Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on September 2011

With a movie series based on a Disney ride (Pirates of the Caribbean) producing such serious amounts of money, it’s no surprise that flicks springing from video games are also a burgeoning genre. The Tekken game series produced by Namco, which has had six installments to date, has already given rise to one anime and one live-action film.

Now, the release of Tekken: Blood Vengeance threatens to be the biggest winner of them all. The fighting game is a worldwide smash hit, so the logic can clearly be seen in making a computer-animated 3-D pic and watching the cash roll in. Indeed, this punch-em-up has already had big premieres in the US (though not full distribution).

Sadly, the flick is a dog. Think the worst of major American action blockbusters done in anime and you’ll get the gist of this one. It is run through with ridiculous dialog, trite scenarios and plenty more to make you groan. The plot revolves around sisters who work for competing large corporations and send spies to find a mysterious student named Shin Kamiya (voice of Mamoru Miyano). There’s plenty of chop-sockey but the animation is boxy and unoriginal, utilizing little of the progress that’s been made in motion capture recently. Miss. (93 min)