I know this sounds like a contrarian position, but maybe 1994’s Street Fighter actually does have a lot of redeemable qualities that are often overlooked. I say this as a skeptic, mind you, so let me explain why I think it deserves a second chance.
You see, 1995’s Mortal Kombat is often viewed by video game fanatics as the first “good” adaptation of the medium. However, in spite of Street Fighter releasing one year prior — and both films holding “Rotten” status on Rotten Tomatoes — it seems like people love to trash on Street Fighter more.
Once I knew of the film’s reputation as an adult, I always just assumed it really was unwatchable garbage and never gave it a second shot, despite having memories of loving it on VHS as a kid. Well, the day finally came when Street Fighter was available for free on Tubi, so I watched it the other day. And let me tell you, it wasn’t that bad. In fact, some aspects of it are great, in my opinion.
Granted, Street Fighter is nowhere near my all-time favorite movie or anything like that. In fact, it even pales in comparison to the similarly titled anime from the same year Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie (which I would highly recommend, by the way). However, the Jean-Claude Van Damme movie does have its own special sort of charm that I believe explains why the flick continues to chart highly on streaming services, even to this day. After all, it is easy to forget the movie was actually financially successful at the box office, earning triple its budget worldwide, according to Box Office Mojo. So let’s count down the top 10 reasons Street Fighter actually nailed it, in many ways, even if it isn’t a perfect movie.
10. It doesn’t do the stereotypical fighting tournament plot.
Unlike Mortal Kombat, Street Fighter does not go the stereotypical route of having the plot revolve around some kind of fighting tournament. Instead, it attempts to do a bit of an action spy thriller-type film about a ragtag group of heroes who must take down an evil dictator. Your mileage of this premise may vary but at least the film had the cojones to try something different.
9. The film refuses to take itself too seriously.
From the over-the-top villain to the cascading waterfall of side characters filling every frame, one thing this movie doesn’t do is try to be anything other than what it is: a fan-service-filled gallery of colorful characters getting into fights with each other. It may fail at achieving even this basic setup, in some ways, but at least the movie doesn’t feel like it is talking down to you at any point. Plus, the improvisational filming style writer-director Steven E. de Souza employed with its fast-and-loose plot to work around the film’s troubled production exudes the same anarchic energy of movies like The Evil Dead and Dawn of the Dead.
8. A pleasantly colorful palette keeps the eye entertained.
From the blue camo soldier uniforms of the freedom fighters in the movie to the colorful chemicals that are injected into Robert Mammone’s Blanka, Street Fighter embraces a vibrant splash of colors that will keep the eye entertained for the duration. Much praise needs to go to this aspect of the film as it firmly places the movie in other ’90s classics of camp, such as Surf Ninjas and Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie.
7. Blanka’s backstory is legitimately fascinating.
I will admit, the final look of Blanka in the film when he finally emerges from his experimental pod doesn’t quite hold up as much as the version that existed in my head from childhood does. However, I still think that the film’s choice of giving Blanka a super soldier backstory where he is brainwashed and injected with chemicals is an interesting one that adds a lot to my favorite green monster from the game.
6. Chun-Li is a genuinely good character.
Ming-Na Wen’s Chun-Li may not necessarily look perfectly like the character she is playing from the game Street Fighter II. However, her arc as a reporter who secretly trains as a freedom fighter and part-time ninja — including learning martial arts in her free time — I found to be a genuinely compelling one. And who could argue with the coolness of the scene when she unleashes her fighting ability upon an unsuspecting M. Bison after being his captor?
5. Jean Claude Van-Damme’s coke-fueled performance hits that so-bad-it’s-good itch
This list is not intended to rewrite history. I fully acknowledge that Street Fighter has some flaws, the most noteworthy of which is probably Jean-Claude Van Damme’s gross miscasting as the main character Guile, who is supposed to be an all-American Air Force guy in the same vein as Tom Cruise’s Maverick from Top Gun. But if you can look past the thick European accent that Van Damme delivers you will find an absolute gem of a so-bad-it’s-good performance.
It’s well known today that Van Damme had a notorious drug problem on the set, which caused a lot of trouble for its production. However, Van Damme’s coke-fueled performance comes through as a hilarious piece to the ensemble, making him the Tommy Wiseau of Street Fighter. If you can find entertainment value in aspects of movies that go horribly wrong, I count Van Damme’s presence as an absolute win.
4. The action scenes are actually pretty good.
The action in Street Fighter is not that bad especially compared to modern-day films that rely too heavily on CGI. For my money, I would much rather see Raul Julia on stunt wires giving his maniacal expressions in the climactic fight at the end than see any Marvel effort feature digital duplicates of their actors shooting computer-generated light beams out of their hands.
3. M. Bison dollars.
A scene that encapsulates the unabashed silliness of Street Fighter is found in a moment when Julia’s M. Bison tries to entice someone with a briefcase full of M. Bison dollars, which have no value. It is a gag worthy to be in an episode of The Simpsons, let alone in an action-filled video game movie. Watch this moment and witness Julia’s pure joy in chewing the scenery and tell me with a straight face that Street Fighter has nothing of value to offer the world.
2. When the casting does land, it goes hard.
I’ve already mentioned some of the characters who are unfortunately miscast in the movie, most notably Van Damme, but when the casting does hit a home run it is an all-time great representation of that character. Andrew Bryniarski’s Zangief and Jay Tavare’s Vega are two obvious standouts for me. However, I would be remiss if I did not mention what I think is one of the most perfect casting choices in the movie, Wes Studi’s Victor Sagat.
1. Raul Julia is on another level as M. Bison
Raul Julia will forever remain an icon for ‘90s kids not simply for his role as Gomez Addams in Barry Sonnenfeld’s The Addams Family duology, but also for his portrayal of M Bison in Street Fighter. That same level of high energy and unabashed joy for the craft of acting is on full display here in what some might describe as high camp, but I think it’s a tier above that. True, he knows how to play the role with humor when the scene calls for it, but he can also come across as bone-chilling in the very next beat.
Julia’s dedication to the role is not in question. The actor powered through stomach cancer, which eventually took his life, to complete the movie because he was so committed to impressing his children with the role. Having taken inspiration from the mannerisms of famous dictators around the world, such as Benito Mussolini and Joseph Stalin, according to IMDb, Julia turned in a Shakespearian-like performance that I think should be remembered as one of the all-time greats.