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DVD Review: Street Fighter - Extreme Edition (1994)
- By Aubrey Ward III
- Published 02/16/2009
- Movies
- Unrated
Aubrey Ward III
I'm just a regular guy that loves watching movies and talking about them. I feel it's my duty as a world citizen to detect cinematic "bombs" so you don't have to. I'm no cinemaristocrat but if I think a film is worth spending money on I'll tell ya. If it's not fit to be used as a doorstop I will certainly tell ya. And remember to always rent first before buying.
View all articles by Aubrey Ward III
I know, I know. This is the movie that is not supposed to be talked about. This is the deformed stepchild that we have locked away in the basement and kept alive on a diet of curdled milk and fish heads. I am fully aware that for a lot of people this review will dredge up some long buried feelings of hostility and sorrow so I apologize in advance for any emotional scabs I inadvertently rip open.
Back in 1991 Capcom released a video gamed called “Street Fighter II”. This fighting simulation game boasted a group of eight contestants that would brawl their way to the main man, M. Bison. Each fighter had their own unique fighting style coupled with their individual motive for entering the World Warrior competition. The game was so successful and popular that Capcom continued to improve upon their product with enhancements and additional characters. By the time “Super Street Fighter II” was born the franchise was at a high enough peak to warrant a motion picture deal.
And so it was that Universal Pictures & Capcom Entertainment teamed up to create the live action adaptation titled Street Fighter. This was a majorly big friggin’ deal because video game based movies were the stuff of hilarity in Hollywood. It didn’t help matters that the 1993 film treatment of Super Mario Brothers failed not only critically and financially but also made fans extremely remorseful. With Street Fighter being prepped to release the very next year we all had reason to be afraid. Very, very afraid.
Street Fighter hit theaters on December 24, 1994. The first reaction from this 15 year old fan was that this was an exciting flick full of action, humor and even some drama. The plot made a heckuva lot more sense than that fungus foolishness in Super Mario Brothers. They even managed to cram all sixteen fighters into the movie. I was happy.
That is until the adrenaline wore off and my inner fanboy smacked me back to my more critical senses.
Oh, how flawed was thee? I don’t have enough room to count the ways. All American Guile with a European accent? Dee Jay is a villain while Balrog is a hero? Zangief is a moron? Japanese E. Honda is now Hawaiian? Ryu and Ken are street hustlers? Dhalsim is a scientist? Charlie and Blanka are the same person? What the fudge?! Did the screenwriter even play the game? Ugh! I felt so cheated and violated. Hollywood messed up my dream and I vowed to never acknowledge that sorry excuse for a movie ever again.
So as soon as the VHS version came out I snagged a copy for myself. Oh sure, I publicly joined the masses in slamming the film but the truth was that I had a peculiar fondness for this ugly baby. When I thought more on it I realized that Street Fighter screwed up a lot of stuff but there were some things they got right. This was also my first major lesson in film adaptation. No matter what Hollywood did I realized I could always go back to my Super Nintendo and experience the real deal. Street Fighter was not flawless but it was okay enough to earn a place in my hallowed film collection. It’s nestled right between classics such as Spice World and Supergirl.
2009 will mark the debut of two new Street Fighter releases. Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun Li (opening in the US on 2/27/09) will be Tinsel Town’s second attempt at molding Street Fighter into a respectable live action masterpiece. In the event that Legend of Chun Li tanks Capcom has also provided the home console versions of "Street Fighter IV" (US Release Date is 2/17/09). And I would be terribly remiss if I didn’t include Udon Comics brilliant and extremely fan friendly Street Fighter books. In the wake of this Street Fighter media revival it made perfect sense for Universal to unveil Street Fighter: Extreme Edition on DVD and Blu-Ray. Now viewers can witness this travesty in digital video or hi definition.
This is the reason for my review. After years of video game, comic book and novel adaptations I felt compelled to take another look at one of the gaming communities dirty little secrets. Instead of the fighting competition that takes place in the video game the World Warriors are inserted into Thailand where General M. Bison (Raul Julia) oversees his terrorist empire known as Shadowloo. When Bison kidnaps Allied Nations workers and holds them for ransom Colonel Guile (Jean Claude Van Damme) leads a mission to rescue the hostages. Eventually, all the fighters end up involved somehow. Some are there to make a quick buck while others are a captive audience to Bison’s tyranny. There are a few who think the Shadowloo way is the best way and those brave souls that would dare to attempt to take down the madman on their own terms.
