Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li

Just got back from the movies and watched Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li. Going into this movie I had warm memories of the first film with Jean Claude as Guile back in 1994. It was a campfest but I loved the variety of different characters they crammed into the film. It opened to the tune of $8 million and at the end of it's run became a blockbuster raking in $105 million. Impressive.

Fast forward to 2009 and here we are 15 years later with a new Street Fighter movie. This time the story surrounds Chun-Li and the cast is completely new. This one dropped the camp and brought in Liu Kang (Robin Shou) from the Mortal Kombat movies to play Gen. They didn't try to fit in as many characters as the first one, instead kept the roster to the likes of Balrog, M. Bison, Chun-Li, and Vega. At first this was a disappointment hoping to see a whole load of characters, but was relieved when at the end mentioned Ryu in a Street Fighter contest that Chun-Li should enter. I hope this means that we will see a series of Street Fighter movies featuring different characters in each one.

I am really impressed with Kristin Kreuk in this movie. She is the perfect Chun-Li. To those who say she is not the right choice for the movie as she is American, you are wrong. She was born in Vancouver, Canada. Her father is of Dutch descent and her mother is of Chinese descent. So there you go, she is half Dutch and half Chinese. Neal McDonough was also very impressing in this movie. He portrays Bison as a true dictator. His character seems rational most of the time; although where he shines the most is in one of his psychotic episodes where he uses "spoiler" as a heavybag. Now for the rest of the cast. Balrog was OK but he could have been much better. His character was not really developed. Taboo as Vega was a wrong casting choice. Vega should be taller, with ponytailed blond hair and a slight Spanish accent (would hold truer to the game). Gen was okay as well, he could have been older though to look more like a martial arts master. And lastly, Chris Klein as Charlie. He was horrible. Every time he showed his face on screen the audience burst into laughter. His facial expression and dialogue was ... well, go and see it. I would have imagined Charlie Nash as a serious character. He ruins many serious scenes in the movie with his presence. He is like Horatio Caine in CSI Miami (although I like Horatio because he is not ruining Street Fighter). I don't know if that is what the director was trying to portray with his character. Don't get me wrong, he is not a bad actor, he does well in American Pie, it's just that his character in Street Fighter is abysmal. As for the story, there are discrepancies between the game and movie as happens with all video game to movie adaptations (not a major concern for me). So why did I love this movie? Well, it's Street Fighter (besides, if you take Nash out, it's close enough). I will be waiting for the sequel and hope that Capcom hires Christopher Nolan or someone along his lines, since the next movie should be starring Ryu and Ken and there is no room for error. I do hope they keep Kristin Kreuk and Neal McDonough though.

This movie started weaker than the original pulling in just under $5 million in it's first week and grabbing the #8 spot. I feel this movie would be very enjoyable for Street Fighter and action fans alike. It was a fun watch and look forward to the future Street Fighter movies.

4.6 out of 5