Street Fighter: Do Games Make Good Movies?

Do Games Make Good Movies hosts break down Video Game inspired movies to answer the age old question: DO GAMES MAKE GOOD MOVIES?!?! In today’s episode, hosts Kaori Takee, Mark Donica, and special guest Roger Craig Smith break down Street Fighter! Street Fighter is a 1994 American action film written and directed by Steven E. de Souza. It is based loosely on the video game Street Fighter II, produced by Capcom, and stars Jean-Claude Van Damme, and Raúl Juliá, along with supporting performances by Byron Mann, Damian Chapa, Kylie Minogue, Ming-Na Wen and Wes Studi. The film altered the plot of the original game and motives of the Street Fighter characters. It also significantly lightened the tone of the adaptation, inserting several comical interludes (for instance, one particular fight scene between E. Honda andZangief pays homage to the old Godzilla films). The film was a commercial success, making approximately three times its production costs, but was panned by critics. However, Raúl Juliá’s performance as General M. Bison was widely praised and garnered him a nomination for Best Supporting Actor at the Saturn Awards. Julia, who at the time was suffering from stomach cancer (as evidenced by his pale and gaunt facial complexion throughout the movie), took the role at the request of his two children. This was Julia’s final posthumous theatrical performance, and he died two months before the film’s release. The film is dedicated to his memory. Two video game tie-ins based on the film were released which used digitized footage of the actors performing fight moves, similar to the presentations in the Mortal Kombat series of games.