"STREET FIGHTER: THE LEGEND OF CHUN-LI"
Blu-ray Review
by Kevin Carr
| MOVIE: * (out of 5 stars)
BLURAY EXPERIENCE: ***1/2 (out of 5 stars) STARRING Kristin Kreuk as CHUN-LI Chris Klein as CHARLIE NASH Neal McDonough as BISON Robin Shou as GEN Moon Bloodgood as DET. MAYA SUNEE Josi Ho as CATANA Michael Clarke Duncan as BALROG Rated PG-13/Unrated Studio: 20th Century Fox Directed by: Andrzej Bartkowiak Back to DVD Review Home |  |
WHAT IT’S ABOUT
Based on the Capcom video game, “Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li” follows the origins of concert pianist-turned-martial arts master Chun-Li (Kristin Kreuk). After growing up as a privileged girl, Chun-Li’s life comes crashing down on her when a crime lord named Bison (Neal McDonough) kidnaps her father and severely injures her mother. Chun-Li seeks revenge by training with the martial arts teacher Gen (Robin Shou) before going after Bison. In the process, she runs into – and works with – INTERPOL agent Charlie Nash (Chris Klein) and Bangkok detective Maya Sunee (Moon Bloodgood) are also attempting to bring down Bison’s business.
WHAT I LIKED
Having seen “Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li” in the theaters, and then revisiting it again on Blu-ray, I struggled to find positive features in the film. There’s a certain babe factor, if you will forgive the saying, in that both Kristin Kreuk and Moon Bloodgood are very attractive. And even Bloodgood manages a nice scene in a wet bra (although what she’s doing showering with her bra on is beyond me). However, even in the unrated version of the film, the eye candy leaves a lot to be desired.
I suppose fans of the game will enjoy this for several reasons. First, it tells the story of a beloved character, for better or for worse. Although Kreuk by her own admission in the special features doesn’t embody the physicality of Chun-Li, she gives her all in the performance. Plus, the filmmakers manage to work some of her signature moves into the fight sequences, and that’s got to be worth something.
Still, if you’re planning on seeing this film, it’s far better in the Blu-ray experience than on DVD or even in the theater. The reason for this is that you get all versions of the package. You get the unrated and theatrical cut. You also get a digital copy. Finally, if you want to immerse yourself more in the “Street Fighter” universe, you can enjoy the feature-length motion comic on a bonus DVD, which balances out the low points of the film itself.
WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE
I won’t candy-coat things here. “Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li” has some serious problems with it at almost all levels of the film. First, it’s fighting a losing battle because historically, most of the video games-turned-movies have been quite dreadful, including the original “Street Fighter” film from the 1990s.
While the actors themselves aren’t generally bad, the acting is. Kristin Kreuk and Moon Bloodgood are fine in their roles, and even Michael Clarke Duncan as the bodyguard heavy fits his role fine. The real low points in acting come from Neal McDonough as bad guy Bison whose poor Irish accent gives his role a weaker foundation than his tour-de-farce of acting on “Desperate Housewives.” Just as bad is Chris Klein as the inexplicably American INTERPOL agent who seems to be channeling all the bad parts of a Keanu Reeves performance.
The story doesn’t make a whole lot of sense and it overwritten at times and other times underwritten to a fault. I suppose it’s on par with a lot of the bad video game movies, and that’s a pretty low bar.
BLU-RAY FEATURES
The Blu-ray disc includes both the theatrical and unrated versions of the film, along with an audio commentary by producers Patrick Aiello and Ashok Amritaj along with Klein and McDonough on the unrated cut. There’s a in-movie trivia track that gives you background on “Street Fighter” history as the film runs.
Several featurettes give background on the film, including “Becoming a Street Fighter,” “Chun-Li: Bringing the Legend to Life” and a presentation of “Fox Movie Channel’s Making a Scene.” Other special features include deleted scenes, still galleries, game-to-film and storyboard comparisons and a sneak peek of “Marvel vs. Capcom 2.”
Two more discs are found in this release, including one for digital copy purposes. The other disc is a DVD with the feature-length motion comic “Street Fighter: Round One.”
WHO’S GOING TO LIKE THIS MOVIE
Fans of the game itself or run-of-the-mill video game movies.
