Street Fighter (1994) review

I know you like to look at yourself on tv

This is without doubt one of the best 'worst' movies of all time, or is that the worst 'best' movie?

 It's a movie based on the video game Street Fighter, from the beat-em up genre made popular in the 90's for arcade and console. John Claude Van Damme plays Colonel William F. Guile,  and with the majority of the films budget spent on Van Damme, the little remaining budget when to lesser known actors, barring the odd one or two. 

As Van Damme hails from Belgium ,in the video game 'Street Fighter' Guile is actually American! So its a little strange seeing him in his US Military gear with a European accent, with no attempt to hide this.

 The same goes for Kylie Minogue, who is supposed to be English, but at least she puts the accent on. Honda looks more Samoan than Japanese, and Sagat is about 5'9, whereas in the video game he is a giant of a man!

Despite this the film and its cast kind of work, with the characters proving to be quite likable. The one character i wasn't keen on however was Ken Masters (Damien Chapa) who wasn't a very convincing Ken to the one i'm used to in the games, and his dialogue isnt good at all.

 The brilliant Byron Mann, who plays perhaps the most iconic character in the games at least, Ryu, is probably the closest character to the games. Byron is a very talented actor who has gone on to work on some great things, such as DC's Arrow. Ken was played very poorly in my opinion, and he was more goofy then bad-ass, which would of suited him better. Ming-Na Wen plays the hugely popular Chun-Li, probably the most famous female fighting video game character. She does a good enough job, and pulls off her trademark moves from the games (like the fast kicks), and looks especially nice in her battle dress. Her friendship with on screen characters Honda and Balrog was unusual but these are all main characters in the games and there had to be a way to connect them all.

They somehow managed to drag poor old Simon Callow into this film, albeit briefly for some scenes involving Van Damme. I feel he brings the credentials of any film up with his presence alone, however long the duration. 

I can't talk about this film without mentioning the amazing Raul Julia (The Addams Family, 1991), and his extraordinary performance. This was to be his final appearance in film, as he sadly passed away shortly after the films release. I do feel that the success of this film is largely down his portrayal of M. Bison, a performance full of passion. Raul is absolutely amazing in Street Fighter, and without question the best actor in the film. Van Damme may have been the star and the highest paid actor on set, but Raul Julia steals the show with his crazy Bison.

Street Fighter is a fun little film which fans will enjoy, and there hasn't really been anything since to compare it to. If you've never played the video game you will still like this film, as its pretty self explanatory and easy to follow. If you do like the games, you will easily recognize the characters and their trademark moves which are taken straight from the games. 

If you give the film a chance, it may surprise you, and its worth watching for Raul Julia alone. His dominating presence especially with Van Damme is priceless. They really could of done more with the weak story, and introduced a few more characters, but that aside the film is actually fun, just remember, don't take it too serious.

Van Damme good fun 7/10