We watch the videogame movies so you don't have to! Take a look back at Street Fighter (1994) with us.
Posted by flying_delorean81 on Aug 8, 2010 18:13 (Aug 8, 2010 18:13)
Street Fighter II is one of the most successful arcade games ever made. It popularised the one-on-one fighting game genre with its innovative use of 6 button controls and combo moves. At the risk of patronising most of the followers of this website, here is what Street Fighter II is all about: a one-on-one fighting tournament where the player has to defeat other characters before moving on to the four bosses - Balrog, Vega, Sagat and M. Bison. Defeat the bosses and you are crowned the “World Warrior”. Hurrah! As the only playable characters in the original Street Fighter game, Ryu and Ken have always been considered the main characters of the series. While actual plot in the videogame was sparse, the linked backgrounds and identical move sets of these two fighters made for an interesting matchup and offered potential for drama, should a movie about the game ever happen to be made.
Street Fighter (1994) is an entertaining, fascinating film, for all the wrong reasons. While the movie was based (I use that term loosely) on Street Fighter II (1991), and not the original game (released in 1987), producers wisely decided that it might be a bad idea to start a film franchise with a sequel, and omitted the II from the title. Unfortunately, nothing else about Street Fighter makes sense.
Before we delve into the story of this film, it must be explained that writer/director Steven E. de Souza is also responsible for committing indecent acts of filmmaking on The Flintstones, Judge Dredd and Lara Croft. He even wrote Beverly Hills Cop III (yep – the worst one).
The plot of Street Fighter involves Colonel William Guile leading a force of Allied Nation troops into the nation of Shadaloo to overthrow the evil dictator, General M. Bison, who has kidnapped some civilians and soldiers, including Guile's friend Carlos Blanka. Bison's plan is to create an army of genetic super soldiers (starting with Blanka, who you probably guessed turns into a ginger haired guy in a green suit) which will enforce peace in the world and allow Bison to be the ruler of all mankind. Aiding Guile in his rescue mission are Lieutenant Cammy, reporter Chun Li Zang and her news crew (consisting of Balrog and Eddie Honda), and two hustlers named Ken and Ryu, whose dealings with Bison's gun runner (Sagat) help Guile infiltrate Bison's gang. T. Hawk also pops up near the end, for pretty much no reason other than fan service.
Evil dictator tries to take over the world, good guys try to stop him... so far so predictable. Where this film gets unpredictable however, is in the casting. In the lead role of Guile, the cocky American colonel, is Jean Claude Van Damme, aka the Muscles From Brussels. Rather than attempt an American accent, the filmmakers just let him go with his normal voice, as viewers would probably just assume he was American when they saw the tattoo of the flag on his arm. Guile shares a lot of screen time with Cammy, played by Kylie Minogue, who it seems was cast for two reasons: 1) Her ability to fill Cammy's outfit rather well, and 2) her height. Van Damme stands an average 5' 9” tall, so the 5' 1” Kylie made him seem nice an imposing on screen. She also does a rather posh English accent, which is nice. The real star of the show however, is Raul Julia as Bison. While he may seem like an odd choice for the main boss of a videogame beat 'em up, Julia brings an over the top, scene stealing charm to his villain, and provides some scarily psychotic eyes when required. He may not fill the red cape like fans may have hoped for, but Julia chews the scenery with such flair that it's hard to fault his performance. This is an over the top action movie based on an arcade game, after all.
It is clear that writer/director de Souza is a fan of the videogame, or at least familiar with it. Perhaps this is not always for the best however, as many characters are crammed into the film and given little to do. Balrog and Honda are relegated to Chun Li's assistants, and serve mainly as comic relief. The same goes for Bison's henchmen Zangief (portrayed as an absolute idiot) and Dee Jay (who doesn't even get one fight scene). The filmmakers attempt to create a backstory for Blanka, the most inexplicable character from the game, but merely end up combining him with Guile's original reason for entering the World Warrior tournament (to avenge the death of his friend Charlie... who was amended to a captured Carlos for the movie). The result is a stupid genetic soldier side story with a second rate Incredible Hulk costume. At least Lou Ferrigno's muscles were real. Dhalsim is another fighter from the game who is robbed of a fight scene in the film. Here he is a scientist being held against his will by Bison in order to create his super army.
Chun Li's role in the film is fairly substantial, if very cliched. Utilising the kung fu movie staple plot device of revenge, she sets out to avenge her father, who was killed by Bison's army years ago. She ends up helping Guile's army, much like Bruce Lee in Enter The Dragon (1973), when he agreed to infiltrate Han's criminal organisation, while also satisfying his need to avenge the death of his sister. Chun Li even dons an all black outfit similar to Lee's at one point, but she proves far less stealthy in sneaking around. The filmmakers didn't even bother to edit out the “thump” sound when she jumps to the ground. The story of Street Fighter shares many similarities with Enter The Dragon, it is just far inferior, on every level.
I couldnt wait for this move to come into the cinema. Me and about 15 other guys I know were giving free tickets and we went to see it. It was ok but now looking back, it was a real disapointment and I cant seem to even watch it if its on tv
Aug 23, 2010 01:32:43 (
Aug 23, 2010 01:32
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