Yeah, I saw it. I knew it was going to be a bad movie, and I went and saw it anyway. Why? I’m not quite sure. Maybe it was the fact that I loved “Street Fighter” growing up. Maybe it was because it just seemed to be one of the things that even though you know it’s bad, you have to see how bad it really is. I’m not sure. The fact is I ended up at the theater watching that film.
Was it bad? Yes. Yes, it was. But it wasn’t the normal kind of bad though. It was so bad on multiple levels that I simply could not help but learn what about it made it…well… bad.
First off, the character of Chun Li started off the film in the form of a young Asian girl, then as she grew older (and eventually turning into Kristin Kreuk) she grew less and less Asian. I don’t know how genetics work but changing race just doesn’t quite make sense in the realm of reality. Another big thing was Chris Klein and the character of Charlie Nash. Actors are supposed to become the characters, not over-exagerrated versions of themselves pretending to be the character. Part of the fault of that lies with three very important entities; the screenwriter, the director, and the studio.
The dialogue was TERRIBLE. The structure of the story was TERRIBLE. The script was probably TERRIBLE; wrought with overused voice overs. Instead of seeing what she was doing, she just told us. Sometimes, she did both at the same time. Voice overs have their place in films, but this was a terrible use of it.
Maybe it wasn’t ALL the screenwriter’s fault because the visionary behind this move was the director. Even with whatever script he was given, what this director did was rush along the film (there’s a thing called pacing that you should learn being that this is far from your first job at driecting) and not working closely enough with the actors for them to give a decent performance. From watching this film, you could definitely tell that this was not an actor’s director.
Okay, maybe it wasn’t COMPLETELY the director’s fault because he does have to answer to the people who front the money, the studio. Fox really has not had much great luck with successful films lately (minus Fox Searchlight in regards to a little film called Slumdog Millionaire). This is supposed to be big Fox, one of the giant and oldest studios in the history of Hollywood. What are they doing over there? How could you watch a cut of this movie and think that enough of an audience will actually go see this film to make a profit. A brand name isn’t the only thing that’s necessary to make movies. There has to be an attempted source of good filmmaking.
Ultimately, much of what this movie did not do for me was that at least half of the story just did not make any sense. For example, Chun Li and Charlie had never met or in any way introduced themselves. Each had no idea who the other was (unless it happened but was not shown to the audience). Their only meeting was a chance encounter where they locked eyes for two seconds. Five minutes later, he somehow finds articles about her on the internet. How??? He didn’t even know her name!! They didn’t even show him finding any pictures of her to look for information!!! Then, about twenty minutes later, she shows up at his apartment seeking help in taking down the main villain. How did she know who he was?? How?? If you haven’t noticed, it really bothers me because IT DOESN’T MAKE SENSE! The biggest issue I had with this film is probably with the character of M. Bison (the main villain of the Street Fighter series). In this film, he has an Irish accent, BUT the film stated that his parents were Irish immigrants in Thailand who passed away when he was still a baby. He grew up at an orphanage in Bangkok and became an evil thief. How does a baby who (even if he is of Irish heritage) grow up in a country thousands of miles away and with a totally different language and culture from that of Ireland have and Irish accent?????? This film negates and disproves itself!!! It just did not make any sense.
The only redeeming quality in this film is that it shows how countries such as Thailand are still plagued with famine and economic depression. Places do really exist where the poor get poorer and the rich, richer.
On a side note, I wonder if studios or screenwriters feel as though all the good titles have already been taken so they must resort to the simplest, beat-you-over-the-head name ever for their movie. For instance, one of the trailers was for an upcoming film about a guy from the streets who has nothing so he fights better his life. Guess what the film is called, just guess. Got it? Okay, well, it’s intellegently titled: Fighting. YEAH!! FIGHTING!!! Crazy….
On a final note, later today… the premiere of Jarell Perry’s new music video for his single, “Change Your Mind!!” Stay tuned.
