Tekken 2: Kazuya's Revenge (2014) (Formerly 'Agent X / A Man Called X') Kane Kosugi

[One Armed Boxer]

Yuck, that's the hack who directed the abysmal BALLISTIC: ECKS VS. SEVER with Antonio Banderas.

Wow, so it's that guy! Which also makes him the same guy behind the 'Angels / Zero Tolerance' movie which has yet to get a release. This was the one that was originally released in Vietnam in 2012 with Dustin Nguyen & Gary Daniels, but has recently brought in Scott Adkins & Kane Kosugi (perhaps this is how they know each other!?) to film additional scenes and basically make a whole new movie called 'Zero Tolerance', there's a thread here -

http://www.kungfucinema.com/forums/showthread.php?t=18094

[ShaOW!linDude]

Yuck, that's the hack who directed the abysmal BALLISTIC: ECKS VS. SEVER with Antonio Banderas.

Personally I found that to be a fun film. At least he had the good sense to showcase some of Ray Park's skills in it.

[mpm74]

Yuck, that's the hack who directed the abysmal BALLISTIC: ECKS VS. SEVER with Antonio Banderas.

I think Kaos received the short end of the stick for his Hollywood debut (loss of creative control, final edit, etc). I mean, not to compare, but just look what Hollywood studios did to the theatrical release of Once Upon A Time In America.

Once you lose most of your creative control, your finished piece is bound to suck.

AS for Tekken 2. I'm not a fan of the video games, but as a martial arts movie, the trailer looks decent. I've definitely seen worse.

[One Armed Boxer]

First review is up from the guys over at manlymovie.net, their verdict? - "...avoid this dog vomit." Ouch. -

http://manlymovie.net/2014/08/review-tekken-2-kazuyas-revenge.html

[ShaOW!linDude]

Hmmm. What to do? What...to...do? I'm sorry, but I'll probably risk a chance on this. It's Kane Kosugi, dadgummit.

[Gwai LO]

It will hit a 5$ bin soon.. I'll check it out then

[AlbertV]

Hmmm. What to do? What...to...do? I'm sorry, but I'll probably risk a chance on this. It's Kane Kosugi, dadgummit.

I second that...someone's gotta review it for Kung Fu Cinema

[AlbertV]

Okay guys...watched the movie this afternoon as I got out of work early due to in-service day.

http://www.kungfucinema.com/reviews/review-tekken-2-kazuyas-revenge-2014

I gave it a 2 out of 5....and it is because while some action did have bad editing, the final fight I felt brought some redeeming value. However, this should have just been AGENT X and not seen as a TEKKEN film. It felt more like it should have been its own action film. I credit Kane for braving this one out....I think that perhaps this was done on the fly because maybe Crystal Sky were going to lose their rights to TEKKEN....KWIM?

[Secret Executioner]

Just checked out Albert's review and it doesn't sound THAT bad - except for the unnecessary references to the Tekken-verse.

[udar55]

My buddy Tom watched this and said it is bad. Baaaaaaaaaaaad! The plot is non-existent, the dialogue horrible, and the sets cheap. Who cares if the fights are good, right? Well, the fights are apparently awful. Heavily edited and completely wasting Kane Kosugi's obvious talents. You have been warned.

His full review:

http://originalvidjunkie.blogspot.com/2014/08/an-accute-case-of-sequilitis-tekken-2.html

[Karlos]

I just skimmed it and yeah, poor Kane Kosugi - he's clearly giving it his all in the fight scenes but half the time the camera is rushing around like it's being filmed from a fairground ride.

Didn't know Gary Daniels was in this, either. He looks incredibly bored.

What a shame.

I think Albert is probably right here - it was made purely to keep the copyright from lapsing.

Shame no-one other than Kosugi gave even the slightest damn about creating a product even vaguely entertaining.

(Speaking of films made my people who shouldn't be making films,I also watched Mercenaries, the "Lady Expendables" Asylum knock-off with Zoe Bell, La Rothrock, and Brigitte Nielsen. Surprise - it's fantastic. Just kidding, it's supershit).

