STREET FIGHTER: THE LEGEND OF CHUN LI Discussion

This movie's hilarity can't possibly top the JCVD/Raul Julia original, but I'm definitely curious. Will wait for Blu-ray.

No way am I seeing this...in theaters, on dvd, or even cable, the best use for the dvd release will be as a shiny drink coaster. I enjoy the JCVD Street Fighter, and the SFII anime film and SFII Series V, and whatever new SF anime that gets released on dvd.

Chris, as long as his agent has the Election card to play, he'll work. And it's fair enough. He's not as bland as Paul Walker.

Wait wait wait... Fleed, this was your among most anticipated movies a few months ago. Why won't you be seeing it?

Strongly disagree. Walker has a je-ne-sais-quoi about him. Klein has derp.

Sackley, I always get excited about my favorite things, whether that is being in NYC, going to Cooper Beach in Southampton, watching NFL Games, Hanging out with Family and Friends, playing video games reading etc. The anticipation for upcoming films is high enough that sometimes I even lose sleep the night before. Once I saw what the filmmakers did to one of my favorite properties, after hearing they were going for realism...I just shook my self with disbelief. It looks...Horrible.

Maybe someday Capcom will hire a good director, get someone to write a script that sounds like a Street Fighter film should. It really isn't hard...Shadowloo is an EEEEEvil Terrorist organization led by M Bison, Interpol sends Chun Li to investigate, the US Army sends Guile, Ryu and Ken join a Tornament run by Shadowloo. Shadowloo wants the worlds best martial artists to be their agents...the tournament is a way to see who is the best of the best, so that they can hire them legally, or kidnap the winner after he or she turns them down and brainwash them so that they join Shadowloo. All the Street Fighters should keep the costumes of the game, so a future film can be an over the top, campy but fun martial arts film...not the dreck that is the Legend Of Chun Li.

Someone obviously hasn't seen Running Scared.

The honourable Mr. Steve Murphy called it on Walker in the Into The Blue-centric CHUD SHOW. The guy's fine; I can stand him, but he has nothing of real note to offer, and that's exactly the problem. I like someone to make me react, not leave me wallowing in indifference.

And I'm not having a pop at you Duke, but I'm really glad sackley brought that up. When I read you weren't looking forward to it anymore, it threw me for a loop.

Please, elaborate.

Well, it's kind of already been said. He's got a spark of roguish charm about him. Klein does not.

Klein looks to be Derptastic in STREET FIGHTER. In this clip he suddenly starts to raise his voice like a retard.
"RITE?????????????
Uh-huh!"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NNRctSfW8YU

Right.

But you haven't seen it.

http://movies.ign.com/articles/957/957633p1.html

The AICN review is pretty awesome, too:

http://www.aintitcool.com/node/40266

Sackley, You're right I haven't seen...Street Fighter: The Legend Of Chun Li, and I won't either. As a fan of the Street Fighter games, anime film and series, JCVD film, I feel that I have seen enough of the film in trailers, screen shots, etc to see that the filmmakers dumped the colorful costumes of the game and earlier film. Kristen Kreuk looks like she is 90 lbs, and she is way too skinny for a character able to beat up M Bison, Balrog, and Vega, i.e. (the villains of the film). I have been watching martial arts films since the 70's and even the worst of Chuck Norris aka...The Octagon looked better than this and...The Octagon is horrible. So...I am not going to see this so called...Legend Of Chun Li!

I don't how interested I am in the movie this weekend. Man, this is a slow weekend for releases.

Because this part of the year is still a dead zone of film and moreso because. Say it with me now "Watchmen".

I guess Chun-Li does not do an inverted flip and yell "Spinning Side Kick", then...

:: sighs ::

Chris Klein on his character:

Nice to see a artist so faithful to his craft.

Stanislavski would be proud.

I think I'd rather pay to see that Klein/Marks meeting than the actual movie.

IT'S A BOMB!!!!!!!!!!
http://www.movieweb.com/video/VIL5JRLMUAQPQP

I'll watch that. On dvd. With alcohol and friends.

I'm unconvinced.

Watched the JCVD film for a Blu-ray review the other day, and I was shocked that I forgot it was a comedy on purpose. The Bison seducing Chun-Li scene is actually quite funny.

Probably pretty sad that the original Street Fighter more than likely looks like Citizen Kane compared to this.

This movie is hilarious. AICN had it right - Klein is the best part. I kept wishing for Nic Cage and his hair to pop up somewhere in those streets of Thailand...

It's amazing what films get theatrical releases. Still, this was better than Noble Son.

Nash out.

Even though Raul was wasting away, he had superb comic timing in that film.

"I was hoping to face Guile personally on the battlefield. One gentleman warrior to another in respectful combat.

Then, I would snap his spine.
Ahh the road not taken!"

Um, is what you just described pretty much what we got in the JCVD Streetfighter flick, right down to the costumes?

I know, as soon as I read that quote. I thought "Sheer fuckin brillaince".

I got a feeling I'll end up seeing this a few years from now in one of my insomniatic states.

Come on Nathan Rabin report. Come on Nathan Rabin.

The whole film is played straight. Chun-Li's family situation is presented as high drama. Bison is an Irish businessman trying to replace slums with high-rent homes.

I mean, seriously... what the hell? Chun-Li doesn't even get to kick a guy in the face. There are no game references whatsoever. Certainly no lines that will live on in infamy like "...but to me, it was Tuesday."

