“Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun Li” is a movie you walk into knowing it’s gonna be cheesy. It’s definitely not a movie you go to see for plot value. If anything, you’re interested in the film because you’re a fan of Capcom’s hit video game series. Even in that case, most fans are on the fence about the movie because of 1994’s “Street Fighter” starring Jean-Claude Van Damme.
The plot of “Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun Li” is pretty straight forward. Of course it focuses on Chun Li’s character. Chun Li is pitted against the evil Bison at a young age and grows up with the motive of bringing him and his corrupt empire down. Throw in a couple of other characters from the game such as Charlie, Gen, Balrog, and Vega, and you got yourself a Street Fighter movie.
If you are not some sort of fan of the video game series, this movie is definitely not for you. However, fans of the video game series will notice some Easter eggs while watching the film. During the fight scenes you’ll see characters using some of their signature fighting moves. This includes their fireballs and various other abilities. You’ll also notice resemblances to popular fighting arenas straight from the game, or at least some sort of nod in their direction.
Even so, the movie is reminiscent to a bad anime. Filled with one-dimensional characters and horrible one-liners, you’ll get the sense that you are watching a live action cartoon. Obviously, one wouldn’t expect too much depth from a movie like this, but a little character development could go along way.
The casting is horrible. That’s not to say the actors aren’t good, they just aren’t a good fit for the characters they are meant to portray. Kristen Kruek, famous for her role of Lana Lang on Smallville, looks nothing like Chun Li. Even worse is Neal McDonough as Bison. In fact, the only match even remotely close to their video game counterpart is Michael Clarke Duncan as Balrog, and even that is questionable at best.
Long story short, if Street Fighter the game means nothing to you, expect the same from the movie. However, if you are even remotely interested in watching this movie as a fan of the video game series, do it. If you have enough desire to go watch this movie, I’m sure you’ll find something you’ll like.