In hindsight, the main plot was a good concept. It centralized the action into one place. All the main characters were able to find a place in that world and thrive. The haste of the film gels with the death countdown for the hostages and produces some healthy tension. It might have seemed an odd choice, at first, but the military backdrop helped to ground the fantastical characters in realism and logic.
I also realized that, deliberately or not, both Hollywood and fans learned some important lessons from Street Fighter about the “dos” and “donts” of creating a franchise based film. For starters, we learned that too much of a good thing can make you sick. According to the commentary from the director, Steven E.
de Souza, the higher ups forced him to utilize all sixteen fighters from "Super Street Fighter II". Imagine what a tighter and more cohesive storyline Street Fighter would’ve had with just a few featured characters while the rest either had suitable cameos or no inclusion at all? Characters like Blanka and Dhalsim would’ve been better off not being in it rather than in roles that didn’t work. Look how great X-Men turned out. I was initially miffed at the miniscule roster but then it was clear that if the whole gang had showed up I would’ve paid $8 for the kind of shallow spandex clad laser light show I was fearing the comic book flick would be. And even though X-Men started with a few they were able to properly exapnd the cast in the sequels. Sometimes less is more.
The second lesson was that women can be a lot more than damsels in action films. Ming-Na Wen (now going by Ming-Na) will forever hold a special place in my heart for portraying Chun Li as the fierce and determined woman depicted in the video game. Thank God the writers kept Chun Li’s vengeance story intact and I also applaud them for giving Li such an excellent cover as a news reporter. One of the best scenes in the film has Chun Li in close quarters with Bison. The moment is well acted and successfully captures Chun Li’s spirit. It’s one of those rare moments in the story where both the movie and the game successfully merge. Along with Ming-Na, Kylie Minogue stars as the plucky British fighter known as Cammy. In the game, Cammy is an agent for MI6 in the game so it was barely a stretch for the pigtailed marvel to be working alongside Guile and the AN Forces in the script. Sadly, I didn’t get to see as much as I would’ve liked of Cammy but Minogue made the most out of every scene. She even pulls off a variation of Cammy’s “Frankensteiner” throw. Yet another example of how women can throw down just as hard as the menfolk. They’re just able to look more fabulous while dishing out the pain.
Lesson three: have at least one classically trained theater actor in the ensemble. No matter how many critical barbs were thrown at this movie there was one positive constant: Raul Julia. The stage and screen legend might not have been the most bulked Bison but he sure as heck delivered those despotic speeches like a titan. Okay, so the writers injected a little more humor into the evil boss than I would’ve liked but Mr. Julia still embodied that malevolent and arrogant spirit that has made M. Bison one of the most beloved villains in video game history. The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, The X-Men Trilogy, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Elektra, Bloodrayne, Eragon and so many other sci-fantasy films have made the wise decision to include seasoned theater people in their casts. Just the presence of an Oscar winner or Shakespearean pro can raise a project a couple of inches above the mediocrity line.
I’m kinda glad I bought the Extreme Edition DVD. Not just for nostalgia’s sake but also for the director’s commentary. Judging from de Souza’s constant references to “laserdisc technology” I’m gonna assume this track was pulled from an earlier home video release. Still, he does give some helpful hints about why he did the things he did along with some neato trivia about the production. The deleted scenes probably should’ve stayed deleted though it was fascinating to see a possible Chun Li / Cammy chick fight. Any confusion I might’ve had about the identity of the number one star was set straight via the publicity stills. Mr. Van Damme leads the way with the highest number of publicity photos. But if I were Tyra I would have awarded the “Top Model” award to Mr. Julia. The man knew how to work a cape and I swear he cribbed a couple of poses straight from Capcom’s game art portfolio.
The most geektastic feature on the disc is the "Street Fighter IV" bonus trailers. I didn’t bother with the teaser since I’ve already watched that to death on YouTube already. I went straight for the full length trailer that mixes all sorts of wonderful images from the game, anime clips, and CG stuff. The anime trailer is so good yet so cruel. It looks as if it could be the start of another Street Fighter anime feature or even a series. But as far as I know, it’s just a setup for the game. But I’m gonna hold out hope that Capcom is going to gear up another animated SF project. Japan has too good a track record of crafting quality adaptations of their native franchise to stop now.
