The New Street Fighter Movie

[Zangief]

Okay, kids, here's the news as I got it just recently.

All the rumors floating around as to who's going to be cast as our various Street Fighter heroes and heroines have become mostly moot as, aside from Chun Li, M. Bison, Durai and an appearance from Ken and Ryu, the new Street Fighter feature film is being said not to contain even cameos from the rest of our favorite characters. The film, from Hyde Park Entertainment, is slated for release in 2008 to commemorate the 20th Anniversary of Street Fighter.

For a while there, I'd been pondering, like so many others, which actor would be my successor next year in the role of Zangief. At the top of the list was Batista, followed closely first by Eddie Murphy and then by Brock Lesnar. Some really sharp fans suggested Bill Goldberg (I think he'd be great notwithstanding the fact that I'm already in love with him) and the best candidate yet, Andrew Bryniarski.

Andrew not only has credibility with fans for being the very first screen actor to portray Zangief but, since the new story in this film is set in the past before they became Street Fighters (haven't they already done this as thoroughly as anybody could in "Street Fighter II V"?), Andrew would be fairly close to the right age for the role. In "Street Fighter" (1994) Bryniarsky played a then contemporary Red Cyclone at the prime wrestling age of 38. The only problem I had was in believing 25 year old Andrew to be a 38 year old man. Aside from that I love his portrayal and I thought he really captured the character. At age 48, even I'm two and a half years short of my character's current age (51). Since Andrew's a decade younger than I, he is, ironically, now old enough to play a younger Zangief (if that makes any sense). This sort of strategy worked for George Reeves. Because he'd already starred in the film, "Superman Versus the Mole Men", fans already accepted him in the role when he was cast in the TV series.

Alas, reports have it that the big Russian lug will not make an appearance after all. Word in the industry is that the new film will focus on bringing in a new demographic rather than target Street Fighter fans. The rationale for this has been that the producers believe it more important to tell a great story and not be constrained in any way by adhering to existing legend. Expect to see certain liberties taken, then, with the plot. Reports have it that, in this offering, Chun Li's father is working for Bison, then gets kidnapped by him before being dispatched by the General. No mention, to my knowledge, is made of Cammy nor her complicity in the crime via her famed first attempt on his life. No mention, either, of Balrog as a double agent in this affair.

At the very least it means that I get to hold onto the Mohawk for a while longer and you can bet I have no problem with that!

[CaptainSawada]

Yeah, I remeber Andrew's preformance, "QUICK, Change the Channel!!" Haha priceless.

[Zangief]

My other favorite from him was, "You got... PAID?" 

[nagato]

I wasn't sure where to put this so if this is the wrong place feel free to move it to the right one.

According to comingsoon.net The actress Kristin Kreuk of Smallville fame has been cast to play the character Chun-Li in the 2009 movie Street fighter: The legend of Chun-Li. Her father is Dutch and her mother is Chinese but was born in Indonesia. She also apparently already has martial arts training.

The story can be found here.
http://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=40381
And her biography can be found here.
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0471036/

[Stein]

Well, at least she looks more like Chun-Li than Jessica Biel does.

[vegafabiolacerda]

I can actually see her as Chun-Li, or maybe it was because they had her next to a picture of Chun-Li

[Zangief]

Yeah, I think this casting makes a hell of a lot more sense.

[vegafabiolacerda]

ms. kreuk has some big shoes to fill though, let's hope she can handle it.

[cristo606]

has anyone seen the last street fighter movie with that girl from smallville? i heard negative reviews but the action they sayw as pretty good. I guess I gotta see it.

[Zangief]

I'll be honest. I read literally dozens of reviews after the film came out and not one of them was even mostly positive. The fans certainly hated it and, let's face it, its thunder had already been stolen two days before its release by Capcom's own feature film, "Street Fighter IV: The Ties that Bind", which I saw and really liked. That one got mixed but mostly good reviews. I thought the B.L.E.C.E. secret weapon was gruesome and pretty damned scary. Like "Legend of Chun Li", "Ties that Bind" was also a period piece except that it takes place in the mid to late nineties rather than the early eighties.

[ericard production]

The funny thing is, The Tied That Binds already been alot of Pirated DVD from my country, It must be their SIN that they were working with. XD

[Zangief]

I KNEW Seth was responsible, LOL! Yeah, it amazed me how quickly that one got pirated. Of course, it beats the crap out of "Legend of Chun Li" and is a lot more popular.

My favorite right now is the latest Street Fighter movie, "Street Fighter Flash Collab". Very funny and I love the tip of the hat they gave our "Later Years" series with that Zangief & Guile scene. Everybody seems to love this latest SF outing (AND it's interactive)!

[Whiterabbit]

Hey there Zangief- you hold onto that mohican- After seeing SF-ties that bind, and the fact that SF 4 sold really well, it wouldn't surprise me for another big live action film (let's hope Tekken the movie puts pay to that!! I hope I'm wrong, but I'm scared it'll be the same old story-if/when they do another big (ish!) budget movie- execs taking a big property and just saying "do wahtever you want with it- as long as we have a hot asian girl, and a big guy, and a blonde american, that's fine"...they never appreciate the history, or the story (or the fans on the whole).....

Looking forward to seeing Zangief/Brimstone vid!

[Zangief]

Thanks, White Rabbit! I agree totally with you. Hollywood never seems to get any kind of fan-driven property right. In the case of Street Fighter, they're so obsessed with weighing down the production with A-listers, who almost never carry off the roles, that they have no clue that, with something as successful on its own terms such as Street Fighter, the franchise alone is the star. Hyde Park learned the hard way after they'd announced that they were not interested in marketing "Legend of Chun Li" to SF fans. When the date of the premiere approached, it became all too clear that the only people in the front lines who will determine its eventual success or failure, are, in fact, the fans. By then the writers and producer found themselves having to explain, in a manner that came off to many as a disclaimer of sorts, why the film will bear little or no resemblance to the Street Fighter we all know.

We saw this coming when they dismissed the fans back in 2007 and we could have warned them but I'm sure they wouldn't have listened to us.

[sune]

Before the movie came out I remained "cautiously optimistic", hoping they would make a respectable video game movie based on SF. But everyone knows that didn't turn out to be true, and my hopes were crushed (thus I never went to see the movie)

If SF live action ever worked, it was with SF: The Later Years. SF:TLY could appeal to a general audience without "leaving" them out in the cold while also adding elements that longtime SF fans could appreciate. In the end, I suppose it all has to do with balance. If a company produces a VG film they have to be knowledgeable in what they adapt while also not forgetting to leave regular moviegoers clueless. Plus, there needs to be creative balance too (Ex. The movie can have its own twist on things while making sure not to be entirely opposite of the source material).

Those are just my 2 cents for y'all