Since the 1990s, there have been many films that originated from "video games", such as "King of Fighters", "Tomb Raider", "Street Fighter", "Prince of Persia", etc. This film is a representative of such works One, it is adapted from the 3D fighting series of the same name under the Japanese company Tecmo. It is an action movie full of video game style.
The birth of this film is firstly closely related to the content of the original game. "Electronic games" began in the late 1960s. With the popularization of modern emerging media technologies, it has evolved from a simple entertainment function to a cultural phenomenon that attracts heated discussions. Its increasingly popular leisure methods and diverse and personalized game content , Coupled with more and more dazzling special effects production, while winning the popularity of the public, but also stimulated the desire of some film creators to adapt. Modern video games, like movies, can be divided into genres, including role-playing, adventure, fighting, shooting, sports, and some small table games. The "DOA" series adapted from this film is a popular fighting game. Fighting games evolved from traditional action games. Players manipulate characters in one-on-one duels, relying on accurate judgments and quick operations to win. It originated in the action game "Kung Fu" released in 1985 in Japan, which can be seen from the name. This game is obviously influenced by Eastern martial arts, which is different from other similar games abroad. The "Street Fighter" series launched in 1987 has developed this game genre more maturely, and the critically acclaimed "King of Fighters" and "Tekken" series of fighting games in the 1990s have swept the global market. Among them, "Life and Death Fighting" is a 3D fighting game released in 1996. Since its launch on the market, it has attracted attention with its excellent picture quality and exquisite operating system. Players can freely control the body movements of each character and experience the effects of competitive competitions. Unlimited fun. The film continues the characteristics of the original game, attracting the audience with the combination of "curvaceous beauty + wonderful Kung Fu show", and the English lines "Get Ready. Fight!" (refueling), "KO" (the abbreviation of Knock Out, which means winning ), analog electronic voiceovers, making the movie look more like a live-action version of the game. For example, the dazzling purple shape of the female ninja Ayane in the film is very close to the COSPLAY show (Costume Play: Use costumes, props and makeup to play anime or game characters ).
The adaptation of a game into a movie often faces the embarrassing situation of "workless and thankless". Since the producers are keen to remake classic works recognized by the players, hoping to attract a huge audience of the game, but the evaluation of all parties after the actual screening is not optimistic. After all, there is a big difference between the two media of games and movies: the script and plot of the movie are weak in the game, the audience often cannot accept the hollow content of the game adaptation, and the game lovers also complain about the movie because they cannot get the pleasure. Losing the essence of the original work, how to coordinate the artistic relationship between the two has become a difficult task for creators. In contrast, the film has basically reproduced the overall structure and artistic characteristics of the original within the limited time and conditions, and focused on the game fighting scenes with rich video performance. The whole film has a compact plot and strong visual impact. It is composed of many continuous fighting scenes. The most outstanding part is of course the action design. For example, the "opening scene" outside the palace is very dazzling and sultry. Although the characters have not officially started fighting, the clothes that slipped from the blade, coupled with the drumming music and the editing rhythm, have put the tension in place. If you take out each "competition" in the film to appreciate, it is like a classic fighting game, especially Kasumi and Ayane fighting in the bamboo forest, Tina and Zac wrestling in the square, Christie and Helen Na's action scenes such as fighting each other on the beach are remarkable. In pursuit of vivid visual effects, fighting space is rarely repeated in the film: the scene of "Bamboo Fight" continues the spatial characteristics of traditional Chinese martial arts movies. When Xia was looking for Ayane in the bamboo forest, Ayane suddenly rushed down from a height and stabbed Xia with a knife. Xia has no weapons and can only rely on the surrounding environment to continuously make 360-degree rotations and leaps to avoid the opponent's attack. Those bamboos that were chopped off by the katana turned into powerful weapons, helping her repel Ayane; when dealing with the fighting scenes between Christie and Helena, the women were perfectly presented with flashbacks and a large number of upgraded shots. The strength and softness of the body. The shots of them wearing bikinis, drenched in the rain, and rolling on the beach with their bodies soaked in the water are really a typical situation of being "deliberately entertaining"; Tina and her father Buss have a match on a bamboo raft with humor and fun; two people on the beach The cross-editing between the two scenes of volleyball and falcon singles fighting and breaking into the laboratory also climaxed...From the overall action design considerations, the females in the film have obvious advantages in flexibility when they exercise, and the conversion process is dizzying, regardless of the color. Matching or space framing are suitable for viewing in front of the big screen.
