Home | Movies By Year | Movies from 2009
Tekken (2009 film)
Buy Tekken (2009 film) now from AmazonFirst, read the Wikipedia article. Then, scroll down to see what other TopShelfReviews readers thought about the movie. And once you've experienced the movie, tell everyone what you thought about it.
Wikipedia article
is a 2009 American science fiction martial arts film directed by Dwight Little and distributed by Warner Bros. and Anchor Bay Entertainment. It was written by Alan B. McElroy and is loosely based on the fighting game series of the same name, with plot elements borrowed from the first three 'Tekken' games. Its story follows Jin Kazama in his attempts to enter the Iron Fist Tournament in order to avenge the loss of his mother, Jun Kazama, by confronting his father, Kazuya Mishima and his grandfather, Heihachi Mishima, the latter of whom he thought was responsible for her death. It stars Jon Foo, Kelly Overton, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, Ian Anthony Dale, Cung Le, Darrin Dewitt Henson, Luke Goss, Marian Zapico, Lateef Crowder, Candce Hillebrand, Anton Kasabov, and Roger Huerta.
The film was produced by Crystal Sky Pictures and premiered on November 5, 2009 at the AFI Film Festival and was released in Japan on March 20, 2010. It grossed $1.7 million worldwide. 'Tekken' spawned the 2014 prequel 'Tekken 2: Kazuya's Revenge'.
Plot
In the late 2010s, after the Terror War has destroyed much of civilization, 8 megacorporations survived and divided up the world around them; the biggest being Tekken Corporation, which controls North America. In order to placate the masses, the corporation's Chairman, Heihachi Mishima, sponsors the King of Iron Fist Tournament, or 'Iron Fist' - in which fighters from the 8 corporations battle until one is left standing and receives a lifetime of stardom and wealth. In contrast to the rich and lush Tekken City, there is the slum area surrounding it, referred to as the Anvil.
Jin Kazama has been raised by his mother, Jun. She has trained him in martial arts and has been a mentor, yet she never speaks of Jin's father, claiming he is dead. Jin is a rebellious 19-year-old teenage fighter and contraband runner who lives in the Anvil, and usually goes into fights and cooperates with the resistance groups to earn money to provide food. One night, Jin is targeted by the Jackhammers, the elite specs group that patrols the Anvil and ensures the safety of Tekken City, for cooperating with the resistance groups. Jun is killed by the Jackhammers bombarding the house. Grieving the loss of his mother and feeling guilty that he had not protected her, Jin swears revenge against Heihachi. In the ruins of his former home, he finds a 'Tekken' Fighter I.D. belonging to Jun, revealing she was once an Iron Fist fighter. After defeating the disgraced Marshall Law, Jin is hailed "The People's Choice", who takes him to Tekken City.
Upon entering Tekken City, Jin befriends mixed martial artist Christie Monteiro. He wins the match against Miguel Caballero Rojo, nearly killing him in a fit of rage. Heihachi's son, Kazuya Mishima, is impressed and offers Jin a place in Tekken Corp., but Jin refuses. Later that night, Jin is attacked by Nina Williams, on the orders of Kazuya. Jin survives the assassination attempt, thanks to Christie's interference. Jin vows to win Iron Fist and kill both Heihachi and Kazuya, and he gives Fox Jun's ID, he realizes he is her son, telling him that he knew her. During the quarter-finals, Christie is paired with Nina. Christie defeats Nina, Jin is matched up with an elite swordsman named Yoshimitsu.
Kazuya then has Heihachi imprisoned and orders the match to begin, effectively seizing control of Tekken. Jin narrowly defeats Yoshimitsu. Kazuya orders all of the fighters to be detained. He tells them that the rules have changed, and so they must now fight to the death. Jin, Christie, and Steve try to escape, along with Raven, leaving Nina and Anna Williams and Sergei Dragunov behind. Kazuya notices them escaping and brings down some guards, causing a firefight. Steve, Christie, and Raven cover Jin but he walks across Heihachi's cell. Angry, he tries to taunt him, saying he is responsible for killing his mother. However, because Heihachi is their only chance of escaping Tekken, Steve frees Heihachi and joins the group. On the gunfight, Raven is wounded and recaptured.
In the warehouse that Jin uses as protection, Heihachi reveals to Jin that Kazuya raped his mother, making him Jin's father, and left her for dead. She survived the assault and Heihachi took her out of Tekken City to the Anvil to keep her alive. Heihachi states the corporation's true purpose is to restore order to the world, though Jin can't believe what he is being told. Later on, the group is located by Jackhammers, who kill Steve Fox in a firefight and recapture the rest of the escapees. Before taking them back to Iron Fist, Kazuya orders the Jackhammers to execute Heihachi.
Back in Tekken City, Raven comforts a dispirited Jin. In the Finals, Jin is forced to fight against Bryan Fury, who had already killed Sergei Dragunov in a death match, while Kazuya holds Christie in the control room. At first he is outmatched, but remembering his mother's teachings, Jin kills Bryan. Angered about Jin's victory, Kazuya enters the tournament himself. The weaponless Jin is saved, though, when Christie escapes by shooting the Jackhammers guarding her. This allows Jin to wound and pin Kazuya, who baits Jin by claiming that he remembers how Jun "put up quite a fight". Jin refuses to kill his father though.
