Street Fighter (1994)
Director: Steven E. De Souza
Starring: Jean Claude Van Damme, Raul Julia, Kylie Minogue, Wes Studi
Primary genre: Martial arts
Secondary genre: Action
Street Fighter became a cult hit for all the wrong reasons. Despite boasting a bankable star, a likeable cast, a big budget, exotic locations, and the commercial momentum of the videogame it was based on, Steven E. de Souza’s (screenwriter of 48 Hrs. (1980) and Die Hard (1988)) adaptation is either a terrible martial arts flick when compared to Hong Kong productions (Drunken Master II, Fist of Legend, Ashes of Time) or an embarrassing action motion picture when put against other Hollywood outputs of the same year (Speed, True Lies, Leon, The Crow).
“For you, the day Bison graced your village was the most important day of your life. But for me, it was Tuesday.”
Street Fighter has several problems across its characters, narrative, tone, and most importantly, its fighting presentation (more on this later). Rearranging the game’s premise (that of a fighting tournament) to fit that of a (tame) war(!) one, has forced the film’s story to drop key elements from its arcade-established mythology. Guile is the protagonist (due to his military background) now and thus, M. Bison is simply a megalomaniacal warlord who needs to be stopped. Meanwhile, everyone else is a puzzle piece that does not align with this material (e.g., Chun-Li is a journalist covering the conflict, Ryu and Ken are simply grifters out to make a quick buck). De Souza’s script tries to shoehorn as many videogame faces as possible (due to Capcom’s insistence) solely for fan recognition and zero things to do (e.g., Dee Jay, Honda, Balrog).
Although rated PG-13, Street Fighter has hardly any violence (or blood). For all the talk of M. Bison’s madness and cruelty, none of his heinous acts are being shown. The inclusion of lame one-liners at every verbal exchange undermines any tension and popular villains such as Sagat and Vega are treated as jokes instead of genuine threats in a plot where no one is really in danger. Its ultimate sin, though, is that a film called Street Fighter contains very little fighting. Due to the rushed schedule, any skirmishes are poorly staged and manage to be less impressive than those of a Power Rangers (1993-1996) episode wasting the talents of veteran stunt coordinator Charles Picerni (Die Hard (1988), Roadhouse (1989)). Even The Muscles from Brussels barely registers, being heavily body doubled in his climactic face-off with Raul Julia and mumbling unintentionally hilarious dialogue.
Best videogame adaptations
Yet, despite its myriad of negatives, Raul Julia’s portrayal as General M. Bison remains a delicious, award-worthy performance. Julia boasts the gravitas of a dramatically skilled actor, bringing a commanding presence and delivering his several ridiculous monologues with Shakespearean gusto. His antagonist is one of the most entertaining (and iconic) of the entire decade and the only thing bringing Street Fighter back from cinematic oblivion. It was a miracle that this trouble-plagued production - from a cocaine-addicted Van Damme and Capcom’s constant interference to a cancer-stricken Julia and actors inexperienced in martial arts - was released at all.
Somehow, though, Street Fighter ended up being a commercial success. Nevertheless, it can’t escape its D-level status. Only Graeme Revell’s score and William Creber’s production design with its sizeable sets give De Souza’s flick some sort of scope. While easily considered one of the worst videogame adaptations of all time, Raul Julia’s final grandiose performance has converted the fans’ primordial hate into a sentiment of guilty pleasure. As such, it is a blast from start to finish, allowing you to see actors portraying various ethnicities incorrectly with minimal dramatic effort and head-scratching creative decisions. See it only for Raul.
Raul’s final and grandiose performance
+Raul Julia’s M. Bison is sensational
+Likeable cast
+Production design
-Characters’ essence is changed
-PG tone
-Poorly staged fights
-Terrible action
-Anemic Van Damme