Double Dragon (1994)

0% of critics liked it
(10 reviews)
29% of users liked it
(29,342 ratings)

In this futuristic martial arts drama based on a popular video game, Los Angeles has been transformed into a watery New Angeles after a long-threatened earthquake devastates the West Coast. Billy Lee (Scott Wolf) and his brother Jimmy (Mark Dacascos) are two martial arts experts who were raised by a… More In this futuristic martial arts drama based on a popular video game, Los Angeles has been transformed into a watery New Angeles after a long-threatened earthquake devastates the West Coast. Billy Lee (Scott Wolf) and his brother Jimmy (Mark Dacascos) are two martial arts experts who were raised by a woman named Satori (Julia Nickson) after the death of their parents. Satori has come into possession of one half of a magic amulet; if joined with the other half, it gives whomever possesses it remarkable powers. However, the other half of the charm is now held by Koga Shuko (Robert Patrick), a martial arts master and business tycoon who is obsessed with ruling New Angeles. Satori gives her half of the amulet to Billy and Jimmy, hoping they can keep it safe while trying to win the other half away from the unscrupulous Koga Shuko. In their adventures, the brothers encounter Marian (Alyssa Milano), the leader of a gang called "The Power Corps," and Linda Lash (Kristina Malandro Wagner), Koga Shuko's beautiful but deadly female bodyguard. George Hamilton and Vanna White appear in cameos as themselves, and Andy Dick has a small role as the Smogcaster. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: PG-13, 1 hr. 36 min.
Directed By: James Yukich
Genres: Action & Adventure, Science Fiction & Fantasy

In Theaters: Nov 4, 1994 Wide
On DVD: Jan 15, 1999
Studio: MCA Universal Home Video

Critic Reviews

Brian Lowry, Variety
Even kids won't get much of a kick out of this high-energy, low-IQ futuristic slugfest.
Stephen Holden, New York Times
An incoherent children's adventure based on a popular video game.
Rita Kempley, Washington Post
While clumsily paced by first-time director Jim Yukich and amateurishly acted, the picture does take place against the imaginative backdrop of New Angeles, the urban archipelago formed when the Big One crumpled Southern California.
, TV Guide's Movie Guide
A surprisingly timid and largely toothless action fantasy for kids.
Luke Y. Thompson, New Times
How hard would it be to come up with a story at least as good as that of the original Nintendo game? Impossible, apparently.
Clint Morris, Moviehole
Nonsense
Brant Bingamon, Austin Chronicle
The grim view of the future is nothing new, the special effects involve poorly used matte paintings and pyrotechnics, and the actors do far too many double-takes.
Chris Hicks, Deseret News, Salt Lake City
Double Dragon pales in comparison to the game itself.

Read all 8 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

Phil H

Set in the future of 2007 hehe well I didn't think it would happen, why do all these poor adaptations get set in post apocalyptic futures where gangs roam the streets in outfits you wore under the age of 15? Again your typical 90's trash that went straight to the video shop… More
Set in the future of 2007 hehe well I didn't think it would happen, why do all these poor adaptations get set in post apocalyptic futures where gangs roam the streets in outfits you wore under the age of 15? Again your typical 90's trash that went straight to the video shop and didn't even pass go, its called 'Double Dragon' but bares no resemblance to the videogame what so ever accept for character names and the fact the brothers 'fight' against various punks. The film is pretty much like the first 'TMNT' film albeit a very bad version, its completely aimed at kids so everything is watered down to a babyish level which inturn comes off as hilarious. Like other kids action films of the time its all very colourful and quite imaginative but its so utterly pointless, action sequences are clearly added simply to make the film more 'exciting' when really you wouldn't miss them if they weren't there, point...less. All characters are totally cliched and all look ridiculous in their costumes/face paint, your typical post apocalyptic gangs of punks dressed in horribly retro 80/90's fashions. Robert Patrick must have suspected this was gonna be a big blockbuster otherwise I'm sure he wouldn't have signed on for this, mind you the casting of B-movie action star regular Dacascos should of given him a hint. This just feels completely not needed, un-required, no point in creating in the slightest. Its like they have a videogame that is/was popular so they just had to throw out a film of it no matter how it turned out, just to capitalise on the franchise, they just couldn't help themselves, and what has it achieved? absolutely zip.
Wahida K

This is very poor TV Movie with a poor acting.
Dean M

Worst based on the original video game in marital arts film I ever saw, looked stupid and crap.
Gavin C

I mean, if you think Street Fighter was bad, at least it had Raul Julia's greatest performance as the villain and some great action sequences, but after learning what the Nostalgia Critic himself has taught me about this film, I now agree with him. But before we can go to the… More
I mean, if you think Street Fighter was bad, at least it had Raul Julia's greatest performance as the villain and some great action sequences, but after learning what the Nostalgia Critic himself has taught me about this film, I now agree with him. But before we can go to the negatives, I have three praises for this film and those are the decent special effects, the solid costume designs, and the well-choreographed action sequences. But those three praises didn't save this god-awful film as everything went extremely wrong. The story was too predictable and very simple for a video game adaptation, the dialogue was unbelievably cheesy, the characters were cardboard cutouts, and the writing/editing was choppy. For example, near the end of the film, where Billy and Jimmy are about to battle each other, it showed a Double Dragon video game, which raises one question: How can a video game adaptation have a video game in which it was based on? Looks like the director himself didn't had time to explain and just focused on the action. Why can't Hollywood ever make a good video game adaptation? Why do they always have to alter the story lines that made the video games so popular? It looks like those two questions were never answered until later in the 2000s that some video game adaptations have finally started to become good. I wish there was a remake of this, but since it bombed at the box office, I guess Hollywood's gonna move on now.
Joseph E

Is it possible that a video game, can dump the game part, and possible become a good movie as a whole, and not a part? Well, I am afraid not, cause this is haldf-crap, half-bull. It tried, but not hard enough.
Curt C

Alyssa Milano is smoking in one scene. Oh, and the Double Dragon game was in the arcade they fought in. Yup, that's about it.
Nate H

This movie is really terrible.
t h o m !

lol. The 3 Ninjas movies with the kids were better than this. Tum-Tum alone.
Leo L

*LOL* I definitely remember this movie, it's been a long time since I last seen it though.