Thank God for Chris Klein, though. I hope it was intentional.

how many times do we really need to see an explosion..

M. Bison in Savile Row suits. I think not. The casting of Black Eyed Peas in movies is just laughable. They have a fan base - but I just never got into their music. I read in an interview about how they wanted Tyler Perry for Wolverine as John Wraith - but got that skinny dude from Black Eyed instead. LOL!

You got that one right

Just came back from seeing this movie. I had a great time with it. It's by no means high art but I liked the fight scenes, the basic storyline, and of course the epic slumming by Chris Klein. I was laughing every time he was on screen doing his Nash thing. "NASH OUT" destroyed me. Definitely worth a matinee.

ETA: (Spoilers)

Love that this movie opens the door to using fireballs and other things in the street fighter games.

Good to see Moon Bloodgood getting some work and I love it that she owns a pair of golden handcuffs.

M. Bison worked for me in this movie. He's far more menacing than Raul Julia was in the 90's version of this property. The whole backstory was nonsensical but interesting to say the least.

For all its flaws (and man does it have some flaws), the end of the climactic fight was kind of bad ass. Not enough to redeem the movie but enough to make you feel you haven't wasted 2 hours of your life.

Nash was a completely unnecessary part of the movie. As in, take away all his scenes and you can still make a movie that made sense. I'm trying to think about how Nash added to the story at all other than backup for Chun Li. That being said, Nash was TOTALLY necessary to this movie. Out of all the players in this movie, Klein knew what film he signed up for and cranked it up to 11. We're talking a slumming performance on par with Jeremy Irons in Dungeons and Dragons. His performance alone easily adds a star to the movie's rating.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that there are some movies that can break a critic's rating system. Rocky Horror is one. XxX State of the Union is one. Torque might be one (going to watch it shortly). Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun Li is definitely one.

Klein killed the audience at my SF showing. His delivery of "that had to be done." after kissing Moon Bloodgood to dodge Balrog almost made me piss my pants.

I got called a "homo" by the person behind me for laughing so hard after Klein's SECOND "Nash out!". I pity the guy for not being in the loop.

Klein was definitely acting in a different movie than the rest of the cast. So to those who have seen the movie, was Klein doing that on purpose or is he that shitty of an actor? I'm going with the former. This is Chris Klein's Jack Sparrow.

For some reason, the thing I laughed at the most was the "he walks between the raindrops" speech. It was so earnest and over the top that it was hard not to think the guy was doing that shit on purpose.

Another of my favorite bits was Chun Li becoming one with the people of Thailand sequence. Yeah, she actually said, "I know what I have to do. I have to forget everything I know and become one with the people of Thailand"

This movie grows in stature after viewing.....

Klein's "You don't want a ticket to this dance." also killed me. He really stole the movie. Everytime he came on screen I thought "thank GOD he's back."

For the sake of Klein's well being, I hope his performance was intentional.

I loved Chun-Li's montage of vowed poverty. Especially when she's absolutely filthy and eating food that's probably straight out of a trash can. Then the next scene shows her with a fresh change of clothes and scrubbed away of any filth like she just came out of a health spa.

M. Bison's "Milk has an expiration date." line had everyone in stitches. As did Klein waving around his badge and gun shouting "CHARLIE NASH! INTERPOL AGENT!!!" like he conquered puberty by way of trying to act like he was in LA Confidential.

I have to tell you. Klein didn't even have to talk to get me laughing. His whole body language was hilarious as well. I've never seen an actor so fully embrace the shitty role he was given and the lines he had to say. Could this be one of the all time slumming performances? We'll see.

The last time I had this much fun laughing AT a movie was the remake of The Wicker Man with Nicholas Cage. Just like that movie, I had to wait a few months before other Chewers saw it on DVD to discuss. Street Fighter is the new Torque.

To paraphrase a review snippet that perfectly summerizes Klein's performnace: "I have never seen an actor fail to walk into a room convincingly until I saw Klein as Charlie Nash in SF:LoC-L."

"Slumming" implies that Chris Klein is somehow above this movie. He is not. I'd say he's finally found a movie he's perfect for.

Anyone is above the material in SF:TLoCL but point acknowleged. I do give Klein credit for making lemonade out of lemons. He might not be the best actor in the world but he had to know the role he had sucked so he went all out. In the process, he made what could have been a mind numbingly boring movie into something watchable. This is without a doubt, his finest hour.

I'm just amazed that seemingly intelligent chewers paid to see this thing :-)

Quoted for truth.

God, I'm still laughing. I almost want to see this again.

Yeah I would wait til the bootleg Nash clips get on Youtube similar to how the best parts of the Wicker Man remake got on there. Still to see it on the big screen is an experience. No regrets here.

The people who saw this were also the ones who saw...

1) DOA: Dead or Alive
2) Stealth
3) Torque

Masterpieces all. I have a feeling we'll be adding Dragonball: Evolution to this list next week as well.

This is why I'm glad we have a filter in my country, so that stuff like this goes straight to DVD. We don't have room for all the U.S. theatrical releases cause we have tons of danish movies being released also.

I remember when living in The States how many times I felt cheated compared to back home, cause I paid to watch shit that normally would go straight to VHS back home. But living there, not having the Internet as a good guide as to what to avoid, it was sometimes hard to judge a movie beforehand.

In this Dark Horizons interview, Chris seems to be pretty serious...