Rock out to Street Fighter II

I was bored one night, and realized I hadn’t yet reviewed my Street Fighter II movie. So I popped it in and refreshed my memory.

Ryu is a fantastic martial artist. He wanders the world, going where his feet take him, and fight those who ask for it. No, not vigilante style, I mean literally request to fight him. But Bison, the mega bad guy creating havoc in the world with his crime syndicate Shadowlaw, has seen Ryu’s talents and wants to recruit him. Not with the lure of money and power, but through brainwashing and psychic power. What better way to get a bunch of skilled fighters to work for you? It’s been working great so far.

Ryu has no idea what is in store for him. While he wanders, U.S. Army Colonel Guile and Chun Li, an Interpol agent, are looking for him as well as Bison. Their aim is to take out Bison once and for all, except now there’s a problem. Ryu’s best friend Ken is abducted and will be yet one more foe for Ryu to fight. Will anyone be able to take Bison down, or will he be able to best Ryu, the strongest street fighter the world had ever seen?

Meh. This was an obvious attempt to showcase as many street fighters as possible while still having some plot. While it’s not bad, it’s not all that good either. Half the time we’re watching random street fights or Ryu wandering around in Bangladesh or either Ken or Ryu flashbacking or something. And Chun Li in the outfit she has, I know it’s what she wears, but as an Interpol agent, it just looks dumb and totally impractical. Video game style, all the way baby.

The animation was much better than I remembered. Clear cut, colorful, nicely detailed, nothing sloppy about it. For a 1994 film, it’s as it should be.

I have an English only VHS copy, so no dice on the Japanese version. However, I’m pretty good with the English version. It has its hiccups, but overall, it works out nicely.

My favorite thing about this movie is the music. I think it works out with the way this movie is, and I particularly enjoy the fight scene between Chun Li and Vega, whose name I love and I totally think would be majorly sexy if he wasn’t quite as psychotic. If you enjoy Alice in Chains, Silverchair, and KMFDM (which was playing during their fight – loved it), then do check out the soundtrack. It’s something I’ve been meaning to look into.

3 stars. It’s not entirely memorable and has a typical and expected finish (er sort of…there was a really strange bit at the very end, which made no sense and was pretty useless so that doesn’t help the movie either).

NT

Try Again?
Street Fighter Alpha

Recommended:
No

Viewing Format: VHS
Video Occasion: Better than Watching TV