Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li (2009)

User Rating:

3.9/10   

Director:

Andrzej Bartkowiak

Writer:

Justin Marks (adaptation)

Release Date:

27 February 2009 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

Some fight for power. Some fight for us.

Plot:

Based on the popular video game franchise, female fighter Chun Li embarks on a quest for justice. |

Plot Keywords:

Chun Li | Helicopter | Banana | Based On Video Game | Baseball Bat

Cast

Kristin Kreuk	...	Chun-Li
Chris Klein	...	Charlie Nash
Neal McDonough	...	Bison / Vega (Japan)
Robin Shou	...	Gen
Moon Bloodgood	...	Det. Maya Sunee
Josie Ho	...	Cantana
Taboo	...	Vega / Balrog (Japan)
Michael Clarke Duncan	...	Balrog / Bison (Japan)
Pei-pei Cheng	...	Zhilan
Edmund Chen	...	Xiang
Inez Yan	...	Chun-Li (5 yrs)
Elizaveta Kiryukhina	...	Rose
Emilze Junqueira	...	Jeanne Xiang
Katherine Pemberton	...	Chun-Li (10 yrs)
Siri Sirijane	...	Liu

Also Known As:

Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li (Japan: English title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for sequences of violence and martial arts action, and some sensuality.

Runtime:

96 min

Country:

Canada | India | USA | Japan

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

USA:PG-13 (certificate #44978) | Philippines:PG-13 (MTRCB) | Singapore:PG | Portugal:M/12 | Netherlands:12 | Mexico:B15 | Argentina:13

Filming Locations:

Bangkok, Thailand

Company:

Hyde Park Entertainment

Trivia:

Crates throughout Bangkok's industrial area were labeled "Toei". That was the Japanese animation group of American action hits-such as "G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero" (1983). This can also refer to Capcom's rival, Nintendo distributor "Koei".

Goofs:

Continuity: In the scene where Bison is asking Vega to take care of Chun Li, and Vega is taking a look at the photo of her, his hand is white. The Vega double is Scandinavian and Taboo is Hispanic.

Quotes:

Chun-Li: [to Vega] No wonder you wear a mask.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Rotten Tomatoes Show: Miss March/Race to Witch Mountain/Sunshine Cleaning (#1.3)" (2009)

Ridden of it's goodness

If you think my heading is cheesy and stupid you're absolutely right and I heartily agree...unfortunately that vary statement is the crux of the latest Street Fighter attempt's plot.

Ignoring the 1994 Van Damme version of the franchise this film starts anew, focusing on the character of Chun Li, a young Asian woman highly skilled in both piano and martial arts. Her dad gets taken away from her at a young age by M. Bison who uses him in his criminal plot to overthrow Bangkok. Unfortunately for Bison Chun Li grows up, meets a mystic who teaches her some freaky stuff and sets out to kick his ass. While the Van Damme version was far from spectacular it had a sense of humor about itself and wasn't afraid to have fun with the material, which was at the very least entertaining for a lazy hour and a half. The Legend of Chun Li tries to be a dark brooding action thriller with something like Batman Begins as its model...but the material just doesn't support it. The plot goes back and forth between clichés and just plan dumb hokey sci-fi stuff. Yes, being "rid of your goodness" is actually a plot point.

The script is loaded with cheesy dialog and flat characters which doesn't make the actors' jobs any easier and they really don't live up to the challenge. Chris Klein is particularly bad in his attempt to be the bad ass.

You would think the action would at least make it worth the time but even that is nothing to brag about. The fights are far too staged and obviously fake. They throw in some signature moves from the video games that are beyond reality. If they'd been shot differently they would've been cool, but here they just look ridiculous. These are things that would fit at home in a more cartoony film like its predecessor...but sorry, no go.