Street Fighter [HD]

Obviously flawed but nostalgic fun
Okay, I don't think anyone can reasonably argue that this movie is good; at least, not in any conventional sense. The acting, except for perhaps Raul Julia, is sub-par at best, the story is ridiculous, and even the fight scenes aren't very well-executed (pretty bad for a film with the title Street Fighter, huh).

So why am I giving this 5 stars? Well, for starters, I was all of 8 years old when the film came out, and deeply in love with video games, especially Street Fighter II, which this film is (loosely) based on. I also liked Jean-Claude Van Damme for some bizarre reason-Bloodsport, Hard Target, Timecop-to me, he could do no wrong. Which made this film a perfect storm of sorts. Being older and wiser, I can easily spot the many flaws in this film, but the over-the-top, cheesy dialogue, stunts, and story are what keep me loving this movie. I don't think it's good anymore, like when I did when I was eight, but now I realize it's in that rare...

Definitely One Of The Better Made Early Video Game Movies...Though That Might Not Be Saying Much
Whenever I think of video game movies, I always think of only three movies: Super Mario Brothers, Street Fighter, and Double Dragon. Perhaps because these were the first three made or perhaps because I loved all three as a kid. Either way, of those three, it's Street Fighter I seem to always think of the most as far as these kind of movies go.

Street Fighter: The Movie came out in 1994, a year after the release of Super Mario Brothers. Let's just be upfront in saying it's no where near being an Oscar worthy movie. It's probably not even really "good", at that. It's a somewhat cheesy or campy movie (but not as much as SMB and no where near as much as Double Dragon). But I've always really enjoyed the movie.

So what is the plot of the movie? This is one place I think it hurt itself with a lot of Street Fighter fans. As was once said, for a movie called Street Fighter....there's a glaring lack of street fighting, much less a tournament. I could have easily seen the...

"Quick! Change the channel!"
The biggest distinction that "Street Fighter: the Movie" holds for me is that it's the first Van Damme picture I ever saw. On a global scale, it was the first video game-film adaptation to turn a buck, which should count for something despite the routine bashing it receives for how shoddily it portrayed the most popular fighting game of the time on the big screen. I was personally never a huge "Street Fighter" fan, but while I can certainly spot the plotline unfaithfulness, I can't help but notice just how fun the movie is. It's a poor adaptation and a questionable action movie, but nevertheless a decent teenaged adventure when taken at face value.

The story: when the mad warlord General M. Bison (Raul Julia, The Addams Family) is poised to overrun the earth in pursuit of his own personal empire, it will be up to a multi-faceted group of fighters - including Colonel William Guile (Van Damme,...

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