The Movie
Based on Capcom's popular series of videogames, Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li (not to be confused with Street Fighter, the 1994 directorial debut of Steven E. DeSouza) moves away from the big gang of heroes/villains typical to the genre and instead focuses on a lone heroine, a virtual cutie named Chun-Li, and in real life we could do a whole lot worse than Kristin Kreuk (Smallville). She's a child of privilege who has chosen to leave it all behind and reinvent herself as a supreme warrior, to protect the innocent but also to defeat the all-powerful Bison who's been messing with her family, and tomorrow the world.
While I was impressed by how well the filmmakers were able to credibly ground a videogame premise in the real world, at times it drifts pretty far from the game's roots while falling into some tired action movie clichés (tough-talking mob bosses, teams of assassins with automatic rifles). Some of the "acting" can also be painful to watch, or perhaps it was the corny dialogue, possibly culled from an old videogame...?
The Picture
This is another exceptional Fox video master, with a dependably sharp image from start to finish. Sure, the picture can go a little mushy in shadowy regions of the 2.35:1 frame, but far less than on many Blu-rays I've watched, and some of these flaws just come with the high-def territory. The colors and intricacies of Bangkok meanwhile reproduce gorgeously, and every once in a while the supreme level of detail in a shot made me do a double take.
The Sound
The unabashed bass is used in interesting ways, to underscore the mystical forces at work, while the strong surrounds of this DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix include discrete rear-channel activity for voices and all manner of effects. We can feel ourselves right in the middle of a street fight, or on the dance floor of a busy, booming nightclub. The dialogue--such as it is--comes through crystal-clear. No complaints about this track.
The Extras
The audio commentary by producers Patrick Aiello and Ashok Amritraj and actors Neal McDonough and Chris Klein is accessible exclusively on the "Unleashed and Unrated" version of the movie, which runs about one minute longer. The Street Fighter: In-Movie Enlightenment trivia track serves up on-screen factoids, and a trio of still galleries is provided. "Recreating the Game: Arcade to Film Comparisons" is really just side-by-side portraits of the characters, while "The Fight in Black and White: Storyboard Gallery" and "Behind the Fight: Production Gallery" (photos) each cover several sequences from the film.
All of the video extras are presented in standard definition. The dozen deleted scenes run 15-and-a-half minutes, the one-minute Marvel vs. Capcom 2: Sneak Peek is simply a commercial for the recent videogame release, and "Becoming a Street Fighter" (19 minutes) explores the significance of the game and the transition to film. "Chun-Li: Bringing the Legend to Life" (six-and-a-half minutes) takes a look at the central character and the actress' training for the role, and Fox Movie Channel Presents Making a Scene (nine-and-a-half minutes) goes in-depth about Chun-Li's first fight, in the alley.
Disc Two carries a Digital Copy of the Unrated Cut, while Disc Three is a DVD not of The Legend of Chun-Li but of the animated "origins" movie, Street Fighter Round One: Fight!
Final Thoughts
Movies based on videogames are a tough sell with me, they seem to rely too much upon fandom for the arcade/console sensations which spawned them, and have a hard time holding up on their own. This is however a generous three-disc set, so if you do happen to be one of those fans… score!
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Product Details
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