“˜Ultimate Fights’ packs a punch but lacks meat
By Daily Bruin Staff
April 16, 2002 9:00 p.m.
“Ultimate Fights” Flixmix Featuring: Jackie Chan,
Jet Li, Chow Yun Fat, Russell Crowe, Brad Pitt
The fight-scene-loving DVD collector short on cash now has
something to look forward to. Following in the tradition of
“Too Hot For TV” and “Girls Gone Wild” (but
more toned down), is a new genre of compilation videos.
“Ultimate Fights,” by Flixmix, is a 50-minute DVD that
compiles, in the producer’s opinions, the best fight scenes
on video. It sounds like a rather novel idea, but that just
isn’t enough. The good thing about fight scenes in movies is
the fact that they are climactic ““ they have been built up
to, and is the moment of truth when Little Grasshopper, or Neo, or
whoever, has his moment of reckoning. By taking out all the
dramatic events, the character development, the history of the
relationships, and such, the “Ultimate Fights” DVD just
provides a series of confrontations taken from the big screen.
Jackie Chan showcases his incredible acrobatic ability from
“The Legend of Drunken Master,” and Jet Li is stunning
in “Fist of Legend,” but the fights without the films
are just somewhat lacking. Brad Pitt dukes it out in one of his
boxing scenes in “Snatch,” and even Al Pacino and his
little friend have a part in this, as Tony Montana from
“Scarface.” Russell Crowe takes on tigers and Tigris
(Titus) of Gaul from “Gladiator,” and Wesley Snipes
battles Steven Dorff from “Blade.” There are a total of
16 fight scenes, and a whole bunch of special features. Things like
punch counts, and the background music of the “Ultimate
Rumble Techno Remix” provide supplemental entertainment to
the fighting. Perhaps the most interesting featurette is the
“Behind the Punches” video, where fight choreographer
Tsui Hark teaches home viewers how to make their own fight scene.
Regardless of the special features, the 16 fights just aren’t
enough. The viewer would have had to watch all the movies, or had
some interest in them prior to watching the DVD in order to enjoy
it. Then, comes the ultimate realization ““ these fights
aren’t real. Upon watching so many fight scenes in sequence,
viewers begin to pick up errors in the fights, punches that miss
anything entirely, kicks breaking balsa wood, just realistic
discrepancies that make viewers more critical of fighting scenes.
The worst part about the fights is probably the fact that the best
moments in the fight scenes are left out. For example, “The
Legend of Drunken Master” didn’t even have Jackie Chan
fighting in the drunken fist style. The best thing for the film
buff to probably do is to buy the movies that they enjoy the most.
This DVD shouldn’t really be a part of any collection, unless
one doesn’t have that much money. Otherwise, it should only
be a rental ““ something for a bunch of drunken guys to watch
when bored. Kenny Chang
