I remember being very excited for the Street Fighter live-action movie, which was released in 1994; I was 10 years old and had no idea what a bad movie was. It took a long time for me to see the movie. If I remember correctly, my friend Drew and I rented the movie one night.
It is one of those movies I watched, enjoyed, and then forgot all about it. Then the internet came around, and I learned this is a bad movie. Street Fighter: The Movie is fine compared to some of the other things I’ve watched over the years. It isn’t good, but it is by far the worst thing out there.
Heck, Jean Claude Van Dam has been in far worse movies. Many of his cannon films were really bad when compared to this movie. Street Fighter has a bunch of problems, but it isn’t boring.
Plot Summary
There are so many characters and plots going on at once. The overall story involves Bison trying to take over a fictional country, ransom hostages for 20 Million dollars, and create an army of super soldiers. The subplots tie into those plots, sort of.
Ken, Ryu, Sagat, and Vega are arms traders. Ken and Ryu try to rip off Sagat, get arrested by the AN (more on them later), and end up at Bison’s headquarters. Eventually, they fight on the same side as Guile, Cammy, and T. Hawk.
Chun-Li, E. Honda, and Balrog tie the other plots together as best they can. They play journalists who are trying to kill Bison. They also deal with Guile, Ryu, and Ken. They eventually end up at Bison’s headquarters after trying to blow up all the bad guys.
Blanka and Dhalsim don’t need to be in the movie. Blanka is Guile’s friend and is captured before the movie starts. He is turned from a normal person into something recognizable from the game. Dhalsim is a scientist who turns Blanka into a monster. These two are the smartest people in the movie. Instead of risking being in a sequel, they choose to die in Bison’s base at the end of the movie.
Guile, Cammy, and T. Hawk are part of the AN, a parody of the UN. This would end up being reused in the cartoon series that I’ll get into at some other point. I didn’t realize that T. Hawk was in the film until over an hour into the movie. Anyway, they end up attacking Bision at the end of the film.
Bison, Dee Jay, and Zangief spend most of the movie hanging out at Bison’s base. Dee Jay and Zangief are the comedy relief in the movie. Zangief joins the good guys at the film’s end, Bison dies, and Dee Jay gets away.
Here is a recap of what happens to everyone:
- Guile – Lives
- Cammy – Lives and possibly has sex with Guile
- Chun-Li – Lives and possibly has sex with Guile
- E. Honda – Lives
- Balrog – Lives
- Ken – Lives and is still a douchebag
- Ryu – Lives and might be plotting to kill Ken when he falls asleep
- Dee Jay – Lives and most likely goes back to work at Microsoft. This is a thing he mentions.
- Sagat – Lives and might have gone crazy. He might be living with Dee Jay.
- Zangief – Lives and finally learns how to give someone a thumbs up.
- Vega – I think he dies. After he fights with Ryu, he disappears from the movie.
- Bison – Dies.
- Blanka – Is probably dead.
- Dhalsim – Is probably dead.
- T. Hawk – Lives
This movie has way too many characters. The decision to have them all in the film makes more sense when you learn that this was supposed to be a vehicle to sell toys. I had no idea there were Street Fighter toys. I might have seen the commercials when I was little, but I doubt it.
Toys and Cartoons
I had no idea there was a Street Fighter toy line. It seems like Capcom was following the marketing method of having a toy line for an animated cartoon. The toys are basically G.I. Joe figures. A similar thing would happen with Mortal Kombat and their cartoon.
Most of the toys were based on the Ninja Force figures, a subline of the G.I. Joe figures, or they were cobbled together from other figures from the late 1980s. Three new models were made for the line. I’m not a toy expert, and this is just what I could find.
The toys came out in 1993, the movie was released in 1994, and the cartoon aired from 1995 to 1997. At the same time as the live-action and cartoon adaptations, there were also anime films and series. They are both much better than what we got in the US.
Final Thoughts
The story of me trying to see this movie is more memorable for me than the movie itself. It is a movie I tried to see several times, but I kept getting overruled by my older brother when he wanted to rent something else. I remember liking the film when I saw it, and I completely forgot about it.
Street Fighter: The Movie made close to 100 million dollars on a 33 million dollar budget. That wasn’t enough for Capcom to make another live-action film. There were a few animated films and series in the US and Japan. They are much better than the movie, including the strange one where Ken and Ryu keep getting into homo-erotic situations. It is a strange series, but it is very entertaining. If you want to see what I’m referencing, check out the series Street Fighter II V, which can be found on YouTube. I don’t think the series is streaming anywhere.
This is one of the few movies that uses the name Street Fighter. I like the anime films much more than this film. It was fun when I was 10, but now it is a mostly forgettable film.
If you like this post, please check out my other movie posts, such as Double Dragon and Mortal Kombat.