DURING OUR recent trip to Indonesia, we were pleasantly surprised to see Jakarta?s cineplexes showing ?Tekken,? Dwight H. Little?s big-screen version of the popular fighting game series, two months before its Philippine exhibition.

What surprised us even more was the fact that Little?s action flick turned out to be more entertaining and involving than 1994?s bland ?Street Fighter? and Paul W.S. Anderson?s lackluster ?Mortal Kombat,? two anticipated video game-to-film action flicks whose screen incarnations didn?t live up to the hype that preceded them.

Commodity

?Tekken? takes place in 2039, after a global war leaves the world in tumult and disarray?and a time when even coffee or a piece of orange is considered an expensive commodity. Countries are no longer run by governments, but by corporations, among them Mishima Zaibatsu, run by Heihachi Mishima (Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa) and his megalomaniac son, Kazuya (Ian Anthony Dale).

People temporarily forget about their chaotic, dystopian reality by watching the Iron Fist Tournament, or Tekken, where fierce fighters from around the world battle one another until a victor is declared. But, the ambitious Kazuya wants a bigger slice of his father?s power and influence.

Enter teenage street fighter, Jin Kazama (Jon Foo), a rebel who finds a cause after his mother, Jun (Tamlyn Tomita)?who turns out to be a former Tekken fighter?dies at the hands of Mishima?s men.

To get to Heihachi to avenge his mother?s death, Jin enters the tournament and ends up winning the audience?s hearts?and Kazuya?s jealousy!

The stakes get higher for Jin after he learns about his real ?affiliation? to Heihachi and Kazuya, who demonstrate to the teenage fighter that blood isn?t always thicker than water!

Some lingering questions, though: Is Jin in love with both Kara and Brazilian capoeira fighter, Christie Monteiro, portrayed by the lovely Kelly Overton? Why is there so much animosity between Kazuya and his father?

Loose ends

The film isn?t thematically provocative, and it sadly fails to capture the desperate, post-apocalyptic feel of a world gone mad. But, if it?s action you want, it?s what you?ll get. Some tweaked back stories may not sit well with Tekken?s faithful, however.

While there are loose ends that need tying up, we found the screenplay cohesive and involving enough, further enhanced by the new-kid-on-the-block presence of the fresh-faced Foo, the winking portrayal of Overton, and the stirring turns of Tomita and Tagawa.

Some of the video game?s most popular characters get some screen time: Marshall Law, Raven, Steve Fox, Miguel Rojo, Eddy Gordo, Nina and Anna Williams, Sergei Dragunov, Yoshimitsu and the half-robot, Brian Fury (Gary Daniels).

Unfortunately, there are so many interesting fighters (Hwoarang, Ling Xiaoyu, Panda, Lars Alexandersson, Lei Wulong, etc.) in the Tekken universe that it?s impossible to include all of them in the movie.

If you?re disappointed about their absence, just head back to the arcade and engage them in a duel. Game on!