Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li (2009)

Let's take a moment to consider what a lousy actor Chris Klein is. Merely adequate in American Pie (in a role that demanded little more from him than to sing, play lacrosse and look pretty), the guy has gone on to further show that he has the talent and emotional range of a brick, with some truly lousy performances that make me wonder why he isn't currently waiting on tables. I thought it couldn't get much worse than Rollerball and Say It Isn't So, but in Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li, Klein goes the extra mile, putting in a turn (as tough cop Nash) that is inexplicably bad in every way, each line delivered in a raspy macho manner whether it suits or not, and with a range of bizarre facial expressions that are hard not to find funny.To be fair, it must be said that it's not all Klein's fault that The Legend of Chun-Li is as terrible as it is—almost everyone in this clunker is dreadful, from Kristin Kreuk as the titular heroine, who never once convinces that she is capable of unleashing major whoop-ass, to Michael Clarke Duncan as musclebound henchman Balrog, who hams it up a treat, to Neal McDonough as head villain Bison, who gives Duncan a run for his money in the overacting stakes. Maybe something got lost in translation between the cast and Polish director Andrzej Bartkowiak, but then again, maybe it's just that everyone involved stinks.Admittedly, Bartkowiak handles some of the fight scenes well enough, but he also throws in quite a few real howlers as well, worst of all being Chun-Li's nightclub seduction of lesbian henchwoman Cantana (Josie Ho), who she lures to the ladies washroom for a smackdown, a majorly mishandled moment that makes one wonder how anyone could have considered it a good idea.

Hilariously bad video game movie that doesn't miss a single cliché. Petite, whispery-voiced Kristin Kreuk is the title character, a concert pianist who undergoes martial arts training to get revenge on her father's killer (Neal McDonough). This is the kind of movie that is just awful if you watch it alone but, if you watch it with friends, you can have a great time making fun of it. The direction is terrible, the script is moronic, the action lackluster, and the performances range from mediocre to pathetically bad. Chris Klein -- oh my god Chris Klein -- you have to see this turd just for his performance. It is the worst! I couldn't believe what I was watching. Was this guy for real or was he deliberately being bad because he hated the script? I mean, he's Chris Klein so nobody expects much from him to begin with but his performance here was one of the all-time stinkers. Every line delivery, every facial expression, every single scene he has is a lesson in bad acting.Street Fighter was pretty big in the '90s, which is when they made the last Street Fighter movie. Why in the world they thought Street Fighter was still popular enough to warrant a movie in 2009 is beyond me. I guess it was either this or Q-Bert. It's manure but it's worth seeing if you enjoy laughing at bad movies with your buddies.

When producers know that the 1994 movie completely flopped into nothing but an inside joke, they could have turned around and decided to make a serious movie that could have driven the Street Fighter game to new levels, but no, they crapped it all down the tubes. The sequencing is absolutely terrible, they start out with a narrative, and have a few good parts, but then the narrative just keeps going and the movie keeps bogging itself down with very poor wire-stunt work, and some of the worst acting I've ever seen. The "kungfu master" Gen, who is obviously a combined character of Ken and Ryu, has the most cliché dialog ever thought up to go along with his infinitely cliché role. The only really good performances I could find were from Michael Clark Duncan and Neal McDonough. Through out the movie, you could very easily predict what was going to happen several minutes before it actually did. All in all, another depressing look at one of my favorite childhood past-times, put into live action and carelessly flailed across the screen.

This terrible movie makes Van Damme movie look like a masterpiece in comparison. The movie makers were promising a more mature picture that will change the fate of movies based on computer games forever. Promises , promises… The movie seems to follow "Batman begins". The story about Chun Li reminds me quite a lot of Wayne's story – similar motivation , traveling around the world , finding a teacher from secret society , becoming an urban legend. The inspiration is good , but it's badly made.The movie wants to be realistic , yet the fights defy the laws of gravity and there are magical powers too. The Dark knight trilogy had more or less far fetched science fiction gadgets , but bringing a magic into movie is a completely different thing. I mean seriously it just looks stupid and laughable when other characters seem to treat it as something natural . Either the movie makers should make a movie in fantastical world (like Van Damme's movie) where magic would be natural or set the movie in real world and don't use it . You can't have both the realistic world and magic . Same goes for the over the top fights . The lack of gravity in "Matrix" makes sense , here it doesn't.The acting is awful . The only good actor here is Michael Clarke Duncan (RIP) , but even he is limited by terrible dialogue lines. It's sad to see him in another crappy movie. I guess it was really hard for him to find a good role worthy his talent considering his physical appearance. Kristin Kreuk who plays the main role is pretty and actually OK . She puts a heart in her performance , but she can't save this big mess. Other actors and actresses should never do anything related to movie making.I doubt that fans of computer game will be satisfied with this movie as adaptation . With the exception of Chun Li other characters who appear here barely resemble the characters from the game. Especially Vega who was supposed to be bad ass , yet ends pathetic. I understand the need for changes , but in the end Van Damme's movie has much more cheesy charm and reminds the game better. It also doesn't take itself too seriously like "Chun Li movie" .Bad acting , dialogue , badly written screenplay , many scenes who were supposed to be awesome are laughable (the seduction of Bison's assistant , soul into child , escape from torture and many more) , dumb fights , weak special effects. Jesus ,seriously better watch Van Damme's movie . At least is unpretentious and funny.I give it 1/10.