''The King of Fighters'' (also known specifically as ''Gordon Chan's The King of Fighters'' or ''KOF 2010'' for short) is a 2010 American

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...

martial arts film Martial arts films are a subgenre of action films that feature numerous martial arts combat between characters. These combats are usually the films' primary appeal and entertainment value, and often are a method of storytelling and character expres ...

that is a loose adaptation of SNK Playmore's best-selling

fighting game A fighting game, also known as a versus fighting game, is a video game genre, genre of video game that involves combat between two or more players. Fighting game combat often features mechanics such as Blocking (martial arts), blocking, grappli ...

franchise Franchise may refer to: Business and law * Franchising, a business method that involves licensing of trademarks and methods of doing business to franchisees * Franchise, a privilege to operate a type of business such as a cable television p ...

. Directed by

Gordon Chan Gordon Chan Kar-Seung (), born in 1960, is a Hong Kong film director, writer and producer. His most notable works include ''Beast Cops'', ''Fist of Legend'', ''Painted Skin'', '' 2000 AD'' and '' Legend of the Fist: The Return of Chen Zhen''. I ...

, it stars

Sean Faris Sean Faris (born March 25, 1982) is an American actor and model. He is known for his roles as Jake Tyler in ''Never Back Down'', Kyo Kusanagi in ''The King of Fighters'', and Rick Penning in ''Forever Strong''. He also played Tom in '' Ghost Ma ...

Kyo Kusanagi is a fictional character in SNK's ''The King of Fighters'' series of fighting games. The character was first introduced in the 1994 video game ''The King of Fighters '94'' as the leader of the Japanese team from the series' title tournament. K ...

Maggie Q Margaret Denise Quigley (Vietnamese: Lý Mỹ Kỳ; born May 22, 1979), professionally known as Maggie Q, is an American actress, activist, and model. She began her professional career in Hong Kong, with starring roles in the action films ''Gen- ...

Mai Shiranui (alternatively written しらぬいまい) is a fictional character in the ''Fatal Fury'' and ''The King of Fighters'' series of fighting games by SNK. She has also appeared in other media of these franchises and in a number of other games since ...

Will Yun Lee William Yun Lee (born March 22, 1971) is an American actor and martial artist. He is best known for his roles as Danny Woo in the supernatural drama ''Witchblade'' and Jae Kim in the sci-fi series '' Bionic Woman''. He has also appeared in th ...

Iori Yagami is a fictional character from SNK's ''The King of Fighters'' video game series. The character first appeared in ''The King of Fighters '95'' as the leader of the Rivals Team, as the initial enemy and later rival of Kyo Kusanagi. Iori is the he ...

, and

Ray Park Raymond Park (born 23 August 1974) is a Scottish actor and stuntman. He is best known for physically portraying Darth Maul in '' Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace'' and '' Solo: A Star Wars Story'', along with a motion capture performa ...

Rugal Bernstein ''The King of Fighters'' fighting game series, produced by SNK, includes a wide cast of characters, some of which are taken from other SNK games. The story takes place in a fictional universe in which an annual series of 3-on-3 or 4-on-4 fighti ...

Plot

The King of Fighters is a tournament held in an alternate dimension. When contestants are issued challenges, they enter the tournament via a special

Bluetooth Bluetooth is a short-range wireless technology standard that is used for exchanging data between fixed and mobile devices over short distances and building personal area networks (PANs). In the most widely used mode, transmission power is limi ...

headset. Mai Shiranui and her boyfriend Iori Yagami attend a private unveiling of three relics at a museum in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

: The Kagura Mirror, the Yagami Necklace and the Kusanagi Sword. Rugal Bernstein storms into the exhibit and steals the three relics, and uses them to disappear into a dimensional portal to awaken the mythical entity known as the

Orochi , or simply , is a legendary eight-headed and eight-tailed Japanese dragon/serpent. Mythology Yamata no Orochi legends are originally recorded in two ancient texts about Japanese mythology and history. The 712 AD transcribes this dragon name ...

