SummaryTwo brothers have half of a powerful ancient Chinese talisman. An evil gang leader has the other half, and determines to get the brothers' half and have a complete medallion so he can gain absolute power.
Directed By:James Yukich
Written By:Paul Dini, Neal Shusterman, Michael Davis, Peter Gould
Double Dragon
Metascore
Mixed or Average
40
User score
Mixed or Average
6.0
My Score
Drag or tap to give a rating
Hover and click to give a rating
Not available in your country?
ExpressVPN
Get 3 Extra months free
$6.67/mth
Top Cast
Metascore
Mixed or Average
40
13% Positive
2 Reviews
2 Reviews
47% Mixed
7 Reviews
7 Reviews
40% Negative
6 Reviews
6 Reviews
75
This irrepressibly action-packed adventure may be based on a computer program, but it gets its real kick from martial- arts acrobatics, comic-book-vivid art direction, and a future-shock vision inspired by The Road Warrior, Robocop, and Escape From New York. What 12-year-old could resist?
50
The best stuff in this dopey, intermittently amusing live-action cartoon is the look that the film's effects and computer crews have given New Angeles - the ruined urbanscape of Southern California after an 8.5 quake and a massive tidal wave have sundered the city. [04 Nov 1994, p.05]
50
On screen, Wolf and Dacascos have a remarkable chemistry. They bounce cheesy lines off of one another like they were reciting Shakespeare or Tarantino or whatever passes for great writing these days. Both are surprisingly good actors. Unfortunately, there are no further surprises.
40
A Ninja turtle soup of computer gimmicks, karate chops and kiddie Confucianism.
38
Perhaps if you are a Sega-head or Nintendo freak, and your mission in life is to rack up awesome scores on Double Dragon, you may find this loud and tedious movie more enjoyable than I did. But I doubt it. [04 Nov 1994, p.M]
25
Double Dragon may have its merits as a computerized contest of wits and strategy, but the movie is a stinker, directed with apathy (by newcomer Jim Yukich) and "written" by committee from any number of recycled movie plots. [05 Nov 1994]
0
If all this sounds totally awesome, you're probably already an afficionado of the Sega- and Nintendo-licensed products from which director Jim Yukich's movie has been cloned. And you may be brain-dead as well, which would certainly enhance your enjoyment of his picture. [11 Nov 1994, p.L29]
User score
Mixed or Average
6.0
33% Positive
2 Ratings
2 Ratings
50% Mixed
3 Ratings
3 Ratings
17% Negative
1 Rating
1 Rating
Aug 25, 2024
8
I enjoyed the movie a lot but only because it hits my so bad its good spot. If you want an entertaining turn your brains off movie I recommend it without a second thought. The movie itself is based on the “Double Dragon” videogame franchise. Those were side scrolling beat em up games which had some good success in their time. The movie however is barely more than an “In name only” adaptation. Also I see sparkles of great ideas in it. It passes the “Could you tell the story in a way people get excited for it?” test. That means you could get a great movie out of it if done different / better. For example the set up is excellent. Years before an earthquake hit California and the government failed to adequately restore order and rebuild Los Angeles. The police is overburdened and when the night falls the gangs rule the streets as the police seeks shelter. Sounds pretty good so far. Then you have an ancient medallion, the Double Dragon, which grants mystic powers to its wielder. Also not bad. However the story is not on par with the set up. Like I said I enjoyed it but it is not good. You see the twists coming form miles away and also have seen the stereotypes, tropes and cliches many times before. The cast is however amazing. You have Mark Dacascos, Alyssa Milano, Julia Nickson, Leon Russom, Robert Patrick and Scott Wolf. All are good actors and I think they get the best they could out of the script. I even say Robert Patricks role as villain Shuko is amazing and deserves credit outside the so bad its good category. A hidden gem of movie villains. The humor in this movies hits well (with some misses). The style and practical effects are nice and enhance the setting. Overall I repeat my statement that “If you want an entertaining turn your brains off movie I recommend it without a second thought”.
