Street Fighter (Extreme Edition) – Blu Ray Review

The Film:

Growing up in the 90s, I was mostly a fighting game fanatic, when it came to video games. Part of that was my own martial art experiences and studies, and also the films of Jean-Claude Van Damme. The fighting game of choice for me, was Mortal Kombat. I loved the supernatural twist on tournament fighting, akin to Enter the Dragon, and of course, the violence. The gameplay might have been simplistic, but I believe it was the combination of familiarity to some of my favorite martial art films, the “fatalities”, and the storyline that made me a big fan of that series.

Along the lines of my need to play and own every fighting game, I came across the mega-popular Street Fighter II. Beautifully rendered in 2-D animation, the fighting engine was a bit more complex for me and it lacked graphic violence. I enjoyed it occasionally, but I would always go back to Mortal Kombat. That was until 1994′s Street Fighter came out with my hero, Jean-Claude Van Damme as Guile. My friends and I rushed to the cinema to catch it, and even then the film wasn’t my favorite of JCVD’s but somehow I seen it twice at the theater and countless times on VHS. I even briefly own the first bare bones DVD.

The general consensus was it is a stinker of a picture, a “bomb”, a dud with such ramifications that it started JCVD’s spiral out of the top tier and into a decreasing status that lead to direct-to-DVD films. Ouch. I’ll never proclaim that Steven de Souza’s Street Fighter is a good film or that it is a bad film, a truly bad film. It’s just stuck in the middle. Did it really ruin JCVD’s career? No, but it didn’t help, most likely this and a few other duds, helped the decline along with the action film genre changing during the late 90s. So his style was becoming a product of its time, it just so happened it started with Street Fighter.

Street Fighter is loud and cartoony, a compliment Batman and Robin would be jealous of. Filled with over the top characterizations, humor, and very standard story, these elements are those that will irk many film critics, film critics that don’t enjoy these films, hence the slap of bad press. The film does rely too much on humor, some is okay, but other times, it stops the film dead. At least all of the characters are here, sadly Blanka is stupid and Dhalsim has nothing to do, but Bison is appropriately evil and Guile is all-American. Let’s go cliches! Raul Julia is having a blast as M. Bison, a shame that this film was his last. JCVD is in his most comical role, spouting off numerous cracks and quips. Don’t over-analyze my words here: Street Fighter is a huge campy, fun film, but it also isn’t very good. Luckily, no nipples on the M. Bison suit. Certainly many of Van Damme’s films are better, and it is a product of why video game films are always D.O.A. It just doesn’t deserve the very cruel beat down of hatred it’s received over the years. For all of the campy elements, the over-the-top (and at times, cringe-inducing) humor, the limp fighting scenes, it’s miles better than the new reinterpretation of the classic video game (here).

Like seemingly all of Van Damme’s films, something was spawned off into a potential franchise, and with Street Fighter: The Movie I could finally be my hero, JCVD. The game used motion-capture technology ala the first two Mortal Kombat games, creating Guile’s likeness to Van Damme for the movie-tie in game. After trying to be like him, I could finally be him, albeit digitally. So, Street Fighter is a campy mess, filled with all of that cheese ball, midnight movie fun. Bad, yeah kinda, but good if you know what to look for. “Game Over!”

The Blu Ray:

Audio/Video: For an older action title, the DTS track is pretty good. Not as clean or robust as modern action films, but has some decent surround activity, bass, and presence. The high def video isn’t bad either, of course, I’ve seen better, even on older films, but the only real flaw is the noise running through the film, especially in low lit scenes. Oh well,l this is the best and probably last time we see a great looking and sounding Street Fighter, so why complain?

Commentary: Steven de Souza is alone here, but he is more than happy to talk about the film from his ideas to bring it from video game to silver screen. He does narrate the film at times, but also offers up a good but of fun info on the film.

Making of Street Fighter: Runs close to 8 minutes and shot in standard def. It’s an old EPK thing, that is kind of fun seeing for it’s charm but don’t expect any real info. Stick to the commentary track

Outtakes that are left over behind-the-scenes footage, Deleted Scenes involving Chun-Li that are eh, Archives that are full of gallery images, drawings, tie-in stuff like toys are kind of fun to see, Storyboards, Trailers, and Cyberwalk, an odd piece round out the extras for the film.

Street Fighter IV Trailers are the only extras in high def and are based on the selling of the game.

Conclusion: Van Damme’s “worst” is back in HD and the results are decent. Call it whatever you will, but it’s a very big guilty pleasure film for me.

The Film: Rating:

The Blu Ray: Rating: