Street
Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li is the most stylistically
literal adaptation of a videogame to date, and that’s a far
better trait than one might expect. The action moves with the
quickness of an A.D.D. kid’s controller-stick and the exuberance
of a cartoon, encapsulating the charm of its 1987 source and the
accompanying sense of nostalgia for viewers of a certain age.
(I’m too young to remember the first SF, as the title is
lovingly abbreviated by fans, but I certainly played many of the
sequels as a kid.) What’s more: seeing real actors, let alone
the giant Michael Clarke Duncan, move at such animated,
schizophrenic speeds is a real hoot. Street Fighter: The
Legend of Chun-Li may not nearly be as aesthetically
accomplished or reference-laden as a Stephen Chow picture, but
it captures the same sense of loony visual spirit.
That said,
the film is equally literal in its adaptation of the SF
narrative, which means there isn’t much of one. Stylistically
involving as the movie may be, it’s as unremarkable in terms of
story as every other videogame adaptation, dreadful Resident
Evil sequels included. In fact, I had to consult the
Internet Movie Database to remind myself of the premise just so
I could write about it here, and I saw the movie only two days
ago. But here goes nothing: Titular protagonist Chun-Li (Kristin
Kreuk) is a half-Chinese prodigal pianist who in childhood
witnessed her father abducted by Bison (Neil McDonough), a
slumlord taking over Bangkok. Now a super-hot twentysomething,
Chun-Li receives a mysterious scroll that tells her to head for
Bangkok where she will fatefully meet Gen (Robin Shou). He will
teach her the Order of the Web, which is essentially a mix of
controlling force-field-looking energy for the good of humanity
and fighting super awesomely. Or something like that. Did you
guess what happens next? That’s right—Chun-Li will use her new
skills to enact justice and take down Bison once and for all!
While I was
amused by the general style of Street Fighter: The Legend of
Chun-Li, I realized when struggling to remember the plot
that I also can’t recall a single specific fight scene that
doesn’t involve the aforementioned Michael Clark Duncan. Duncan
stands out as Bison’s lead henchman not because he’s
particularly good, but because he’s 6’5” and African-American
and in a movie that’s essentially about girl-power. That
Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li took such an anomaly
to leave a lasting impression does not suggest it’s a
particularly high-quality film, but I do remember it broadly
entertaining me in the moment, a response I must not ignore
given it fulfills the film’s primary goal of being disposable
fun.
The one part
of the movie other than Duncan that will stick with me for
awhile is Neil McDonough’s strange, hilarious attempt at an
Irish accent. It’s explained in a short flashback that his
character Bison is the “son of Irish missionaries,” but the only
thing the viewer thinks of when McDonough appears is how
unnecessary and strange his accent is. (I don’t remember whether
Bison was Irish in the videogame or not.) Then again, I
ultimately found McDonough’s dialect attempt one of the most
amusing things about the movie; maybe the filmmakers figured
amusement was reason enough for its existence. Given that
Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li is all about goofy,
irrational entertainment, perhaps Bison’s dumbfounding speech is
more integral to the movie’s success than one might casually
assume. As cotton-candy cinema, the film is hardly a failure.
It’s not satisfying enough to merit an expensive night out at
the movies, but one could do a whole lot worse in renting the
Blu-Ray or catching it on HBO one lazy afternoon.
-Danny Baldwin,
Bucket Reviews
Review Published
on: 3.2.2009
Screened on:
2.28.2009 at the Pacific Glendale 18 in Glendale, CA.
Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li is rated
PG-13 and runs 97 minutes.
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