Street Fighter Might be the Best Video Game Movie of All Time

You can't make a movie based on a video game. This was the challenge presented to Steven E. de Souza when he was tasked with writing and directing 1994's Street Fighter film. Considering that the only existing video game movies at the time were Super Mario Bros. and Double Dragon, the notion that video games cannot be (successfully) made into films was basically factual.

The main problem that De Souza faced with adapting the game was the limited amount of Street Fighter source material available. In fact, De Souza wasn't even aware that Blanka had an origin story. Inspired by the fact that It's A Wonderful Life was based on a greeting card, De Souza crafted a self-aware video game film that actually benefits from the lack of source material.

Despite his best efforts, though, Street Fighter currently has a Rotten Tomatoes critical rating of 18 percet. This rating puts Street Fighter objectively on par with such cinematic classics as Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance, Cop Out and, of course, Soul Plane. Word?

Sure, Street Fighter isn't a masterpiece like Citizen Kane or RoboCop, but it's no Soul Plane either. In fact, by deftly adapting the limited source material, poking fun at itself and remembering that video games are supposed to be fun, Street Fighter becomes the greatest video game film of all time.

Making a good video game film hinges on following the source material. Follow the game's content too closely and you're cramming hours of entertaining gameplay into a less entertaining medium, resulting in Ratchet and Clank or 2018's Tomb Raider. Abandon the game's plot altogether, though, and you're left with 1993's Super Marios Bros., a cyberpunk abomination that alienates not only casual moviegoers, but also gamers.

Therefore, the best video game movies must find a balance between faithfully following the source material and telling a unique tale. The beauty of Street Fighter is that, because it's based on Street Fighter II, the plot can be whatever it wants to be. After all, Street Fighter II is about traveling the world to punch eccentric people in the face. In fact, nobody plays Street Fighter for the plot. Considering De Souza's main task (by decree of Capcom) was incorporating 17 characters into the film, the limited amount of source material actually granted some flexibility to the film's plot.

The overarching plot Street Fighter focuses on General M. Bison (Raul Julia), the ruthless dictator of Shadaloo, who demands a $50 billion dollar ransom within 72 hours for a pit full of hostages. Our main hero is Jean-Claude Van Damme's Colonel William S. Guile, the leader of the Allied Nations forces who seeks revenge against M. Bison for capturing his friend Carlos "Charlie" Blanka.

Likewise, news reporter Chun Li also leads a campaign of vengeance against M. Bison for destroying her childhood village. Also there's karate best buddies Ryu and Ken, who are basically doing a rendition of Rush Hour. Drawing inspiration from superhero comics, each character's arc is centered around getting them into their classic Street Fighter costumes, enabling everyone to do their victory poses at the end of the film.

NEXT PAGE: Street Fighter the Movie is Surprisingly Diverse

Despite the limited amount of source material, Street Fighter still remains faithful wherever possible. While the details may differ, the film is about Guile fighting his way to a final clash with M. Bison, which is literally the plot of the game. The two even say their pre-fight lines from the game before the brawl begins. Most importantly, Guile wins the first round by spamming Flash Kick, which may be the most accurate part of the film. Heck, the film even acknowledges the "best of two rounds" rules of the game by having M. Bison resurrected for round two, which he starts by throwing out Psycho Crushers.

Likewise, the film's cast mirrors the game's multicultural roster, with Jean Claude Van Damme starring as Guile, Kylie Minogue playing Cammy and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Ming-Na Wen playing Chun-Li. The film even takes the diversity one step further by casting E. Honda as a Hawaiian sumo wrestler and making Esperanto the official language of Shadaloo.

Even when the film isn't faithful, sensible changes are made. After all, De Souza sought to take the superpowered game combatants and cast them in a more realistic setting, like making T. Hawk less of a Native American caricature and giving professional soldier Cammy pants.

Without question, however, the highlight of Street Fighter comes in Julia's portrayal of M. Bison. Despite his deteriorating health, Julia signed on to the film because his children were huge fans of the games. Julia went all out, studying the mannerisms and idiosyncrasies of dictators to portray the psychotic yet charming despot.

M. Bison is essentially a prototype Dr. Evil, a ridiculous madman who is as psychotic as he is hilarious. Take Bison dollars for example: Shadaloo's currency, which is equivalent to five British pounds -- once Bison captures the Queen, of course -- as well as the currency utilized in Street Fighter Monopoly.

Like any good villain, M. Bison believes himself to be the hero who just wants to build an army of genetically altered super soldiers who will conquer and/or unite the world in the loving grip of himself, M. Bison. Bison doesn't understand why people call him mad, despite the fact that his logo is a winged skull with a Harry Potter scar. This lends some campiness to Bison, who adorns his Shadaloo fortress with World War II propaganda put under a Bison filter.

Additionally, we would be remiss if we didn't mention Bison's classic line: "For you, the day Bison graced your village was the most important day of your life. But for me, it was Tuesday." Now that we think of it, Street Fighter is the only quotable video game movie in existence.

Ultimately, what truly makes Street Fighter the best video game movie is that it remembers that video games are supposed to be fun. Therefore, a video game film should be fun as well. That's why M. Bison's floating battle station is operated with a Street Fighter II arcade control console. This self-awareness is also why what should be a glorious firefight between the forces of Shadaloo and the A.N. army is instead resolved by M. Bison and Guile throwing hands.

Street Fighter is the best video game film because it's a self-aware undertaking that straddles the line between drama and comedy while making it rain Bison dollars. Our only legitimate complaint about Street Fighter is that nobody punches a car to death.

CBR

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NEXT PAGE: Street Fighter the Movie is Surprisingly Diverse