A new Street Fighter movie is due to hit theaters in 2026, and while the original was universally regarded as a train wreck, the remake needs to bring back one element that defined 1994’s Street Fighter. Written and directed by one of the 1980s and 1990s’ go-to action filmmakers, Steven E. de Souza (Die Hard, The Running Man), Street Fighter adapted the content of Capcom’s video game into a movie starring Jean-Claude Van Damme. Van-Damme portrayed one of the game’s fighters, Colonel Guile, and his team of recruited fighters as they attempt to bring down the evil General M. Bison.
The movie featured many of the video game’s most famous and popular characters, including Chun-Li (Ming-Na Wen), Ryu (Byron Mann), and Zangief (Andrew Bryniarski) separated into two camps, leading to plenty of fighting action. While video game movies historically haven’t been successful either critically or at the box office, Street Fighter is regarded as a bomb among bombs for several reasons. However, one of the things that Street Fighter got right needs to be adopted by the upcoming remake.
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Street Fighter Should Embrace The Campiness Of The Video Game (Like The 1994 Film Did)
The Original Was Not Afraid Of Being A Video Game Movie
Street Fighter had very little going for it, but the tone that it strikes for a video game movie is spot-on in how over-the-top and campy it is. With characters as colorful and varied as the cast of the massively popular video game, it was important that the movie not come across too serious, especially when it comes to the costumes. The 1994 Street Fighter leaned all the way into making sure that the costumes came across as accurate, regardless of how ridiculous the outfit looked in real life.
Street Fighter was the last movie for iconic actor Raul Julia, who played M. Bison, and he was actually awarded a posthumous nomination for Best Supporting Actor at the Saturn Awards.
The dialogue was absolutely loaded with cheesy one-liners, which isn’t necessarily a problem when the cast is filled with video game characters with famous intonations yet limited personalities. The characters themselves also didn’t feel like real people, which again is fine when they’re supposed to be real-world imitations of video game characters. The general embrace of the campiness that is inherent in video game movies led to a perfect tone for Street Fighter, and it’s something that the new movie needs to lean into as opposed to some sort of gritty, realistic, updated adaptation.
What Went Wrong With The 1994 Street Fighter Movie
It Was Cheap-Looking, Not Charmingly Campy
While the campy tone may have been the right call, the execution was lacking. Street Fighter crossed over the line from campy to cheap-looking, and for a movie with a $35 million budget, that’s a big problem. The costumes may have been video game-accurate, but they came across as something that was pulled out of a Halloween shop, not something that professional Hollywood costume designers. The performances across the board ranged from overly enthusiastic to unwatchable, and several of the parts seemed to be terribly miscast.
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Street Fighter – Key Details |
|||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Director |
Release Date |
Budget |
Box Office Gross |
RT Tomatometer Score |
RT Popcornmeter Score |
|
Steven E. De Souza |
December 23rd, 1994 |
$35 million |
$99.4 million |
11% |
20% |
Raul Julia’s performance as M. Bison yielded plenty of acclaim, as his commitment to the part showed a clear understanding of the desired tone, even if he flirted with the line as far as overacting is concerned. Except for M. Bison, the characters themselves are dull reflections of their video game counterparts, and the movie is lacking in any sort of engaging elements aside from the over-the-top effects and forced, textbook action sequences. Ultimately, the 2026 remake should not hearken back to 1994’s Street Fighter in any way except for the campy tone.
Street Fighter is an action film featuring Jean-Claude Van Damme as Col. Guile, who leads martial arts heroes in a battle against the tyrannical Dictator M. Bison, played by Raúl Juliá. Released in 1994, the movie is inspired by the popular video game series, incorporating its characters and settings.
- Release Date
-
December 23, 1994
- Runtime
-
102 minutes
- Character(s)
-
Colonel William Guile
, General M. Bison
, Chun-Li Zang
, Ryu Hoshi
, Ken Masters
, Cammy White
, Victor Sagat
, Dr. Dhalsim
, Balrog
, Vega
, E. Honda
, Zangief
, Dee Jay
, Carlos Blanka
, Thunder Hawk
, Captain Sawada
, A.N. Official
, Sagat Gang Member (uncredited)
, A.N. Soldier
, Bison’s Torturer
, GNT News Anchor
, Lonely Cook (as Ed Pressman)
, Lab Guard
, Bison’s Architect
, Bison’s Scientist - Director
-
Steven E. de Souza
- Producers
-
Edward R. Pressman
, Kenzo Tsujimoto
, Sasha Harari - Writers
-
Steven E. de Souza
- Franchise
-
Street Fighter
- Sequel
-
Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li
- Cinematographer
-
William A. Fraker
- Producer
-
Kenzo Tsujimoto, Edward R. Pressman
- Production Company
-
Edward R. Pressman Productions, Capcom Entertainment
- Sfx Supervisor
-
Steven R. Benson, Brian Cox
- Budget
-
$35 million