, which grants limitless powers. The sword is revealed to be a fake and the quest is delayed. Mai is told by an injured Chizuru Kagura the real sword is with Saisyu Kusanagi at a mental institution. She is warned that Iori should not be involved in her quest to defeat Rugal. At the institution, Mai meets a catatonic Saisyu and his son Kyo but Iori's presence suddenly breaks Saisyu's catatonic state, and the elder Kusanagi threatens to kill Iori before losing consciousness and dying. At another hospital, Chizuru is informed by her colleague Scott that Rugal has altered the King of Fighters database and issued challenges to fighters around the world.

CIA The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian intelligence agency, foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gat ...

agent Terry Bogard enters Chizuru's room, demanding information on Rugal's whereabouts and the tournament. She tells that different dimensions exist, but when he does not believe it, she tells him to go to Seattle and ask Mai, who is an undercover operative sent by the CIA to infiltrate Chizuru's organization a year ago. At a cemetery in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

, where Saisyu is buried, Kyo and Iori confront each other. Iori explains that both Kusanagi and Yagami clans were destined to be enemies. Mai hitches a ride with Kyo to his home, where she explains that she is looking for the Kusanagi Sword. Kyo tells her that centuries ago, a Yagami ancestor attempted to release the Orochi, but it consumed him with murderous rage. Kyo's ancestor killed the Yagami and returned the Orochi into its world. Mai tells Kyo that Rugal is out to unleash the Orochi. Kyo wants to confront Rugal, who destroyed his father's mental state. At a hotel, Mai and Kyo meet up with Iori and Terry. Rugal is using the tournament dimension to merge it with the real world. After Mai blows her cover in front of Kyo, Iori puts on his Bluetooth headset and enters the tournament dimension to confront Rugal. There, he defeats Rugal's servants, Mature and Vice, only to have his mind consumed by the Orochi. The next day, Kyo is lured into the tournament dimension, where he first fights Rugal and loses, but is allowed to live as a warning. Kyo brings out his ancestral sword and joins Chizuru and Terry into the tournament after Mai is dragged in by Rugal. When the four meet up, they are separated into different dimensions, with Kyo fighting Rugal, and Mai and Terry facing Mature and Vice. Rugal is about to decapitate Kyo, when Iori appears and intervenes. Rugal reveals to Kyo that several years back, he battled Saisyu, Chizuru, and Iori over control of the Orochi. During that fight, Iori allowed the Orochi to take over his body, defeating Rugal, but also destroying Saisyu's mental state by bashing his head against a wooden barrier several times. This leads to a fight between Kyo and Iori until Kyo slashes Iori in the back, releasing the Orochi from his body. Disappointed by the outcome of the fight, Rugal sends Kyo, Iori, and Mai into another dimension to face them with his full potential. Chizuru and her multiple clones appear, revealing that she has found the mirror and the necklace. The heroes fail in their first attempt to combine the relics and trap Rugal, with Chizuru mortally wounded. Mai takes her place as the mirror holder, but as she, Kyo and Iori corner Rugal, they are once again overcome by his powers. Rugal destroys Kyo's sword, but as he is about to finish him off with a fireball, Kyo magically generates a new sword to block it. He then throws the sword and destroys Rugal. Back in the real world, Scott places a lantern on the ocean in memory of Chizuru. Kyo decides to keep the family tradition by continuing with the tournament. He reflects on his late father's teachings while Iori stares at him from the other side of the pier.

Cast

Savior Team

as ''

'': A Japanese American motorcycle enthusiast and the son of Japanese martial artist Saisyu Kusanagi. He is also a descendant of the Kusanagi clan. ''Keanu Lam'' also portrays Kyo in his teen years. Faris spent a month learning how to use a

katana A is a Japanese sword characterized by a curved, single-edged blade with a circular or squared guard and long grip to accommodate two hands. Developed later than the ''tachi'', it was used by samurai in feudal Japan and worn with the edge fa ...

in preparing for his role and took up basic

Karate (; ; Okinawan language, Okinawan pronunciation: ) is a martial arts, martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom. It developed from the Okinawan martial arts, indigenous Ryukyuan martial arts (called , "hand"; ''tii'' in Okinawan) under the ...