When all is said and done I was mostly miffed because of the squandered opportunity. I had hoped that Street Fighter was going to be the edgy and slick action thriller that would prove to Hollywood that video games could be a source of genuine film plots and also put a more sophisticated light on gaming itself. Instead, we got a tongue-through-the-cheek family adventure that pushed the video game movie adaptation back into the laughingstock category. Street Fighter did achieve the goal of being a fun and friendly action flick. But if there is a remake list that truly exists in Hollywood I would put Street Fighter on slot #3 which would be under Elektra (#2) and X-Men: The Last Stand (#1). Let’s hope Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun Li doesn’t make the same mistakes. http://www.nbcuniversalstore.com/detail.php?p=82098
Back in 1991 Capcom released a video gamed called “Street Fighter II”. This fighting simulation game boasted a group of eight contestants that would brawl their way to the main man, M. Bison. Each fighter had their own unique fighting style coupled with their individual motive for entering the World Warrior competition. The game was so successful and popular that Capcom continued to improve upon their product with enhancements and additional characters. By the time “Super Street Fighter II” was born the franchise was at a high enough peak to warrant a motion picture deal.
And so it was that Universal Pictures & Capcom Entertainment teamed up to create the live action adaptation titled Street Fighter. This was a majorly big friggin’ deal because video game based movies were the stuff of hilarity in Hollywood. It didn’t help matters that the 1993 film treatment of Super Mario Brothers failed not only critically and financially but also made fans extremely remorseful. With Street Fighter being prepped to release the very next year we all had reason to be afraid. Very, very afraid.
Street Fighter hit theaters on December 24, 1994. The first reaction from this 15 year old fan was that this was an exciting flick full of action, humor and even some drama. The plot made a heckuva lot more sense than that fungus foolishness in Super Mario Brothers. They even managed to cram all sixteen fighters into the movie. I was happy.
That is until the adrenaline wore off and my inner fanboy smacked me back to my more critical senses.
Oh, how flawed was thee? I don’t have enough room to count the ways. All American Guile with a European accent? Dee Jay is a villain while Balrog is a hero? Zangief is a moron? Japanese E. Honda is now Hawaiian? Ryu and Ken are street hustlers? Dhalsim is a scientist? Charlie and Blanka are the same person? What the fudge?! Did the screenwriter even play the game? Ugh! I felt so cheated and violated. Hollywood messed up my dream and I vowed to never acknowledge that sorry excuse for a movie ever again.
So as soon as the VHS version came out I snagged a copy for myself. Oh sure, I publicly joined the masses in slamming the film but the truth was that I had a peculiar fondness for this ugly baby. When I thought more on it I realized that Street Fighter screwed up a lot of stuff but there were some things they got right. This was also my first major lesson in film adaptation. No matter what Hollywood did I realized I could always go back to my Super Nintendo and experience the real deal. Street Fighter was not flawless but it was okay enough to earn a place in my hallowed film collection. It’s nestled right between classics such as Spice World and Supergirl.
2009 will mark the debut of two new Street Fighter releases. Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun Li (opening in the US on 2/27/09) will be Tinsel Town’s second attempt at molding Street Fighter into a respectable live action masterpiece. In the event that Legend of Chun Li tanks Capcom has also provided the home console versions of "Street Fighter IV" (US Release Date is 2/17/09). And I would be terribly remiss if I didn’t include Udon Comics brilliant and extremely fan friendly Street Fighter books. In the wake of this Street Fighter media revival it made perfect sense for Universal to unveil Street Fighter: Extreme Edition on DVD and Blu-Ray. Now viewers can witness this travesty in digital video or hi definition.
This is the reason for my review. After years of video game, comic book and novel adaptations I felt compelled to take another look at one of the gaming communities dirty little secrets. Instead of the fighting competition that takes place in the video game the World Warriors are inserted into Thailand where General M. Bison (Raul Julia) oversees his terrorist empire known as Shadowloo. When Bison kidnaps Allied Nations workers and holds them for ransom Colonel Guile (Jean Claude Van Damme) leads a mission to rescue the hostages. Eventually, all the fighters end up involved somehow. Some are there to make a quick buck while others are a captive audience to Bison’s tyranny. There are a few who think the Shadowloo way is the best way and those brave souls that would dare to attempt to take down the madman on their own terms.
