Street Fighter, the legendary 2D fighting game, boasts a diverse roster of characters from around the globe locked in perpetual combat for… well, reasons that are often secondary to the action. Surprisingly, when Hollywood decided to adapt this arcade phenomenon into Street Fighter The Movie, they actually concocted a plot that, while convoluted, is certainly more substantial than one might expect.
The film reimagines M. Bison (played with glorious scenery-chewing gusto by Raul Julia in his final role) as a cartoonishly evil dictator. His ambitions are suitably grandiose: global chaos through mass hostage taking (demanding a ransom that would make Dr. Evil blush), the creation of an army of super-soldiers, and even plans to kidnap the Queen of England to establish a new world order in his own image. Yes, it’s as wonderfully bonkers as it sounds.
Enter Lt. Guile (Jean-Claude Van Damme, sporting an accent that wanders the globe as much as the game’s characters). He’s tasked with the unenviable job of rescuing the hostages and, ideally, putting a definitive stop to Bison’s world domination fantasies.
From this point onward, Street Fighter The Movie essentially transforms into a two-hour-long love letter to fans, packed with subplots and nearly every character imaginable from the game’s universe. Zangief and Dee Jay are inexplicably working for Bison as muscle and tech support, respectively. Chun-Li, Balrog, and E. Honda are all pursuing personal vendettas. And Ken and Ryu are depicted as wandering con artists and street fighters, hoping to test their skills against the likes of the narcissistic Vega and the formidable Sagat.
Let’s be frank: the movie is, objectively, not good. The acting is often wooden, the dialogue is riddled with cringe-worthy one-liners (delivered with varying degrees of success), and Van Damme’s Guile impression sometimes veers into unintentional Tommy Wiseau territory. The plot, despite its ambition, can be quite tedious in its execution.
So, why would anyone, in their right mind, defend Street Fighter The Movie? There are, in fact, compelling reasons, and they fall into three categories: two intrinsic to the film itself, and one rooted in personal experience.
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Raul Julia’s M. Bison is Iconic. A villain of Bison’s stature demands a performance to match, and Raul Julia delivers in spades. Knowing this was his final performance adds a layer of poignancy, but even without that context, his portrayal is unforgettable. He embraces the over-the-top nature of the character with such commitment that it transcends camp. Julia doesn’t wink at the audience; he fully inhabits the role, resulting in a theatrical villainy that is both hilarious and captivating. He elevates the entire movie simply by being in it.
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The Movie Had Potential and Originality (For its Time). Crafting a decent movie is a challenge, and adapting a fighting game into a coherent narrative is even harder. The director (also the writer) deserves some credit for attempting to weave together the disparate elements of the Street Fighter universe into a feature film. While the execution may falter, the sheer audacity and originality of the attempt are noteworthy, especially considering the landscape of video game movie adaptations at the time.
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Nostalgia is a Powerful Drug. For those who grew up in the 90s, Street Fighter The Movie holds a special, albeit cheesy, place in their hearts. As a child of that era, watching this film was a formative experience. The over-the-top action, the larger-than-life characters, and the sheer spectacle were captivating. Nostalgia undeniably colors the perception of the movie, but it’s a genuine factor in its enduring appeal. The final battle scenes, and M. Bison’s cartoonishly evil persona, were undeniably cool to a young mind, in that Saturday morning cartoon kind of way.
It’s easy to dismiss Street Fighter The Movie as simply “bad.” And yes, it has significant flaws: paper-thin character development, dialogue that induces groans, and performances that range from questionable to unintentionally comedic (Van Damme’s accent being a prime example). Yet, despite all this, it retains a certain charm.
Ultimately, Street Fighter The Movie achieves a level of cult classic status precisely because of its glorious absurdity. It’s cheesy, terrible, and ridiculous, but it’s also undeniably entertaining. And when a film’s most memorable line is the wonderfully nonsensical, “This is merely superconductor electromagnetism. Surely, you’ve heard of it,” you know you’re in for a unique cinematic experience. If you haven’t seen it, approach it with the right expectations and prepare for a wild ride.
7/10.
