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

Director:

Andrzej Bartkowiak

Writer:

Justin Marks (screenplay)

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 | Rickshaw | Slum | Female Lead | Hong Kong

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:

Rick Yune was originally cast as Gen, but he was replaced by Robin Shou, who played Liu Kang in Mortal Kombat (1995) and Mortal Kombat: Annihilation (1997).

Goofs:

Factual errors: Bison is the child of Irish missionaries. The actors portraying him as a teenager and adult are appropriate, but when he is gravely ill in the orphanage, the camera zooms on an apparently Asian baby.

Quotes:

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

Movie Connections:

Featured in "The Rotten Tomatoes Show: Echelon Conspiracy/Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun Li/Crossing Over (#1.1)" (2009)

The god-awful, the bad, and the ugly

So this movie has been on my radar for quite a while. I was smooth talked by Justin Mark's assurance that his treatment of the movie was respectful and to be prepared for a new era of gaming films. I was pumped and on board, and then... I saw the film. THE GOD-AWFUL The script from this movie was a joke. When Bison utters something about milk and expiry dates, I laughed. It was a nervous laugh, but it was laughter. This movie makes no sense to me at all. The pitch was it was a Chun Li story about looking beyond revenge. In the end, she gets her revenge and the moral is? Revenge is the answer. THE BAD The costumes in this movie can also suck it. I felt terrible for Kristin in the night club scene, wearing a ridiculous dress and using her feminine wiles ( primo top dollar dancing to the unaware) to lure Cantana, a lesbian associate of Bison, into a bathroom. The pacing of this movie was dreadful, and we are hand-held for every scene, if Chun Li is walking on the screen she will undoubtedly inform us "I was walking.." ... REALLY? Really. THE UGLY The truth is this movie insults movie goers, gamers, and people, in general. Am I supposed to feel for Chun Li, even though she had a privileged life, and a loving mother? How is she a victim of circumstance? Am I supposed to feel Vega's threatening persona through five minutes of him getting the crap kicked out of him? Am I supposed to believe Bison is all evil when he continues to nurture his daughter? I think this movie was seriously edited so terribly, whatever good there was to salvage was lost on the cutting room floor. Whoever edited this needs to be bird kicked in the throat. It just makes no sense to me how the editor could do his job, watch the movie and allow this to enter the theaters. The best parts of the movie involved subtitles, and a sunset. That is it. So there you go, street fighter 2? Most assuredly, not.