Different from previous Kung Fu movies, this movie not only enhances the aesthetic use of modern virtual space in addition to the traditional scene format. In the film, there are a lot of scenes of watching characters' actions with the help of computer screens, and the director seems to be deliberately blurring the actual distance between reality and the virtual world. In the climax of the film, the villain Dr. Donavin wears special sunglasses, downloads and absorbs the energy of the masters, and competes with the powerful wind of Kung Fu. The venue of the competition is in the center of the laboratory, a circular area illuminated by a strong light source. The captured Xia and the four others are forced to watch. From the perspective of viewing psychology, this kind of spatial layout is somewhat similar to a traditional arena competition. In the first match, Donavan was obviously not Hayate’s opponent, but his pair of sunglasses obviously played an important role. Every move and behavior of Hayate were scanned and recorded. Soon Donavan mastered his movements. By law, Haifeng is tantamount to a competition with a computer or a self-competition. Such a situation where the opponent's actions are predicted in advance is obviously very unfavorable to combat. However, the computer is always flawed. When Donavan’s sunglasses were knocked off, he quickly became a person without the ability to resist. This may imply to some extent that kung fu can only be acquired by diligent study and practice. Taking shortcuts or pursuing selfish desires will not end well.
Another major feature of this film is that it fully reflects the extensive use of Chinese elements in foreign commercial films. The film cost nearly 30 million U.S. dollars and was produced by the film companies of Germany, Britain, and the United States. Its production cost is much lower than the usual budgets of Hollywood and other European and American action movies. The dependence on computer stunts in the film is also relatively small, so it appears The vivid images produced are mostly due to the director's high degree of mastery of the action scenes. From the style to the behind-the-scenes team, they are inextricably linked to Hong Kong action movies. The director of the film, Yuan Kui, is a well-known martial arts director in Hong Kong, and was later promoted to a first-line action director. Like Sammo Hung, Jackie Chan, Yuan Bin and many other action stars, he also comes from the master of Peking Opera Yu Zhanyuan, and he is also famous in the "Seven Little Fortunes" Characters. Since 1970, he has been a dragon and tiger martial artist. Over the years, he has directed important works including: "Royal Sister" (1985), "The Holy Gambler" (1990), "Fang Shiyu" (1993), "Sunset Angel" (2002), "Thousands Dozens of action films such as "Mechanism 2 Huadu War" (2004), and collaborated with famous directors such as Tsui Hark to shoot a number of successful high-grossing works. Kung fu stars who have collaborated many times include Jet Li and Michelle Yeoh, etc., in the late 1990s With his outstanding martial arts design, he successfully entered the international film scene. After 2000, the movies directed by Yuan Kui as martial arts, such as "X-Men", "Dragon Kiss", "Red Cliff", "Small Night Sword", "New Shaolin Temple", etc., are also commercial giants known for their actions. He also collaborated with the famous French director Luc Besson to film the "Very Human Trafficker" series of films, and received good response. The film retains some of the features of action art that he is good at. The characters in the play are both quick and sharp, as well as chic and graceful when fighting, showing the director's rich martial arts experience. Wu pointed out that action film directors generally pay attention to the "gold content" of kung fu, so most of the actors selected in this film have the basis of "martial arts" or physical training. For example, Qiu Yunbo, who plays the pirate leader in this film, is a national martial arts champion; he plays many roles. Navan’s Eric Roberts (the older brother of Julia Roberts, Hollywood “Big Mouth Beauty”) was a famous American action star in the 1990s. Although Kasumi’s David Aoki was a Japanese-German supermodel, his father was a Japanese The champion of Olympic wrestling and rowing events, presumably she has also been influenced by some professional sports; actress Jamie Presley, who plays Tina, has practiced gymnastics for ten years; Falcon played by Ken Kosugi, who started at the age of one and a half. Practicing martial arts, good at martial arts including karate, judo, kendo, taekwondo, etc., and has won hundreds of trophies. In 1997, he also co-starred with Jackie Chan in the film "Who Am I". Since then, he has participated in dozens of Chinese or Japanese action movies in Japan. Has higher
Although the game version of "Life and Death Fighting" was developed and produced in Japan, the producer chose Yuan Kui as the director this time, obviously considering the commercial value of Chinese Kung Fu. In foreign countries, especially in Hollywood movies, the "image of China" has always been complicated and ambiguous. As early as the silent film era in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, "Chinese" began to appear in foreign movies. However, whether it was "Chinese Laundry", "Splendid Flower Splashing Blood", or "Manchuria" series, most Chinese characters are A thin and wretched appearance, the notion of racial discrimination reflected in the film has caused most of the films to exaggerate and distort the character and image of Chinese people. This situation didn't change fundamentally until the emergence of Kung Fu superstar Bruce Lee. Because of Bruce Lee's masculinity and personality in kung fu movies, Chinese people have shown unprecedented charm on international screens, and Chinese Kung Fu has since made great strides on the international stage. Since then, the development of Chinese stars such as Jackie Chan, Jet Li, and Liu Yuling in Hollywood, as well as the important role of many martial arts instructors in foreign film and television works have confirmed the powerful appeal of Chinese Kung Fu. Now it’s hard to imagine if the high-grossing movies like The Matrix, Charlie and Kill Bill were not inspired by Chinese martial arts and kung fu movies, and lacked the superb martial arts guidance of Yuan Heping, Yuan Xiangren and others, and the action of the film. What a loss in terms of viewing. Compared with similar movies adapted from games such as "Tomb Raider" and "Resident Evil" since the new century, this film has almost no shots of gunfights or bloody horrors, and uses fewer cold weapons, with emphasis on the human body. His own action ability, it is this kind of Chinese Kungfu that has made a large number of recent Hollywood action movies. The martial arts spirit from the East has greatly enhanced the brutal and violent pure fighting in the West, and led them to the dance-like rhythm and rhythm. A unique state of art and beauty.
