Street Fighter is a video game series that's very near and dear to my heart. It is a series that's not exactly known for its deep and profound story, but the characters are iconic, from Ryu's dusty old white martial arts uniform and red headband, Ken's bushy eyebrows, to Chun Li's buns and thunder thighs.
Where this movie went very wrong, I think, was that they chose to create new characters rather than try to incorporate the rest of the Street Fighter cast in any meaningful fashion. I feel that this is a great disservice to the fan base. Even putting aside the lack of characters from the game (but where was Cammy?!), it was very hard (for me at least) to care about any of the new characters or the overall plot. And it didn't have to be that way. I don't think we have ever seen in the Street Fighter games or movies any hint as to Ryu's past: we take him for what he is now, a stoic world warrior whose greatest struggle is within. This could have been an interesting fresh look at this character, but in its execution it just fell flat.
If you haven't already, I would strongly recommend Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie (listed on IMDb as "Sutorîto Faitâ II gekijô-ban"), which does a much better job of putting together a coherent story and weaving in all of the characters.
Where this movie went very wrong, I think, was that they chose to create new characters rather than try to incorporate the rest of the Street Fighter cast in any meaningful fashion. I feel that this is a great disservice to the fan base. Even putting aside the lack of characters from the game (but where was Cammy?!), it was very hard (for me at least) to care about any of the new characters or the overall plot. And it didn't have to be that way. I don't think we have ever seen in the Street Fighter games or movies any hint as to Ryu's past: we take him for what he is now, a stoic world warrior whose greatest struggle is within. This could have been an interesting fresh look at this character, but in its execution it just fell flat.
If you haven't already, I would strongly recommend Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie (listed on IMDb as "Sutorîto Faitâ II gekijô-ban"), which does a much better job of putting together a coherent story and weaving in all of the characters.