•
Rating: As a true fan of Street Fighter, I couldn't stand idly by in the face of such a cinematic travesty. Calling this "film" a film is, in itself, quite difficult. But calling it a film about "Street Fighter" is really one of the biggest piles of nonsense ever uttered.
Let's start in an orderly fashion. First of all, the plot: simple, simplistic. An idiot (Bison, portrayed by Raul Julia, extremely pathetic, both as an actor and as a character with those ridiculous ears) who rises as a dictator of a small island "Shadaloo," wanting to impose his tyranny on the entire world. The usual madman, basically, who kidnaps hundreds of innocent people, civilians, and soldiers alike, using them as guinea pigs for his experiments, one of whom, Carlos Blanka, destined to become the green beast from the video game. Then there are the good guys, first and foremost the fearless Colonel William Guile (Jean Claude Van Damme) who delivers a nightmarish acting performance, leading the revolt against Shadaloo, accompanied by the beautiful Cammy and a myriad of soldiers. Of course, in the end, the good guys win, what did you think?
The plot wouldn't even be that bad if it weren't for a small detail, which is that it has ABSOLUTELY NOTHING TO DO with the video game and the various Street Fighter mangas (I'm mentioning the most well-known ones, Street Fighter II, Street Fighter II, Street Fighter Alpha 3)! But that's not the only thing that opens the floodgates to my patience eroding. I always leave the director the free will to modify and adapt the plot as they see fit to suit their purposes. But this time, we're really beyond the pale!
First: Ryu (here, for some divine mystery, dubbed "RAIU") and Ken, from being the true protagonists (as happens in the game and in the comics), find themselves as two weapon-trafficking karatekas. Even more scandalously, they only get their fighting kimonos (respectively white and red) after being recruited by Shadaloo! Yes! Shadaloo provides them with kimonos!!!! Mbah.....
Ryu, the fearless, courageous, and upright character who has made his entire moral integrity and dedication to his school, the _yuen school, is reduced to a mere arms dealer here. Blasphemy! Then there's Vega and Sagat (here redubbed “Sagàt” instead of “Sàgat” as it should be), the two drug trafficking bosses distributing arms to Bison. Vega, the blonde he is, decides to self-transform into a more almond-eyed and less narcissistic version, while Sagat remains Sagat but both take on a terrible flaw that really doesn't sit well with me. That is: Ryu and Sagat have always been bitter enemies, the latter particularly hating Ryu for inflicting a terrible scar on his chest, while Ken's natural enemy is and always has been Vega, eternally in love with Ken's girlfriend, Eliza (or Julia, depending on the manga you find yourself reading), who has always responded with a cold shoulder.
What happens here? Total upheaval! Ryu (pardon: RAIU) against Vega and Ken against Sagàt (in truth, the only noteworthy confrontation in this children's hodgepodge).
The other characters, including Chun Li, E. Honda, and Balrog, all three respectively reporters (but wasn't Balrog a boxer? And wasn't he part of the bad guys? Hmm...) don't fare any better than their predecessors, just like the minor characters, including the useless Zangief (whose sole purpose is to foolishly follow Bison without understanding the reasons until he ends up fighting Honda at the end of the film) and the insignificant Jamaican Dee Jay who, at the end, while escaping and grabbing the loot, will say that he would have preferred to stay at Microsoft (literally dubbed MICROSOFT, WITH AN "i"! who the hell dubbed this damn film?) rather than support Bison. A Bison who, in the end, learns to levitate and fly, as well as shoot lightning from his hands while clashing mortally with Guile, the only hero without blemish in the entire plot.
In conclusion:
-1. RYU and not “Raiu”;
-2. Sàgat and not Sagàt;
-3. It’s pronounced “Maicrosoft,” you bunch of idiots!
-4. And above all, what the hell does Shadaloo have to do with it!?!?!?! Bison's organization is the Shadow Law, the organization for which Vega, Sagat, and Balrog have always worked, for god's sake!
Well. As you may have noticed, the film gave me the shivers. It is so totally inconsistent with the manga and the video game that it leaves you breathless. Then the acting: let's draw a sorrowful veil and we lay it alongside the paper-mache scenography and colored plastic cubes. Vile.
To all Street Fighter lovers, I strongly advise against this film (but I strongly advise against it to everyone in general) because you will be disappointed. The characters are upturned, the plot as well, there are no special moves that have made the characters special (the Hadoken, the Shorryuken, and the tatsumakisempukyaku of Ryu and Ken, for example, as well as Bison's Pshyco Crusher, or Sagat's Tiger Crusher... but I could go on forever) there's nothing worthy to interest anyone in watching this crap.
Better the anime, "Street Fighter - The animated Movie," truly compelling, or the episodic anime "Street Fighter II Victory," also very good. Or, better yet, dive headfirst into the aforementioned mangas. You won't regret it.
What crap.......
Loading comments slowly