From the perspective of the integration of Chinese and Western cultures, the film is similar to the intuitive impression given by works such as "Bulletproof Monk" and "Kung Fu King". In scenes such as the hall, square, city gate, etc., the audience has a reverie of the collision of different cultures. As the first overseas commercial film filmed entirely in China, the film chose the cultural landscape of Guilin in China-"Yuzi Paradise" as the main location. The palace-related dramas were mostly shot in Zhejiang Hengdian Film and Television City, and a few were shot in Hong Kong. Lens. Although the plot is not directly related to Chinese culture, it is full of oriental characteristics from the scene layout to the action design. The beautiful scenery of Guilin also brings joy and enjoyment to the audience. Although the protagonist actor is not of Chinese descent, the main "service personnel" on the "DOA" island (including pirates and thugs) are all Chinese faces. They wear all kinds of Chinese costumes, reflecting the mysterious oriental temperament. There is also "acupuncture and moxibustion" in the film as a kind of Eastern "weapon". Hayate successfully rescued Xia "without blood" with only a few fine needles. At the same time, "acupuncture and moxibustion" can also be used for daily treatment. For example, Xia used "acupuncture and moxibustion" when treating shoulder pain for Tina. It is a pity that these culturally significant elements did not really affect the content of the story, mostly in a superficial form. To some extent weakened the overall artistic pattern of the film. Compared with a group of Chinese martial arts films that enjoy a high reputation in the world, the lack of this film is undoubtedly the comprehensive connotation and cultural value, and it is easy to become a pure mass visual commodity. As for the use of comedy elements in the film, it is still a moderation or adjustment to the violent scenes of the film. There are also a large number of close-up shots of female parts such as "chest" and "buttocks", which continue the entertaining images of the original video game. style. The title of "DOA: Deador Alive" has completely become a consideration of the results of the fight. Although it is not an attempt to reach the philosophical height of Shakespeare’s "survival or death", as a complete film work, it is best to be different from the ordinary For the low-level entertainment of video games, there is still room for strengthening the subject content and ideological connotation. The so-called fighting in the film is more of a fierce attack and fighting, with bare hands and bare hands as the main body, close to each other, and the pursuit of quick battles and quick decisions. Compared with Chinese martial arts with a long history and rich heritage, the fighting style presented in the film is relatively simple. Every fighter in the game uses specific kung fu, such as ninjutsu represented by Kasumi and Hayabusa, American wrestling represented by Tina, etc., but the film does not clearly show the difference in action styles in different regions, but only reflects The characteristics of the director's own action design. By movie time
Judging from the combination of "Kung Fu + Beauty", this film is also reminiscent of the 2000 remake of the TV series of the same name, the Hollywood movie "Charlie Angels" of the same name, the "Chinese version" of "Sunset Angel", and in 2009, it was also pointed out by Wu Xiong Xinxin. The director's film "War Warriors", these works have been relatively successful in shaping some different types of "beating women" images. However, the starring role of "Sunset Angel" is not at all weak in martial arts performances, and the protagonist with solid martial arts skills in "War Warriors" lacks performance experience and can only blindly strengthen the elements of martial arts. The trend is contrary. Compared with the success of "Ip Man", it proves that kung fu movies must not only focus on the surface form and ignore the structure and intention of the overall play. No matter how martial arts are expressed, they must vividly express the plot or the reasons for the violence. Or realistic effect.
For viewers who love action movies, this film satisfies everyone’s attention as much as possible on the basis of the game adaptation. Whether it is a graceful beauty master or a summer beach full of style, the action design is simple and clean, with less bloody ingredients. I really can't pick a picture that is too procrastinating and ugly. However, in terms of overall ideology and influence, there are obviously the above-mentioned shortcomings. From the perspective of business investment, it has failed to present a big-name star that can support the entire film. Counting the successful action movies, the first protagonist is often very important. Take China's Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan, Jet Li, and Donnie Yen as examples. Every action star has a strong box office appeal and cultural value. Over the years, both domestic and international co-produced action films have come out, and the tastes of the audience are becoming more and more critical. It may be difficult to satisfy the viewers' eyes only by relying on gorgeous action editing. Only works that have both form and content can be shot. May be more widely recognized.
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