DVD Review: Street Gangs (2012)

Street Gangs (2012)
A.K.A. Arena of the Street Fighter
A.K.A. Urban Fighter
Director: Mike Möller
Stars: Mike Möller, Volkram Zschiesche, Oliver Juhrs

Ok the copy on the back of this DVD reads as follows:

“The "Bloods" are the most intimidating and violent gang in the

city. A lawless city... where gangs rule the streets... The vicious and blood thirsty murderer Slater is their leader. The city is his domain... he rules! There are those who are not members of gangs such as Mikey and his friends. Mikey lives on the edge, he is daring and always in trouble and fights. His brother Mathis and his friends try to avoid trouble at any cost. Revenge becomes the motive to Mikey when his brother Mathis goes missing and is killed. To avenge the death of his brother Mikey must fight those responsible for his brother's untimely death. With ultimate focus, Mikey trains his body and mind. He takes on all corners in street fights and a fighting tournament... his name becomes feared on the street. The "Bloods" and Slater become, in his mind, the final nemesis. A nemesis he will only win against with the support of his friends. The bloody, violent and deadly fight leads to only one result... Mikey is sent to prison. Here the reality hits Mikey. The fight is not over yet and it is not only "The Bloods" who are his enemy.”

Yep, Mikey has a mullet

It’s important to read that first before trying to watch this film. All the actors are German, and speak broken English throughout the entire film; a lot of it is hard to understand. Of course this all makes for hilarious review fodder but at times it does get frustrating.

I often watch foreign language movies and wonder if the acting is really as good as I perceive it to be since I don’t know the native tongue.  Here there is no doubt, heavy accent or not this crew of actors is really bad.

This is an action movie however and things like bad dialog delivery can be forgiven if the action is good, which thankfully it is. There is tons of fight scenes all pretty well choreographed.  Mostly practical with a few scenes utilizing wire-fu to make an opponent fly across the room.  

Writer, Director, and Star Mike Möller’s heart seems to be in the right place but just can’t quite execute the martial arts epic he envisioned.  Cornball lines, ridiculous situations, and a thin plot is just not enough to frame the decent fight scenes.

I watched it once and gave my disc away, after capping screens for this review. This could be a start to a big career for Mike Möller as an international martial arts movie star, but it’s going to take a lot more than something like this before he really gets the attention his martial arts prowess deserves.