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.
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.
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