STREET FIGHTER...or STREET WALKER??

In anticipation of the film, my friends and I rented the original "Street Fighter" film from 1994, although we knew the new film had no connection to it other than the "Street Fighter" name. While I liked that film as a child, seeing it again showed how much it had aged, but nonetheless, still provided the signature characters, costumes & fighting moves displayed in the game.
 
After seeing the television commercials for the "Legend of Chun-Li" film, I didn't really have any high hopes for the film, except for maybe the off-chance that it might surprise and be enjoyable. Additionally, hearing from friends and reviews that the film was really bad, I held off seeing it in theaters (03/12/09) until it got to that point where I thought theater owners would kick it out (after only two weeks). So, my friends and I decided to see it on that Thursday, not expecting any greatness.
 
And wow...it went so far below my low expectations that I didn't think it'd be possible. Seriously, you would think that the filmmakers intentionally wanted to ruin the "Street Fighter" name.
 

Acting, Kristin Kreuk was moderately okay as the title character. She had the feel of Chun-Li at some points, but that was boggled down by her cheesy dialogue and all those "strike a dramatic pose" moments in the film. Especially during a random club choreographed dance sequence where Chun-Li is supposed to seduce Cantana (yes, one of M. Bison's femme fatales).

The Black Eyed Peas' Taboo did not have much to do as Vega, except look the part and have a few throwaway lines. Michael Clarke Duncan did a better job as Balrog, compared to the 1994 actor, while the Neal McDonough's M. Bison was good, but not great.
 

Worst of all the actors, Chris Klein was tremendously horrible as Interpol cop Charlie Nash. From the odd-sounding delivery of his dialogue ("I love this job..."), to the "try-to-look-bad-ass" facial expressions and out-of-place romantic subplot with Moon Bloodgood's Maya Sunee, his character got the most laughs, jeers, and "I want to punch him so bad" responses from the theater audience, he really should be in the lead for Worst Supporting Actor at next year's Razzie Awards.
 

Visually, the film looked low budget. You would think that it'd at least look nice on the theater screen, but no. My friend even asked me, "This looks like a DVD movie!" Plotwise, it's very simplistic, and I guess they did manage to find a way to fill the 1 hour and 20-so minutes. The fighting scenes (which happened after gaps of exposition) seemed to be the only good thing about the film. Overall, the film disappointed beyond my beliefs. While it wasn't the worst film I've seen (I give that honor to a tie between "House of the Dead" and "The Wedding Date"), I'm really saddened that another possible-film franchise has gone down even before it had a chance.
 

To end my review, enjoy a sample of the "Do the screenwriters really believe people will enjoy this?" dialogue:
 
Gen (Chun-Li's master, training her to fight, and has pulled her arm behind her back): "Why are you ANGRY?"
Chun-Li: Because you're hurting meee!
Gen: You are only hurting yourself.