Street Fighter (1994) vs. Street Fighter: The Legend Of Chun-Li (2009)

In the past I had expressed considerable disdain towards Street Fighter (1994), but after watching Street Fighter: The Legend Of Chun-Li (2009) I felt that the former is a masterpiece compared to the latter. There several reasons for changing my opinion, and why I would watch the former multiple times regardless. Watching Street Fighter: The Legend Of Chun-Li I would often question its faithfulness to the video games, as opposed to Street Fighter.
Several aspects must be taken into account: the writing, the casting, the characterization, the fight moves, the relations to the games, the motivations of the characters. Street Fighter was worth $35 million, Street Fighter: The Legend Of Chun-Li was worth $50 million; yet the first grossed at least $99 million worldwide while the latter only grossed $12 million. In other words, the former was a box office success and a cult classic while the latter became a bomb.

Street Fighter takes place in Thailand renamed Shadaloo (political influence). It is controlled by General M. Bison, who dons the trademark costume from the game. A gang of street fighters from around the world have gathered to topple his dreams of domination, and free the hostages he has abducted for a ransom of $20 billion. The plot is cliched and predictable, but at least several characters from the game Street Fighter II don the costumes of their video game counterparts, whether from the Champion Edition mode, Special Champion Edition mode or Hyper Edition mode. Also the cast has been chosen so that a few of them at least do physically (and nationally) resemble the characters from the game, notably Ming-Na Wen as Chun-Li (Chinese), Kylie Minogue as Cammy White (British), and Byron Mann as Ryu (Japanese). Due to the popularity of the game at the time, the special moves had to be incorporated into the movie, in line with the budget.
The only real motivation of a character to transition from the game is the murder of Chun-Li's father by Bison. Her ordeal is explained as vividly as was possible during Bison's 'private interview' with her, and that grips our attention adequately. The other characters' motivations are different and not well explained, though, due to the time frame of events unfolding. But exposition is only focused where it matters, so that it does not drive the fun out of this movie.
As I have mentioned, the special moves of the fighters' from the game would dispel any dismay instilled as a result of any loose connection. This movie has truly shown that it can compensate for any shortcoming mentioned in the past.

The special moves from the videogame in the movie:
Ryu's Fireball and Hurricane Kick
Ken's Dragon Punch
Vega's Claw Roll
Honda's Hundred Hand Slap
Guile's Flash Kick
M. Bison's Psycho Crusher
Cammy White's Neck Twist

I will not forget the writing incorporating the origins Blanka and Dhalslim. Blanka's story was substantial, but Dhalslim's was almost incomplete if not closely observed. It can be now noted that when Dhalslim was thrown into a table, the mutagen and steroids used to warp Blanka's body spilled onto his hair, skin and shoulders and since they are toxic and flammable, they could damage anything they touch. So Dhalslim's predicament was adequately explained. And the extensive makeup to give Blanka his resemblence to his counterpart (Special Champion Edition) can be said to be a breakthrough in this movie.

Street Fighter: The Legend Of Chun-Li was intended to be a reboot in place of a sequel. It was intended to be more faithful to the games unlike the previous movie, but derailed. The only connections to the game are that Balrog and Vega work for Bison, and that Bison is in charge of Shadaloo. But other than that, you can barely recognise these characters from the game as they do not sport their counterparts' costumes. In fact, we only see a small handful instead of a large ensemble of the characters from the game, leaving this movie flat and dull. I guess the writers could not accommodate them into the script without any real motivation. The worst part of this movie is Chun-Li's monologue, with a non-Asian (Oriental) actress playing her. A Chinese young girl grows up into a Latina woman and yet does not even don her counterpart's costume. (I think they took her video game counterpart's resemblance to a Caucasian too seriously.) This 'reboot' is a colossal letdown, and it hurts to watch every minute of it.
If you remember Bison from the game, you will not recognize him in this reboot: he sports a business attire instead of a dictator general's attire from the game. Even the 1994 movie stays true, with the villain donning the suit throughout the flick. I have seen fight scenes in this reboot which are so unrealistic that it would be insulting to think that they would cause any real injury. Even on an algebraically larger budget (inflation not taken into consideration), this reboot fails largely on sticking to the game. However if inflation is taken into account, the 1994 movie is more expensive than the 2009 movie; thus no expenses were spared in the former.

