Street Fighter: Underrated

[Senshi1]

I saw in a thread here a negative comment about the live-action Street Fighter movie. I've noticed that many people are negative about this movie, but I don't know why.

Personally, I think it's great. Bison's master plan is no cheesier than that of any Bond villain, but the character of Bison has been beefed up to make the film more entertaining (und this works, as Raul Julia's Bison is one of my favourite movie characters of all time, certainly my favourite villain).

There's plenty of fighting in this film as well. Plenty of action, fighting, guns, explosions, and even the odd car chase. Armies, monsters, hostages, overly-powerful villains, secret lairs, disguises, this film has it all! It kept me entertained, and continues to do so. I have it on video and I re-watch it quite often. It's one of my favourite films of all time.

I have heard a couple of arguments against this film, but they amount to nothing more than the following:

"Jean Claude Van-Damme is Belgian whereas Guile is supposed to be American"

Well Sean Connery is Scottish and keeps his Scottish accent regardless of the part he's playing, be it Bond, King Arthur, a Russian or even a dragon. Nobody ever complains about him. Why should Van-Damme be any different? I mean an accent is a small thing - I wouldn't have thought it capable of ruining a whole film.

"Ryu and Ken have small roles"

So? They always get the spotlight - let some other characters have it for a change. They're not all that and a bag of crisps, anyway.


I really am curious as to why people hate this movie so much. I've been a fan of the video games since I was 6-7, and I don't feel that they've shamed the game or anything. The game was full of corny dialogue and Bison's overly ambitious plans. If anything, the movie is a great homage to the game.

I'd be interested to hear other people's thoughts on this. I understand that I'm certainly in the minority by liking the film, but that doesn't matter - I'd like to hear it from different points of view. In my opinion, I think many people don't like the film by default because so many other people have run it down (I feel the same way about "Waterworld" which I thoroughly enjoyed, but that's another story).

 

[SOADRyknow]

dude i first saw that movie at a drive in theater when i was like 7 years old.. im 21 now.. and id still watch that movie if it was on.. i thought it was very well done.. and the arguments that you say people have been posing are trivial.. i would say more but you pretty much covered anything i could say..

 

[Senshi1]

It's nice to see I'm not the only one who enjoyed the movie, I'll say that much. 😀 Thanks for posting!

 

[Celtic_Emperor]

My only real gripe with the movie other than the inconsistances is that Vega had very little to do in this movie and even less in a speaking capacity. I think he had like 5 lines max. It would have been nice if they would have focused on the other villians as well.

 

[Senshi1]

True. I tink the biggest challnge the makers faced was squeezing in all of the characters from the game. That's why a lot of the characters (Vega, for example) are fairly shallow.

 

[leenotler]

I don't recall hating it and the reasons you mentioned do seem unimportant. Some gamers may so strongly identity with characters that any deviations are magnified, as though the movie is trying to change the gamer. There, psych 101 is over (never did do well in psych).
Oh, just saw your post about squeezing in many characters. That's a better reason. I suppose most movies suffer from trying to condense, especially if the subject is well known.

 

[Senshi1]

I suppose most movies suffer from trying to condense, especially if the subject is well known.

I think that's why so many video game/movie conversions get such bad reviews. I loved the Resident Evil movies, Final Fantasy was good, even Tomb Raider was okay as popcorn entertainment.
Advent Children, however, is shaping up to be the second-best video game/movie ever. 😉

 

[leenotler]

Agreed. (although second Tomb Raider couldn't be saved by any amount of popcorn)

 

[BigNorm]

hate to be a nit picker... but E. Honda is supposed to be Japanese, but they make him Samoin.

Chun-li didn't wear hear signature blue outfit, just a red one. i don't think Guile shoulda been the main character.... just my opinion.

That indian guy... fogot his name, didn't even fight, just some lousy scientist.

 

[Senshi1]

I agree that they messed up on Dhalsim big time. He was a wasted opportunity. He didn't breathe fire or punch anybody with his stretchy arms or even mention the word "yoga".

Aside from a few character issues, though, I think the movie works pretty well overall. 🙂

 

[general zod1]

I enjoyed the movie I have on DVD I liked Raul Julia in that movie It's a shame he died Such a great actor I think he'd have been great as General Zod

 

[Yet_One_More_Idiot]

Well I liked it. Saw it once on a coach journey to the French Alps (a school ski trip). Everyone else was going on about how it was sooooooooo lame...I noticed nobody asked to change the video though. 😛 I was about 12 at the time, so that'd be '94. 🙂

 

[BigNorm]

yes, raul julia was a great Bison, too bad he died when he was in his movie making prime. that man was a great actor. i just wish i coulda seen more Cammy action, she's my favorite character, and Kylie Minoque made a great Cammy.

 

[AphxA1]

The movie was alright. i just think they could have used some more special effects and sagat could have been a bit taller. Still, i will keep my japanese anime version of street fighter II the movie. Its really hard to make a video game into a movie.

 

[morgandee]

what? questioning this? it wasn't a matter of content itself, it was a matter that it butchered street fighter to kingdom come, and all the liberties it took with every character and their respective stories

it's a matter that it's fucking not street fighter

 

[Senshi1]

I still enjoyed it, even if it did twist the characters' background stories a little. 😉