On paper, the video game adaptation The King Of Fighters holds a bit of promise. In the cast you’ve got Ray Park, Maggie Q and Francoise Yip, all of whom have shown pretty impressive martial arts/action chops in previous films. In the director’s chair is Gordon Chan, who has directed one of Jet Li’s best pictures, Fist Of Legend. But t hen again, Park, Q and Yip have not been making spectacular career choices lately. Park is languishing in a role on the TV series Heroes that sees him as little more than set dressing, Q hasn’t managed to leverage her visibility in Mission: Impossible 3 and Live Free Or Die Hard into a Hollywood career and Yip has had similar lack of success in landing a break out role for herself. And Chan’s post Fist Of Legend work has not been particular inspiring, with him having directed Thunderbolt and The Medallion, the worst Jackie Chan movies not called The Tuxedo.
Sure, all involved could somehow reach within themselves to find some vestige of their former glory and really deliver a film that will thrill end entertain. But the trailer below suggests otherwise. Sure, it could just be a bad trailer, but isn’t a trailer supposed to show, or at least tease you with, all the good bits?
The King Of Fighters is due in theaters sometime next year. Unless, of course, it doesn’t wind up getting shunted off straight to video.
