It's no secret that the first movie based on a video game franchise was Bob Hoskin and John Leguizamo's train-wreck of Super Mario Bros. in 1993. The Rocky Morton and Annabel Jankel-directed picture failed commercially and critically. Instead of centering the plot around the Mushroom Kingdom, it made the iconic brothers two plumbers of Italian decent in Brooklyn that stumble into an alternate dimension. Super Mario Bros. didn't known what it wanted to be. Did it want to be a sci-fi adventure based on a video game or an action comedy? Either way the Buena Vista Pictures film just sucked and many thought would set the tone for future video game movies. They were half way right.
The following year, Universal Pictures would take a crack at its own film adaptation of Capcom's insanely popular fighting game franchise Street Fighter. Everything about the then upcoming Street Fighter film felt fail safe. Street Fighter attempt to be a hardcore martial arts movie with a cast including Jean-Claude Van Damme, Raul Julia (in his last role before he succumbed to stomach cancer) and even Ming-Na Wen who herself would play lead role in Square's own Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within film.
Van Damme plays series U.S. Army Colonel William F. Guile who is tasked with rescuing hostages of M. Bison and bringing the villain down. One of the more interesting choices of Street Fighter was reducing the over-the-topness of the games and grounding it somewhat in reality. Sure; Blanka makes an appearance during the end but he doesn't perform his electricity or launching ball attacks; Ryu and Ken are side characters who don't do any of their signature moves (outside of a fireball like punch) and Guile does a version of his "Flash Kick." There's even a scene where Julia's M. Bison uses a Super Street Fighter 2 arcade controller to manipulate this device. At times there are just half-assed attempts to pay homage to the original material but in the end, its an enjoyable film.
The action scenes are serviceable and the acting flat out sucks at times outside of Julia's turn as M.Bison. For someone who was pretty much on his death bed (he would pass two months before the movie's premier), Julia's became M.Bison. He captured the sure ridiculousness perfectly and at times acted as if was going for an Oscar nod. Though the film would actually become a blockbuster film, it was critically hated. Nothing special but a great way to spend a weekend if nothing better is going on. The following year, third time would be a charm when the Paul W.S. Anderson adaptation of Mortal Kombat was released.
Most importantly, it's a hundred times better than Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun- Li.