Christie comes to the stage and declares Jin the new Champion of Tekken. Elated, the crowd both in and outside the arena cheer. Jin walks out of Tekken City's gate and is saluted by the Jackhammers - symbolizing his new role as CEO of Tekken Corp. In a voiceover, Christie explains that Jin's victory made the Kazama family name synonymous with hope in the Anvil. After the credits, the scene shifts to Kazuya, who walks out of the arena and realizes that he lost control of the Jackhammers. Back at Heihachi's execution, he kneels in front of a Jackhammer, who is holding him at gunpoint. His final words are: "I am Heihachi Mishima. I...am...Tekken. You will obey". The Jackhammer lowers down his gun and obeys his command.
Cast
*Jon Foo as Jin Kazama
**Jason Del Rosario as Young Jin Kazama
**Dallas James Liu as Jin Kazama (age 6)
*Kelly Overton as Christie Monteiro
*Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa as Heihachi Mishima
*Ian Anthony Dale as Kazuya Mishima
*Cung Le as Marshall Law
*Darrin Dewitt Henson as Raven
*Luke Goss as Steve Fox
*Tamlyn Tomita as Jun Kazama
*Candice Hillebrand as Nina Williams
*Marian Zapico as Anna Williams
*Gary Daniels as Bryan Fury
*Gary Stearns as Yoshimitsu
*Roger Huerta as Miguel Rojo
*Lateef Crowder as Eddy Gordo
*Anton Kasabov as Sergei Dragunov
*Mircea Monroe as Kara
*John Pyper Ferguson as Bonner
*Kiko Ellsworth as Denslow
*Blake Shields as Hansu
*Jason Richter as Bonner's Associate
Release
The film was screened at the Mann's Criterion Theatre in Santa Monica on November 5, 2009, as part of the AFM Film Festival to find a solid distributor. It was released in Japan on March 20, 2010 through Warner Bros. Pictures (Japan). The film also premiered on July 27, 2010 in Singapore and August 4 in the Philippines (via Pioneer Films). One week before the Philippine premiere, Jon Foo visited Manila to promote the film.[https://web.archive.org/web/20120923044940/http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/video/entertainment/07/25/10/tekken-star-john-foo-manila ABS-CBN - Tekken Star Jon Foo in Manila] Due to its poor reception, the film never saw a wide theatrical release in the United States, and was released direct-to-video instead.
The film was released on DVD and Blu-ray Disc in Japan on August 11, 2010. In the United Kingdom, Optimum Released and distributed the film on May 2, 2011. Anchor Bay Entertainment released the film in the United States on DVD and Blu-ray Disc on July 19, 2011.
Reception
'Tekken' holds a critical score of 0%, based on 6 reviews, and has a 31% approval rating by audiences on Rotten Tomatoes with an average rating of 2.68/10.
Katsuhiro Harada, director of the 'Tekken' video game series, criticized the film: "That Hollywood movie is terrible. We were not able to supervise that movie; it was a cruel contract. I'm not interested in that movie". Reacting to Harada's comments, Nick Chester of Destructoid said the film is "not great, but 'terrible' is a stretch", saying that it "does a decent job of trying to stay true to the look and feel of the [games]" and that "the fight scenes weren't bad".
Brian Orndorf of DVD Talk gave the film two stars out of five, writing: "'Tekken' is a failure on many levels, but it does make a plucky attempt to replicate the flippy-floppy nature of the fighting elements, creating a limb-snapping effort of escapism surrounded by bland writing and sleepy performances". He opined that director Dwight H. Little "show[s] off an impressive spectrum of fighting styles and intensity, though he goes a little crazy with trendy cinematographic choices and hyperactive editing".[http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/50628/tekken/ Tekken (Blu-ray): DVD Talk Review of the Blu-ray] - Brian Orndorf, DVD Talk, July 13, 2011
Paul Pritchard of DVD Verdict compared 'Tekken' to other video game film adaptations: "In the grand scheme of things, 'Tekken' bests both 'Street Fighter: The Ultimate Battle' and 'Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li' movies with ease, but lacks the goofy charms of 'Mortal Kombat'. Had it embraced its roots more openly, the film may well have offered more excitement. As it is, 'Tekken' is just an average action flick, with nothing to distinguish it from the rest of the crowd".[http://www.dvdverdict.com/reviews/tekkenbluregion2.php DVD Verdict Review - Tekken (Blu-ray) (Region B)] - Paul Pritchard, DVD Verdict, June 10th, 2011
Prequel
Crystal Sky Pictures later produced a prequel to 'Tekken', named 'Tekken 2: Kazuya's Revenge', directed by Wych Kaos and starring Kane Kosugi. The film was released on August 6, 2014.
References
Buy Tekken (2009 film) now from Amazon
<-- Return to movies from 2009