Street Fighter
In 1994:
Budget: $35 million
Box office intake: >$99 million

In 2014:
Budget: $55, 054, 361.92
Box office intake: $155, 725, 195.14

Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li
In 2009:
Budget: $50 million
Box office intake: >$12 million

In 2014:
Budget: $55, 040, 000
Box office intake: $13, 209, 178.87

So where did they go wrong? How could they botch it up? The first movie was campy but more faithful to the game at the time, but this reboot was a dreadful hit-and-miss. I would not criticize the first movie, featuring Jean-Claude Van Damme and Raul Julia, any more than this crud, as watching it proves my point. I bet the first movie will be treated as a superior live-action adaptation of a video game to the second one (although Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie remains the overall best adaptation of the videogame). I can see why Street Fighter is regarded as Citizen Kane compared with Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li.

 

Looking carefully above, the title looks just like the video game title.

 

Street Fighter: The 1994 version vs. The 2009 reboot

In the past I had expressed considerable disdain towards Street Fighter (1994), but after watching Street Fighter: The Legend Of Chun-Li (2009) I felt that the former is a masterpiece compared to the latter. There several reasons for changing my opinion, and why I would watch the former multiple times regardless. Watching Street Fighter: The Legend Of Chun-Li I would often question its faithfulness to the video games, as opposed to Street Fighter.
Several aspects must be taken into account: the writing, the casting, the characterization, the fight moves, the relations to the games, the motivations of the characters. Street Fighter was worth $35 million, Street Fighter: The Legend Of Chun-Li was worth $50 million; yet the first grossed at least $99 million worldwide while the latter only grossed $12 million. In other words, the former was a box office success and a cult classic while the latter became a bomb.



Looking carefully above, the title looks just like the video game title.

Street Fighter takes place in Thailand renamed Shadaloo (political influence). It is controlled by General M. Bison, who dons the trademark costume from the game. A gang of street fighters from around the world have gathered to topple his dreams of domination, and free the hostages he has abducted for a ransom of $20 billion. The plot is cliched and predictable, but at least several characters from the game Street Fighter II don the costumes of their video game counterparts, whether from the Champion Edition mode, Special Champion Edition mode or Hyper Edition mode. Also the cast has been chosen so that a few of them at least do physically (and nationally) resemble the characters from the game, notably Ming-Na Wen as Chun-Li (Chinese), Kylie Minogue as Cammy White (British), and Byron Mann as Ryu (Japanese). Due to the popularity of the game at the time, the special moves had to be incorporated into the movie, in line with the budget.
The only real motivation of a character to transition from the game is the murder of Chun-Li's father by Bison. Her ordeal is explained as vividly as was possible during Bison's 'private interview' with her, and that grips our attention adequately. The other characters' motivations are different and not well explained, though, due to the timeframe of events unfolding. But exposition is only focused where it matters, so that it does not drive the fun out of this movie.
As I have mentioned, the special moves of the fighters' from the game would dispel any dismay instilled as a result of any loose connection. This movie has truely shown that it can compensate for any shortcoming mentioned in the past.

The special moves from the videogame in the movie:
Ryu's Fireball and Hurricane Kick
Ken's Dragon Punch
Vega's Claw Roll
Honda's Hundred Hand Slap
Guile's Flash Kick
M. Bison's Psycho Crusher
Cammy White's Neck Twist

I will not forget the writing incorporating the origins Blanka and Dhalslim. Blanka's story was substantial, but Dhalslim's was almost incomplete if not closely observed. It can be now noted that when Dhalslim was thrown into a table, the mutagen and steroids used to warp Blanka's body spilled onto his hair, skin and shoulders and since they are toxic and flammable, they could damage anything they touch. So Dhalslim's predicament was adequately explained. And the extensive makeup to give Blanka his resemblence to his counterpart (Special Champion Edition) can be said to be a breakthrough in this movie.