In hindsight, the main plot was a good concept. It centralized the action into one place. All the main characters were able to find a place in that world and thrive. The haste of the film gels with the death countdown for the hostages and produces some healthy tension. It might have seemed an odd choice, at first, but the military backdrop helped to ground the fantastical characters in realism and logic.
I also realized that, deliberately or not, both Hollywood and fans learned some important lessons from Street Fighter about the “dos” and “donts” of creating a franchise based film. For starters, we learned that too much of a good thing can make you sick. According to the commentary from the director, Steven E.
The second lesson was that women can be a lot more than damsels in action films. Ming-Na Wen (now going by Ming-Na) will forever hold a special place in my heart for portraying Chun Li as the fierce and determined woman depicted in the video game. Thank God the writers kept Chun Li’s vengeance story intact and I also applaud them for giving Li such an excellent cover as a news reporter. One of the best scenes in the film has Chun Li in close quarters with Bison. The moment is well acted and successfully captures Chun Li’s spirit. It’s one of those rare moments in the story where both the movie and the game successfully merge. Along with Ming-Na, Kylie Minogue stars as the plucky British fighter known as Cammy. In the game, Cammy is an agent for MI6 in the game so it was barely a stretch for the pigtailed marvel to be working alongside Guile and the AN Forces in the script. Sadly, I didn’t get to see as much as I would’ve liked of Cammy but Minogue made the most out of every scene. She even pulls off a variation of Cammy’s “Frankensteiner” throw. Yet another example of how women can throw down just as hard as the menfolk. They’re just able to look more fabulous while dishing out the pain.
Lesson three: have at least one classically trained theater actor in the ensemble. No matter how many critical barbs were thrown at this movie there was one positive constant: Raul Julia. The stage and screen legend might not have been the most bulked Bison but he sure as heck delivered those despotic speeches like a titan. Okay, so the writers injected a little more humor into the evil boss than I would’ve liked but Mr. Julia still embodied that malevolent and arrogant spirit that has made M. Bison one of the most beloved villains in video game history. The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, The X-Men Trilogy, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Elektra, Bloodrayne, Eragon and so many other sci-fantasy films have made the wise decision to include seasoned theater people in their casts. Just the presence of an Oscar winner or Shakespearean pro can raise a project a couple of inches above the mediocrity line.
I’m kinda glad I bought the Extreme Edition DVD. Not just for nostalgia’s sake but also for the director’s commentary. Judging from de Souza’s constant references to “laserdisc technology” I’m gonna assume this track was pulled from an earlier home video release. Still, he does give some helpful hints about why he did the things he did along with some neato trivia about the production. The deleted scenes probably should’ve stayed deleted though it was fascinating to see a possible Chun Li / Cammy chick fight. Any confusion I might’ve had about the identity of the number one star was set straight via the publicity stills. Mr. Van Damme leads the way with the highest number of publicity photos. But if I were Tyra I would have awarded the “Top Model” award to Mr. Julia. The man knew how to work a cape and I swear he cribbed a couple of poses straight from Capcom’s game art portfolio.
The most geektastic feature on the disc is the "Street Fighter IV" bonus trailers. I didn’t bother with the teaser since I’ve already watched that to death on YouTube already. I went straight for the full length trailer that mixes all sorts of wonderful images from the game, anime clips, and CG stuff. The anime trailer is so good yet so cruel. It looks as if it could be the start of another Street Fighter anime feature or even a series. But as far as I know, it’s just a setup for the game. But I’m gonna hold out hope that Capcom is going to gear up another animated SF project. Japan has too good a track record of crafting quality adaptations of their native franchise to stop now.
When all is said and done I was mostly miffed because of the squandered opportunity. I had hoped that Street Fighter was going to be the edgy and slick action thriller that would prove to Hollywood that video games could be a source of genuine film plots and also put a more sophisticated light on gaming itself. Instead, we got a tongue-through-the-cheek family adventure that pushed the video game movie adaptation back into the laughingstock category. Street Fighter did achieve the goal of being a fun and friendly action flick. But if there is a remake list that truly exists in Hollywood I would put Street Fighter on slot #3 which would be under Elektra (#2) and X-Men: The Last Stand (#1). Let’s hope Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun Li doesn’t make the same mistakes. http://www.nbcuniversalstore.com/detail.php?p=82098