. *

as ''

'': An undercover

operative sent to infiltrate the King of Fighters tournament. *

as ''

'': a King of Fighters participant, a descendant of the Yagami clan, and the boyfriend of Mai.

Rugal Team

as ''

'': A mysterious tyrannical fighter and leader of his own namesake K.O.F. team, the criminal from

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

plunders the three relics and uses them to take over the King of Fighters dimension. * Monique Ganderton as '' Mature'': A femme fatale K.O.F. participant and Vice's lover, who is lured into the tournament dimension and brainwashed by Rugal, her weapon of choice is a

tonfa The ''tonfa'' ( Okinawan: , lit. ''old man's staff'' / ''"crutch"''), also spelled as ''tongfa'' or ''tuifa'', also known as T-baton is a melee weapon with its origins in the armed component of Okinawan martial arts. It consists of a stick ...

. *

Bernice Liu Bernice Jan Liu (born January 6, 1979) is a Canadian actress, singer, and commercial model based in Hong Kong. She has previously held the title Miss Chinese Vancouver 2000 as well as Miss Chinese International 2001, the latter position bringing ...

as ''

Vice A vice is a practice, behaviour, or habit generally considered immoral, sinful, criminal, rude, taboo, depraved, degrading, deviant or perverted in the associated society. In more minor usage, vice can refer to a fault, a negative character tra ...

'': She is the second femme fatale K.O.F. participant and Mature's lover. Alongside Mature, she also becomes the enslaved servitress of Rugal.

Other fighters

Françoise Yip Françoise Fong-Wa Yip (葉芳華; born September 4, 1972) is a Canadian actress. She first became known for her performances in Hong Kong films, before later also starring in North American films and television shows. She is best known to inter ...

as ''

Chizuru Kagura ''The King of Fighters'' fighting game series, produced by SNK, includes a wide cast of characters, some of which are taken from other SNK games. The story takes place in a fictional universe in which an annual series of 3-on-3 or 4-on-4 fightin ...

'': Descendant of the Kagura clan and host of the King of Fighters tournament. Due to a bullet injury, Mai takes Chizuru's place on the ''Savior Team'' with Iori and Kyo in the K.O.F. tournament. *

Hiro Kanagawa is a Japanese-Canadian actor and playwright based in Vancouver, British Columbia. He has appeared in numerous high-profile films and television series shot in the Vancouver area, including '' Smallville'', '' Caprica'', ''Godzilla'', ''The Man i ...

as '' Saisyu Kusanagi'': Descendant of the Kusanagi clan, the father of Kyo, and the keeper of the Kusanagi Sword. His appearance resembles that of ''Takuma Sakazaki'' from

Art of Fighting is a fighting video game trilogy that were released for the Neo Geo platform in the early 1990s. It was the second fighting game franchise created by SNK, following the ''Fatal Fury'' series and is set in the same fictional universe as a pr ...

. *

David Leitch David Leitch (born November 16, 1975) is an American filmmaker, actor, stunt performer and stunt coordinator who made his directorial debut on the 2014 action film ''John Wick'' with Chad Stahelski, though only Stahelski was credited. Leitch the ...

as ''

Terry Bogard is a Player character, video game character created by SNK as the protagonist of their ''Fatal Fury'' series. Introduced in ''Fatal Fury: King of Fighters'' in 1991, he is an American fighter who enters the worldwide "The King of Fighters" tourn ...

'': A skeptical and caviler CIA agent who investigates on the activities of the K.O.F. tournament by being the assist fighter of the ''Savior Team''. Leitch was also the film's fight choreographer. *

Sam Hargrave Sam Hargrave is an American stunt coordinator, stuntman, actor and director. He is best known for his collaborations with the Russo brothers, including being the stunt coordinator for several films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The pair also w ...

as '' Mr. Big'': This boss fighter makes a special guest appearance in this film as he canonically made his K.O.F. debuts in both ''

'' and later ''

The King of Fighters '96 ''(KOF '96)'' is a fighting game released by SNK for the Neo Geo arcade and home consoles in 1996. It is the third game in ''The King of Fighters'' series, following ''The King of Fighters '95''. Like its predecessor, the game was ported to the N ...