[AlbertV]

The only fight I really did like in the film that had the best edits IMO was the final fight. Kane takes on both Brahim Achabbakhe and Ron Smoorenburg in a one-on-two fight scene. This was the best edited fight of the whole film. I wonder how Wych Kaos is taking this because he blamed the producers for f**king up Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever...I wonder if he's going to feel the same here considering he was both director and cinematographer on this one.

This was better off as "Agent X" and should never be perceived as a Tekken movie...plus it was if they were rushing to just get rid of love interest pretty damn quickly if you as me. And clearly, we're not talking Jun Kazama either.

[Karlos]

He nearly directed a Shang Chi: Master of Kung Fu film back in the day.

I'm very glad it never got made now.

[AlbertV]

This is exactly why directors who have potential should not just work with any flipping producer. They should find someone who will do justice and promote their vision of what they think will work.

Look at Andrew Lau. He made his Hollywood debut with "The Flock" and the producers truly f'ed up his vision of a dark story. However, Lau did find redemption with Martin Scorsese because Revenge of the Green Dragons looks great.

I just hope Wych Kaos, should he direct again, work with someone who won't mess it up or make him the scapegoat for a complete failure (in this case, I'm not blaming Kaos, I'm blaming the producer.)

[kami]

I just hope Wych Kaos, should he direct again, work with someone who won't mess it up or make him the scapegoat for a complete failure (in this case, I'm not blaming Kaos, I'm blaming the producer.)

Why? The man is an obvious hack who doesn't know shit how to direct an action scene. BALLISTIC was abysmal, and I don't talk about the lousy script, but how Kaos directed the actors and how he lensed the action. It seems this Pseudo-TEKKEN is suffering from similar problems and from what I heard ZERO TOLERANCE (or however it was formerly known) is another stinker. I am willing to give the benefit of the doubt but I don't see how these three failures are not the responsibility of the director.

[ShaOW!linDude]

Here's the mini-review if you're interested.

http://www.kungfucinema.com/forums/showthread.php?p=239637#post239637

[One Armed Boxer]

I just hope Wych Kaos, should he direct again, work with someone who won't mess it up or make him the scapegoat for a complete failure (in this case, I'm not blaming Kaos, I'm blaming the producer.)

Why? The man is an obvious hack who doesn't know shit how to direct an action scene. BALLISTIC was abysmal, and I don't talk about the lousy script, but how Kaos directed the actors and how he lensed the action. It seems this Pseudo-TEKKEN is suffering from similar problems and from what I heard ZERO TOLERANCE (or however it was formerly known) is another stinker. I am willing to give the benefit of the doubt but I don't see how these three failures are not the responsibility of the director.

I have to agree with Kami on this point, the guys filmography makes for pretty ugly reading.

The very fact that 'Angels' had re-shoots with Adkins & Kosugi AFTER it had already been released tells you how little confidence any distributor had in the movie. That it then had a completely new name slapped onto it in the form of 'Zero Tolerance', in order to distance itself even further from the original version, and you know you're dealing with a movie which has some serious issues.

It probably goes a long way in explaining why the director for 'Tekken 2' was kept such a mystery for so long, the name association simply wouldn't have done it any favors. Now that the reviews are coming out think and fast, of which I've yet to see a single positive one (with the exception of ShaOW!linDude's mini-review), and ultimately it goes to show that keeping the directors identity a secret doesn't make a whole lot of difference.

Ironically, by the sounds of things the only director who could possibly have done a worse job is Prachya Pinkaew, but from what I'm reading that's very little consolation.

My buddy Tom watched this and said it is bad. Baaaaaaaaaaaad! The plot is non-existent, the dialogue horrible, and the sets cheap. Who cares if the fights are good, right? Well, the fights are apparently awful. Heavily edited and completely wasting Kane Kosugi's obvious talents. You have been warned.

