When Will They Get The Hint…Video Game to Movie = Death
Hey Movie Fans!
Well if you thought last week’s releases were a bust…don’t hold your breath for this week. Apparently history has taught movie maker Andrzej Bartkowiak absolutely nothing about how well adaptations of popular games do at the box office. “Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li” is no exception to this rule.
Release Date: 02/27/09
Of all the ghastly plots one could think up, all video game movies are relatively the same. Try to wrap your mind around this synopsis taken from fandango.com: On the streets of Bangkok, crime boss Bison instigates a wave of violence in the slum districts, grabbing power and land no matter what the costs to its residents. His ruthless tactics are met by a team of heroes consisting of Chun-Li, a half-Caucasian/half-Asian beauty who gave up a life of privilege to become a street fighter, battling for those who cannot fight for themselves; her kung fu master, Gen, once a feared criminal, who now fights for the forces of good; Interpol cop Charlie Nash, who has tracked the crime boss all over the world, and Nash’s partner, gangland homicide detective Maya Sunee. I know, sounds like a winner yes?
I just don’t understand how this mistake could happen again! Did “Super Mario Brothers” and “Mortal Kombat” teach us nothing? Not to mention “Street Fighter,” the first atrocity of this franchise and more recent video game adaptations such as “Resident Evil.” Fans of the movies are most often fans of the video games themselves and consider these adaptations guilty pleasures more than works of art.
In a recent blog from EW.com about “Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li” a fan writes his opinions of the film. Seemingly stoked about the film’s release he states, “Smallville‘s Kristin Kreuk (pictured) stars as our lightning-kicking heroine, and the film is, roughly, the story of how she came to battle M. Bison (Neal McDonough) and his evil minions. Balrog (Michael Clark Duncan, which…amazing) and Vega (Black Eyed Pea Taboo) are both in it, but, gasp, no Ryu and no Ken. (No Dhalsim and no Sagat, either, so I’m going to have to hope yoga fire and tiger up-per-cut are in the sequel.)” The rest of his enthusiastic review is here, however note that you need only read it if you share the same liking for the Street Fighter game. He failed to mention how previous adaptations rarely did the games justice, because video game plots are not made to have complex story lines. Usually, we have to fight and kill to beat the bad guy and save the girl. The movie tries to add emotion that just doesn’t work.
For all you Street Fighter fans, I pray this movie is not as horrible as my expectations for it are. However, there is little to no hope for it and I pray they don’t make a sequel! Hollywood’s ignorance has gone too far to continue releasing the box office bombs these video game adaptations become. If you dare, check the movie’s trailer at the bottom. If violence isn’t your bag, maybe there’s a tween you know that you can take to see the pop sensations, the Jonas Brothers to see their live action concert in “Jonas Brothers: The 3-D Concert Experience.” Please don’t die of excitement now! Until next time movie fans!
-Lauren-
