her until I looked it up on IMDB. She was in fantastic shape for this movie. I mean damn, does she always look like this? She looks like a professional fitness competitor. She also pulls off some amazing aerial kicks and flips. They are actually so good (I'm talking Jet Li good) in some cases, I have serious doubts that it's really her.

The Bad It's a video game movie. The plot and acting isn't so hot, though I have to admit that I liked Tina's (Jaime Pressley) scenes, especially with her dad. He was good too, albeit both characters are stereotypes (shit kickin hicks) that are pretty easy to play.

There was a bit too much "fan service" imo. I know, I know... the whole DOA video game franchise started on the concept of fan service, so expect to see tons of gratuitous shots of the girls in underwear and bikinis, etc. I dunno, it cheapens the whole experience for me... and also reminds me that the target audience is half my age, ugh.

The Rant What the fuck. How could they do this to Ryu Hayabusa? I mean jesus, Tomonobu Itagaki should have stepped in and said "no". Ryu plays Katsumi's protector in the movie. He's also a combatant in the DOA tournament, and while he does make it to the finals, he's by no means portrayed as the complete ultimate badass that he is. His skills take a backseat, not only to all the females, but also to freaking Hayate. Oh, it's painful to watch.

For god sakes, he has his own massively successful video game, in which he's the creme de la creme of the ninjas. The best of the best. The ultimate badass. And he pulls it off with a cold as ice, hard as steel attitude... not some lacky who blushes at the sight of a girl in a bathrobe.

Even in the DOA games, they refer to him as "the superninja", and he still has that ice cold, harder than hard persona. How did that get lost in translation to the movie?