His full review:

http://originalvidjunkie.blogspot.com/2014/08/an-accute-case-of-sequilitis-tekken-2.html

Great review from your friend, I was bent over laughing in some parts.

Lau did find redemption with Martin Scorsese because Revenge of the Green Dragons looks great.

You must have watched the trailer on mute, because trust me if you heard how cringe worthy some of the dialogue is in it, I don't think you'd be saying that.

(Speaking of films made my people who shouldn't be making films,I also watched Mercenaries, the "Lady Expendables" Asylum knock-off with Zoe Bell, La Rothrock, and Brigitte Nielsen. Surprise - it's fantastic. Just kidding, it's supershit).

Not surprising, and yet still somehow disappointing to hear.

[kami]

Oops, it seems I have to correct my opinion after watching the movie. While certainly disappointing in almost every other department the action of TEKKEN 2 rocks. Sure, there are other movies with better editing and more effective camera angles, but in general the fight choreography and the execution are very well done and benefit from able screen fighters. Even with the editing that was harshly criticized by most reviewers I didn't find much to complain besides the occasional sloppiness. That being said the film as a whole is a terrible mess with ridiculously low production values, lousy, uninteresting story and script and way, way too little action. The number of fight scenes looks good on paper but in reality most of the fights are very short quickies with only two or three lasting longer than a minute. With enough action this film could have been a solid and entertaining action cheapo (albeit a travesty of a TEKKEN-adaption with almost no resemblance to the game) but with less than ten minutes netto fight footage the failures of storytelling, acting and visual presentation become too prominent to ignore. At least the score isn't bad.

[ShaOW!linDude]

Sure, there are other movies with better editing and more effective camera angles, but in general the fight choreography and the execution are very well done and benefit from able screen fighters. Even with the editing that was harshly criticized by most reviewers I didn't find much to complain besides the occasional sloppiness... The number of fight scenes looks good on paper but in reality most of the fights are very short quickies with only two or three lasting longer than a minute.

I agree. I don't think the editing was so much the problem as the cropping or framing of the action was. It you're going to offset it to one side or up or down, then at least center it or offset it to the proper side so we can see the full scope of the action. At least it wasn't consistent, otherwise, YIKES!

I counted 6 main fights though there were smaller bits thrown in throughout that I didn't take time to document in my review. 4 of the 6 take place within the first 30 mins. or so. At least they build from something mundane to a solid end fight instead of the other way around.

Now that the reviews are coming out think and fast, of which I've yet to see a single positive one (with the exception of ShaOW!linDude's mini-review)

Thank you, sir. I am the lone voice crying out in the wilderness...sitting on a cactus...getting fried by the sun. Uh-oh, there goes a rattlesnake.

[Secret Executioner]

Thank you, sir. I am the lone voice crying out in the wilderness...sitting on a cactus...getting fried by the sun. Uh-oh, there goes a rattlesnake.

Don't look up, there could be vultures.

[AlbertV]

Just so everyone knows....Ron Smoorenburg himself quoted the review on the main page on his FB page..mentioned how much he was excited to be in the final fight teaming with Brahim against Kane.

[mpm74]

Here's another review (scored at 2/10 stars) for those who are interested.

Review has a good point: "And based on production rumors and misinformation – Kosugi’s site claimed he was not making a Tekken movie, and the film supposedly went through multiple titles like Agent X and A Man Called X – I kind of think Kazuya’s Revenge became a Tekken film very late in the game."

[AlbertV]

Here's another review (scored at 2/10 stars) for those who are interested.

Review has a good point: "And based on production rumors and misinformation – Kosugi’s site claimed he was not making a Tekken movie, and the film supposedly went through multiple titles like Agent X and A Man Called X – I kind of think Kazuya’s Revenge became a Tekken film very late in the game."

As I mentioned, had it not been attached to the name TEKKEN, then it would have been a better action film. However, like I said, I loved the fight between Kane against Brahim and Ron