In recent years there have been many films that were adapted from comic books, cartoons and even video games. The recent blockbuster success of the Spiderman and Batman franchise alongside that hot new flavour of the moment, Iron Man has seen several comic adaptions come to light.However the recent King Of Fighters movie which was based on the wildly popular arcade smash King Of Fighters series is a poor and hardly deserving of the rich tradition behind the arcade legend.The video game is noted for its wild and innovative storylines and long history stretching back to 1994.The movie however is mostly dull and completely out of touch from the video game characters.
Recently released in November 4 2009, it was made on a budget of US$12 million with its main leading actors being Sean Faris and Maggie Q. The choice of actors to play the video game roles were horrible. Maggie Q is a pretty decent actress but she was nowhere close to Mai Shiranui in terms of character.The video game character was known to have long brown hair with long bangs that actually frame the side of her face while the rest is tied up in a thick ponytail which flows from behind her back.Her costume is usually a sleeveless red outfit or tunic.There is a white waistband that actually holds this costume together.Mai was also notoriously buxom and was considered a sex siren by video gamers worldwide yet the character that was played by Maggie Q was heavily redesigned .Throughout most of the film, her costume was dull and her character even duller.The remaining cast in the movie had also major changes to their costume and character.
One of the biggest disappointments was the character Rugal Bernstein who is considered as the most feared KOF boss and has popular with fans of the series for his moves and fierceness.There was a certain flash and ruthlessness of his character that was apparent in the video game that was never fully displayed by Ray Park who played Rugal. It was a campy forced performance which did not do justice to the character.
Kyo Kusanagi is one of the most popular characters on King Of Fighters.He is considered cool and was a fierce adversary of Iori Yagami.Fans worldwide must have been horrified to know that the actor who was selected to play Kyo was not even Japanese. Despite Sean Faris doing his best, the character lacked that cool edginess that was part of his video game legend.
Unfortunately despite whatever character flaws there was, it was expected that the storyline could save the film.Unfortunately this movie had a poor storyline that often bordered on cheap and lame.It really did not do justice to the King Of Fighters series.The worst feeling is that somehow maybe the director or producers rushed this film out or did not wish to spend too large a budget on this movie.Hence the small budget of USD$12 million dollars.The film however as of this date is not a blockbuster success. The feeling a fan will get is that somehow it should have been done much better.