'', the ''

Eskrima Arnis, also known as Kali or Eskrima/Escrima, is the national martial art of the Philippines. The three are roughly interchangeable umbrella terms for the traditional martial arts of the Philippines ("Filipino Martial Arts", or FMA), which emp ...

'' master from

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

loses to Mai in the film's opening fight.

Non-canon characters

Mike Dopud Mike Dopud ( sr, Majk Dopuđ, ''Мајк Допуђ'') is a Canadian actor, stuntman, and former football player known for his supporting roles on television. His best-known roles include Vic Hadfield in the miniseries ''Canada Russia '72'', Ja ...

as ''CIA Agent'' * Doug Abrahams as ''Mick O'Meara'' * Candus Churchill as ''Berta'' * Robin Nielsen as ''Junior Agent'' * Scott Patey as ''Scott Hana'' * Toshi Haraguchi as ''Takao Iwata''

Game differences

* This loose adaptation has only 9 canon fighters from the roster of '' The King of Fighters '98: The Slugfest'', which originally had a total of 38 fighters. The fighters who made there appearances in this movie are: Kyo Kusanagi, Mai Shiranui, Iori Yagami, Chizuru Kagura, Saisyu Kusanagi, Terry Bogard, Mature, Vice, and Rugal Bernstein. The other 29 fighters who are absent in this movie are: Benimaru Nikaido, Goro Daimon, Andy Bogard,

Joe Higashi is a video game character created by SNK. He makes his first appearance in the fighting game '' Fatal Fury: King of Fighters'' as one of the three playable characters from the game. The ''Fatal Fury'' series introduce Joe as a goofy Muay Thai fi ...

Ryo Sakazaki is a video game character developed for the 1992 fighting game ''Art of Fighting'' from SNK. His name is most often written in kana, although in some games, kanji is used to write parts of his name. In the series, Ryo is a skilled martial arti ...

, Robert Garcia, King, Yuri Sakazaki,

Ralf Jones is a video game character created by SNK. Ralf has made appearance in several games from the company, premiering in '' TNK III'' as a military tank driver. The '' Ikari Warriors'' series also emphasized Ralf's role as a soldier with him becomin ...

Leona Heidern , who is also known as is a fictional character from SNK's ''The King of Fighters'' series of fighting video games. Leona is Heidern's adopted daughter, who is introduced in ''The King of Fighters '96''; she replaces him because he accepts a mo ...

, Clark Still, Athena Asamiya, Sie Kensou, Chin Gentsai, Yashiro Nanakase, Shermie, Chris, Chang Koehan,

Kim Kaphwan Kim Kap-Hwan (, ''Kimu Kaffan'', sometimes written as (''Kim Kap-hwan'')), usually written as Kim Kaphwan, is a fictional character in both the ''Fatal Fury'' and ''The King of Fighters'' series created by SNK. He is credited as the first ever f ...

, Choi Bounge, Ryuji Yamazaki,

Blue Mary , better known as , is a fictional character in SNK's ''Fatal Fury'' and ''The King of Fighters'' series. She made her first appearance in '' Fatal Fury 3: Road to the Final Victory'' which introduced her as a special agent who investigates two cri ...

Billy Kane is a player character, video game character created by SNK. He makes first appearance in the fighting game ''Fatal Fury: King of Fighters'' as the sub-boss from the game. In the ''Fatal Fury'' series Billy is the right-hand man from Geese Howard, ...