Street Fighter: The Legend Of Chun-Li was intended to be a reboot in place of a sequel. It was intended to be more faithful to the games unlike the previous movie, but derailed. The only connections to the game are that Balrog and Vega work for Bison, and that Bison is in charge of Shadaloo. But other than that, you can barely recognise these characters from the game as they do not sport their counterparts' costumes. In fact, we only see a small handful instead of a large ensemble of the characters from the game, leaving this movie flat and dull. I guess the writers could not accommodate them into the script without any real motivation. The worst part of this movie is Chun-Li's monologue, with a non-Asian (Oriental) actress playing her. A Chinese young girl grows up into a Latina woman and yet does not even don her counterpart's costume. (I think they took her videogame counterpart's resemblence to a caucasian too seriously.) This 'reboot' is a colossal letdown, and it hurts to watch every minute of it.
If you remember Bison from the game, you will not recognise him in this reboot: he sports a business attire instead of a dictator general's attire from the game. Even the 1994 movie stays true, with the villain donning the suit throughout the flick. I have seen fight scenes in this reboot which are so unrealistic that it would be insulting to think that they would cause any real injury. Even on an algebraically larger budget (inflation not taken into consideration), this reboot fails largely on sticking to the game. However if inflation is taken into account, the 1994 movie is more expensive than the 2009 movie; thus no expenses were spared in the former.

So where did they go wrong? How could they botch it up? The first movie was campy but more faithful to the game at the time, but this reboot was a dreadful hit-and-miss. I would not criticize the first movie, featuring Jean-Claude Van Damme and Raul Julia, any more than this crud, as watching it proves my point. I bet the first movie will be treated as a superior live-action adaptation of a video game to the second one (although Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie remains the overall best adaptation of the videogame). I can see why Street Fighter is regarded as Citizen Kane compared with Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li.

Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within (2001)

Now here is a movie that was once hinted to be in the works. It appeared behind an instruction manual belonging to the Final Fantasy IX video game. I have been the one who would play Final Fantasy IX over and over again, often motivated to develop the skills and personalities of the characters, even before Final Fantasy X and X-2. Here is what I loved about the game, besides the game play: the humor, the character development, the plot(s), and even the timeline.
So after the movie came out, I had read about its performance in the box office and how it fared against the expectations of the critics and fans alike. So to see why this movie was an extremely detrimental bomb and received mixed reviews from critics, I am going to take the time to watch and examine this video game movie.

You have to be frank, the C.G.I. is visually superior even at the time of its making. The characters all look so realistic that they look like real people. This is near high-definition.

When I thought of a movie based on the video game series, I was thinking it was set in the same timeline as the video games themselves; but it is not. It is set in the year 2065 AD, the earth (no, it is not called Gaia) is ravaged by alien forces known as phantoms, and the human race is on the verge of extinction. The earth has a spirit called the Gaia--what a way to go--which can be harmed if it were subjected to laser blasts. Now most would call that implausible, and contrary to the stories from the Final Fantasy games.

Now let's look at the characters: we have Dr Aki Ross, Dr Sid, Captain Gray Edwards, Ryan, Jane, Neil, commanders from the Deep Eyes Squadron. Aki Ross is constantly having all these dreams in which phantoms are constantly plaguing her (she does reveal that they are swarming within her, weakening her will to ward them off).
Let me just be direct: most of these characters are thinner than paper; they lack the growing personalities of their video game counterparts; and there was probably little or no chemistry between any of the characters. Speaking of which, there was between Gray and Ross, but that seemed damp and lukewarm.
They don't even last long enough on screen as they killed off even before the film really starts to take off. We do not see much in them except that they bicker from time to time, or just do the job of annoying us by talking too much.

When I think of the Final Fantasy games, I think of journeys to certain locations where the role leads encounter dangerous enemies and engage in battles--battles where we see special skills, physical and magical, unleashed at incredible levels. But that is missing here, and we only see one kind of enemy, which doesn't work to my expectation as a Final Fantasy fan.
But at least there is hardly any fault to find in this movie; it's just the essential elements integral to the games this movie was based on.