Review of Street Fighter (1994) by Braden J — 18 Jul 2009

Just when you thought Mortal Kombat: Annihilation was as bad as it could get, we come to this....less-than-stallar adaptation of the arcade game. Notable action star Jean-Claude Van Damme leads the cast as Guile, a role he is perfect for in terms of his physical ability and even, to a degree, his look, but his acting falls right by the wayside.

Now, many people will tell you that Van Damme was never much of an actor but I've seen him convey emotions and enthsiasm in other roles similar to this one, but here he simply phones it all in, showing amusement only in the atrocious script writing.

Opposing him is Raul "Gomez" Julia, in his final role, who appears to be enjoying his role as a meglomanic tyrant, although this portryal of Bison is probably the furthest thing from his game counterpart as you can get; whereas Bison, in the games, is the ultimate evil and an accomplished fighting machine, Julia is instead psychotic and overly dependant on tricks and his incompetent men who make Storm Troopers look effective.

Van Damme is joined by Kylie Minogue as Cammy, who looks hot but contributes little else, and a bunch of other actors filling out the roles of other familiar game characters and, for the most part, failing miserably: Ryu and Ken are con men who perform a decent amount of kicks and humour but little of their counterpart's signature attacks, Chun-Li is a reporter who is assisted by E.

Honda and Balrog, of all people, who are looking to bring Bison down for personal reasons, while Dee Jay, Dhalsim and Blanka find themselves horrendously brought to life as a lackey, doctor and foul-looking half-assed interpretation, respectively, at best.

Sagat isn't too bad, though he lacks any presence or intimidation, while Vega seems to be represented quite well as an arrogant fighter. Like Mortal Kombat: Annihilation, the film is stuffed with as many Street Fighter characters as possible, even T Hawk found himself somehow crammed into the mix, though the plot is relatively more simple and streamlined.

However, when compared to the vastly superior animated Street Fighter II movie, or the original Mortal Kombat, this film can't help but disappoint on so many levels. Ultimately, the film is only worth watching for its cheesy lines and hit-and-miss action scenes, and is probably better viewing when drunk.

Or dead.