Mania Grade: B+
Disc Grade: B+
Reviewed Format: DVD
Rated: Not Rated
Stars: Jackie Chan, Wesley Snipes, Stephen Dorff, Jet Li, Brad Pitt, Michelle Yeoh, Ziyi Zhang, Al Pacino, Liam Neeson, Russell Crowe, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Roddy Piper, Keith David, Sylvester Stallone, Chow Yun-Fat
Writers: various
Directors: various
Distributor: FlixMix / Universal Home Video
Original Year of Release: 2002
Retail Price: $19.98
Extras: Dolby Digital 5.1; Dolby 2.0 Surround; featurette; audio commentaries; bios; "Fight Cards"; "Ultimate Rumble Techno Mix"; "Name that Frame" game; "My Top 5" playlist; trailers; onscreen text trivia; music video; DVD-ROM features; web links; sound f/x; trivia game; "Select-O-Matic" scene machine; Spanish and French subtitles

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ULTIMATE FIGHTS

Like BOOGEYMEN, it's a slickly put-together package, and for those looking to have some fun, ULTIMATE FIGHTS delivers. Sequencing 16 fight scenes from a variety of movie sources, FlixMix utilizes some flashy cutting and titles to tie together otherwise unrelated films such as BLADE, SCARFACE and LEGEND OF DRUNKEN MASTER.

They had an easier time of it putting together BOOGEYMEN I bet, since that compilation focused mostly on the slasher characters of horror films like HALLOWEEN and A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET. Most slasher films tend to be low-end in nature, and thus easier to acquire the rights to. But for ULTIMATE FIGTHS, FlixMix has included some less than noteworthy pictures like CROSSING THE LINE and THE PLAYERS CLUB. Never heard of 'em? I guess George Lucas didn't want to lend FlixMix the lightsaber duel from THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK.

We start off in style with Jackie Chan's RUMBLE IN THE BRONX and the Wesley Snipes-versus-Stephen Dorff finale from the original BLADEwhich reminds me, those who don't want the endings to some of these films spoiled had best not rent ULTIMATE FIGHTS. Next is the suitably kick-ass martial artistry of Jet Li in FIST OF LEGEND, followed by a great boxing scene with Brad Pitt from Guy Ritchie's SNATCH. Equally cool is the Michelle Yeoh/Ziyi Zhang battle from CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON, but things take a turn for the weird when we get to see Al Pacino's climactic machinegun massacre from SCARFACE. I guess that's a fight.

Jackie Chan returns in the next segment, taken from the great LEGEND OF DRUNKEN MASTER, but then we lose our momentum again with Liam Neeson's bare-knuckled fight in CROSSING THE LINE, a film no one who is going to rent or buy this disc cares about. Ditto THE PLAYERS CLUB, an Ice Cube-directed picture from 1998 that seems truly out of place here with its "bitch fight." The program quickly regains its footing though with Russell Crowe's GLADIATOR battle against the helmeted giant Tigris. And what would a fight compilation be without at least one Jean-Claude Van Damme film? You get it here with TIMECOP, and you also get Bruce Leesort ofwith a segment from DRAGON: THE BRUCE LEE STORY.

Next up is the great brouhaha between Roddy Piper and Keith David from John Carpenter's THEY LIVE, followed by another Jet Li martial arts piece, this time culled from the superhero-tinged BLACK MASK. Rambo gets his due with a segment from the original FIRST BLOOD, wherein Sly Stallone is brutalized by a small town sheriff and proceeds to beat up a half dozen cops. The disc closes out its hour of bloody fun with John Woo and Chow Yun-Fat's seminal THE KILLER, before providing some very arbitrary text lists such as "The Best Fight Movies Ever" and "Greatest Martial Artists."

Altogether, it's a pretty good package of scenes, even if some of the choices are weak and the video and audio quality of each segment varies wildly. There are also some neat extras on this disc, starting with a featurette on how to stage your own fight scenes (with "Fight Master" James Lew and Jean-Claude Van Damme offering tips). The "Fight Cards" offer quick stats on the scenes on the disc, including number of blows delivered, fighting style of each character, weapons and so on. You can also access the "Fight Master" audio commentary with Lew from each card, which jumps directly to the appropriate scene. There's also a bio for Lew, as well as "Fighter Profiles" which are actually bios for several of the actors featured here. A Tsui Hark bio is also included, not to mention a second audio commentary by the martial arts film producer/director. Other features include the "Ultimate Rumble Techno Mix" which is a music-only track composed to go with these scenes, games and trivia, trailers, a music video, DVD-ROM features, web links, sound f/x downloads, and lastly, the "My Top 5" option which allows the viewer to make their own playlist of their favorite fight scenes on the disc.