, Heidern, Takuma Sakazaki, Heavy-D!, Lucky Glauber, Brian Battler, and Shingo Yabuki. * In the movie, the King of Fighters is a tournament held in an alternate dimension; when the contestants are issued challenges, they teleport to the tournament via a special bluetooth headset. In the games, the King of Fighters is an annual martial arts championship tournament that was originally held in the fictitious South Town of USA, but fighters from all over the world were invited to participate; The tournament was not limited to any specific martial arts, and any kind of fighter is welcome to join the fray; Also, there are no limitations to weapon use and super powers, with KOF having a history of fighters who use both elemental energy and melee weapons, such as Mr. Big (Sam Hargrave); KOF was originally a 1-on-1 tournament, but when Rugal Bernstein (Ray Park) first hosted it in KOF '94, he instituted the famous 3-on-3 rule; Teams of three fighters would compete against each other, with one fighter from each team fighting at a time; This rule was the basis of several tournaments, from the Orochi Saga, to the N.E.S.T.S. Saga, and again from the Tales of Ash Saga to onward tournaments. * In the movie, Mai Shinarui is depicted as an undercover CIA operative and a girlfriend of Iori Yagami; wears a blue frilly-but-sleeveless low-cut dress, and black lingerie with thigh-high leather boots; her measurements are a petite 30A-22-32 / 78A-56-81 in cm; and teams up with men instead of women. Mai's canon depiction in the games however: she is a

Kunoichi is a Japanese cant term for . In popular culture, it is often used for female shinobi or practitioner of ninjutsu (''ninpo''). The term was largely popularized by novelist Yamada Futaro in his novel ''Ninpō Hakkenden'' (忍法八犬伝) in 1964 ...

of the Shiranui clan and the self-proclaimed "fiancée" to fellow Shiranui-ryuu Ninja student Andy Bogard (who happens to be Terry's younger brother); she wears a sleeveless red uwagi with a decorative waistband--sometimes with long, decorative tails, a red loincloth with a bikini-bottom underneath, completed with a pair of soft-soled tabi; her measurements were originally 34F-22-36 / 88F-55-91 in cm, Mai is also a frequent member of the Women's Fighting Team after once getting rejected by Terry Bogard's ''

Fatal Fury ''Fatal Fury'', known as in Japan, is a fighting game series developed by SNK for the Neo Geo system. Games Canon * ''Fatal Fury'' – The first game of the ''Fatal Fury'' series allowed players to select one of three characters, Terry B ...

'' team during the Orochi Saga. * Vice and Mature are depicted as being similar to ''Marian Kelly'' and ''Rebecca Brille'' from '' Double Dragon '95'', they are also shown to be somewhat close

lesbian A lesbian is a Homosexuality, homosexual woman.Zimmerman, p. 453. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate n ...

-lovers; even though in the games, Mature being a

bisexual Bisexuality is a romantic or sexual attraction or behavior toward both males and females, or to more than one gender. It may also be defined to include romantic or sexual attraction to people regardless of their sex or gender identity, whi ...

, and Vice being a sadist, they act as professional accomplices with no close relationship whatsoever.

Production

Filming began on November 3, 2008 at Aja Tan Studios, North

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

, British Columbia, Canada and finished on January 19, 2009.

Reception

Release

''The King of Fighters'' was released

direct-to-DVD Direct-to-video or straight-to-video refers to the release of a film, TV series, short or special to the public immediately on home video formats rather than an initial theatrical release or television premiere. This distribution strategy was p ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

on September 7, 2010 through Vivendi Home Entertainment.Beyond Hollywood - ''The King of Fighters'' Review
It was re-released in the U.S. by Well Go USA Entertainment.

Criticism

''Beyond Hollywood'' gave the film a negative review, saying that this movie: Felix Vasquez, Jr. of ''Cinema Crazed'' gave the film one-and-a-half out of four stars, commenting:

Reboot

Ledo Millennium announced that they are working with 37 Mutual Entertainment for new animated and live action adaptations of ''The King of Fighters''.

References

External links

Official site
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:King Of Fighters 2010 science fiction action films 2010 martial arts films 2010 films American martial arts films American science fiction action films Films directed by Gordon Chan Films about parallel universes Films set in Boston Films set in Seattle Films shot in Vancouver Japan in non-Japanese culture The King of Fighters Live-action films based on video games Martial arts tournament films Martial arts science fiction films SNK Playmore Works based on SNK video games 2010s English-language films 2010s American films