There are a lot of video game movies and movies based on video games. In the 1990s, there were many attempts to turn hit arcade and console games into movies. These rarely worked out for a variety of reasons.

A few of these have been called “The Worst Video Game Movie Ever Made,” usually by people who haven’t seen many movies or are trying to get people to respond to their video, article, or whatever.

For me, the live-action Double Dragon film from 1994 is the worst. My reasoning for it is that it isn’t memorable. As hilarious as I find the movie, it isn’t brought up as often as Super Mario Bros, Street Fighter, or Mortal Kombat: Annihilation. Let’s take a close look at Double Dragon.

Plot Synopsis

The movie takes place in a post-apocalyptic Los Angeles, renamed New Angeles. An earthquake destroyed the city, and part of it was flooded at some unspecified time. Earthquakes and aftershocks are brought up several times in the movie. I like the setting more than the plot of the movie.

The plot isn’t too complicated. The main plot has our heroes, Billy, Jimmy, and Maryanne, fighting against Koga Shuko. Several other characters from the game are in the movie, but Lash looks less like a dominatrix. I am not sure if anyone noticed she was from the game or cared if she didn’t look like the character from the game.

The subplot involved Marian and her father. In New Angeles, the gangs have an agreement with the police department where they’ll only be active at night. This is already way more organized than it needs to be.

Anyway, Marian runs a gang of do-gooders called Power Core. They try to act as a police force at night. This plot merges with the main plot when Koga Shuko sends the bad gangs after our heroes. This is when the movie becomes The Warriors for ten minutes.

To circle back to the main plot, Billy and Jimmy have a mentor named Satori. She has a history with Koga Shuko and sacrifices herself to “save” Billy and Jimmy. Did she need to sacrifice herself? No, she didn’t need to.

Oh! Koga Shuko can turn into a shadow and possess people. He does this at random and rarely uses this power in a way that would make sense. At the end of the movie, Billy and Jimmy use it perfectly when one of them possesses Shuko. I’ll spare the details in case someone wants to watch this.

There is a lot of action in the movie. It certainly isn’t boring, but all of the action doesn’t add up to something entertaining. I’m more surprised at what they could do with a budget of 7.8 million dollars. The movie only made 4.2 million in the theaters, so we didn’t get a sequel, which isn’t really a bad thing.  

Similarities with the Games

So, which Double Dragon game inspired this movie? Well, it seems they took elements from each game, but it seems like they mainly from Double Dragon V and the Saturday morning cartoon. The movie was released in November 1994.

Here is a breakdown of the games that were released at this point and when the cartoon was on the air:

• Double Dragon (1987)
• Double Dragon II: The Revenge (1988)
• Double Dragon III: The Rosetta Stones (1990)
• Double Dragon III: The Sacred Stones (1991)
• Super Double Dragon (1992)
• Double Dragon V (1994)
• Double Dragon Animated Series (1993-1994)

The story for the first Double Dragon is simple. Bad guys stole your girlfriend, now go get her back. That doesn’t happen in the movie. Unless you think Billy and Jimmy are an item.

In Double Dragon II, the bad guys kill your girlfriend, and you go to get revenge. That was all you needed for an arcade game released in 1988, assuming you cared enough about the plot. Something happens like this in the movie with Satori being killed, but that is a stretch.

The two versions of Double Dragon III have similar stories, but neither version is in the movie. They have conflicting plots, specifically the NES game, where Marian is alive and kidnapped again. At this point, the only similarities with the movie are the characters’ names and fighting.

Super Double Dragon is its own can of worms. There isn’t an in-game story; instead, we have the manual and interviews with the developer. The game was rushed, and the only thing that might have been taken from it is Marian being more of a badass.

I can only assume Double Dragon V and the cartoon were used as inspiration. They were the latest media released while the movie was being made. That is a bit of a stretch, though, and I would say the movie is its own thing.

Why I think it’s the Worst

My biggest issue with this is the changes needed to turn Double Dragon into a movie. It feels like the writer took inspiration from Double Dragon V and the cartoon. It is its own thing but understandably strays from the game’s paper-thin plot.

The main character’s motivations are strange. He is the richest person in the world, so why does he need the medallion to take over the city? Why does he even want to take over a ruined city anyway? I’m not sure how the medallion will help him unless it has some powers we didn’t see in the movie.

I had no idea this movie was even in theaters. I saw most of it on TV sometime after. It was one of those things I watched, forgot about, and then remembered when I saw a review of it on YouTube.

Double Dragon is one of those guilty pleasure movies for me. I watch it occasionally on a bad movie night, and then I promptly forget about it again. It isn’t as bad as Mortal Kombat: Annihilation, and it doesn’t seem to have a fascinating backstory like Super Mario Bros.

I’ll be doing more reviews of video game movies and movies with a theme centered around video games. These will be exclusive to this blog because I’m not good enough at YouTube to navigate the copyright system. This is the best format for me to share my thoughts on these movies.

If you liked this post, please check out my favorite Beat’em Ups so far, or my review of Dynamite Cop.