Dead or Alive was a video game long before it attempted the transition to the silver screen. There is also a nod to the spin-off game, Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball. Films based on video games can fare pretty well at the box office (e.g. Resident Evil, Prince of Persia, Tomb Raider, Mortal Kombat, etc. [1]), though they're generally panned by movie critics. But there have also been some movies that bombed at the box office despite the popularity of the video game they were based on (e.g. Super Mario Bros., Doom, Double Dragon, Tekken, etc. [2]).
My verdict: I've never played any of the Dead or Alive games, but apparently a large part of the appeal is having scantily-clad female characters with heaving chests.[3] Fortunately that aspect wasn't heavily emphasized in the film, but there was still too much fan service.[4] As a result of never playing the video games, I can't say how well the film interprets the characters or story lines. But I can say that the acting was pretty cheesy and the characters weren't very well developed. The fight scenes were pretty well choreographed and interesting, but that was probably the only enjoyable thing about the movie. There was a glaring plot hole that weakens the whole film.[5]
Notes:
[1] These and the majority of others have failed to recoup their production costs. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List of films based on video games#International.
[2] Ibid.
[3] See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dead or Alive (series).
[4] If you don't know what fan service is, I recommend you don't try to find out.
[5]
My verdict: I've never played any of the Dead or Alive games, but apparently a large part of the appeal is having scantily-clad female characters with heaving chests.[3] Fortunately that aspect wasn't heavily emphasized in the film, but there was still too much fan service.[4] As a result of never playing the video games, I can't say how well the film interprets the characters or story lines. But I can say that the acting was pretty cheesy and the characters weren't very well developed. The fight scenes were pretty well choreographed and interesting, but that was probably the only enjoyable thing about the movie. There was a glaring plot hole that weakens the whole film.[5]
Notes:
[1] These and the majority of others have failed to recoup their production costs. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List of films based on video games#International.
[2] Ibid.
[3] See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dead or Alive (series).
[4] If you don't know what fan service is, I recommend you don't try to find out.
[5]
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