Review: Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li

After attending the press launch of Globe’s Pixlink at the Manila Contemporary Gallery, we figured we’d cap off the day with a movie. So Lalaine, Rocky, Glen, and I headed over to SM North EDSA and took a chance on Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li.

Looking back, that poster should’ve already warned us what we were getting into, but we went ahead anyway.

This film is the second live-action attempt at bringing Street Fighter to the big screen, this time focusing on Chun-Li, played by Kristin Kreuk. She’s joined by Neal McDonough as M. Bison, Michael Clarke Duncan as Balrog, and Robin Shou as Gen. The movie even opened in the Philippines a couple of days before its U.S. release, which made it feel like we were getting an early look. Unfortunately, that also meant we were among the first to be disappointed.

This version of Chun-Li is quite different from what fans might expect. Instead of being a reporter like in the old Street Fighter starring Jean-Claude Van Damme, she’s portrayed here as a pianist trained in wushu by her father. The movie tries to show her journey into becoming a fighter, including her training under Gen. On paper, it sounds like a solid origin story, but the execution just doesn’t land.

For a movie based on a fighting game, the fight scenes are surprisingly underwhelming. They’re short, forgettable, and lack impact. The much-anticipated fight between Chun-Li and Vega, for example, only lasts a few minutes. There’s barely any showcase of Vega’s signature moves, and Chun-Li’s iconic Spinning Bird Kick appears for only a second before the scene gets awkwardly interrupted by a random necklace detail. It doesn’t help that Vega himself feels completely off. Instead of being stylish and intimidating, he comes across as awkward and unimpressive, far from what fans would expect.

Oddly enough, Chun-Li’s earlier fight against a group of random thugs is actually more exciting than her clashes with Vega and M. Bison combined. That alone says a lot about how uneven the action is.

The special effects don’t do the movie any favors either. Chun-Li’s Kikouken looks more like a floating ghost than a powerful energy attack. It’s hard not to compare it to the first movie’s low-budget charm, even the barely-visible Hadouken back then feels less distracting than what we get here.

What really makes this a letdown is how little it captures the spirit of Street Fighter. Key characters are missing or barely utilized. There’s no real presence from Guile, and Charlie shows up without any of his signature moves. Balrog uses rocket launchers instead of relying on his boxing skills. Bison ends up feeling like a generic villain, with none of the iconic “psycho power” that defines him. And Chun-Li never even wears her signature outfit, which is something fans were probably hoping to see.

To be fair, it’s not entirely without positives. Kristin Kreuk does her best with the role, and Robin Shou still brings some solid martial arts presence. But those small highlights aren’t enough to save the film.

In the end, this one is a big disappointment, especially for fans. You’re honestly better off just playing Street Fighter IV or even rewatching the 1994 movie—it may be cheesy, but at least it’s more entertaining.

After this, we seriously started questioning whether watching the upcoming Dragonball movie would be a good idea… and yeah, it probably isn’t.

(Cross posted at Captain's Log)