I'm not ashamed to admit that I happen to enjoy the hell out of quite a few videogame-to-film adaptations. Popcorn flicks at their purest (and silliest), I get an undeniable kick out of watching my favourite videogame characters, no matter how botched during translation, onscreen. From Mortal Kombat to Dead or Alive, and even Prince of Persia, it's safe to say that I have a soft spot for the subgenre, and am quite able to ignore their many, many obvious flaws.

The Street Fighter franchise, however, hasn't fared too well when it comes to making the jump to celluloid; from Van Damme's train-wreck, Street Fighter (1994) to the piss poor attempt at reviving the franchise with the woeful Street Fighter: Legend of Chun Li (2009), the potential for a truly awesome film has been squandered on either pantomimic performances of the 90’s or wasted by casting complete cyphers (Taboo as Vega, anyone? GAH!).

But there is a light at the end of this tunnel. Street Fighter II is, in my mind, still the most enjoyable videogame adaptation to date, taking the Street Fighter license and truly expanding upon its colorful cast of characters, uninhibited by the budget restrictions of its live-action siblings. Sure, the script is a little patchy in places, and there may be a few questionable performances in the voice department, but Street Fighter II offers up some absolutely stellar set-pieces, enhanced by a truly awesome soundtrack and a cracking finale.

The plot isn't all that inventive or taxing. The savage leader of international terrorist organisation, Shadowlaw, Bison is searching the globe to find the world's best fighters so that he can obtain their fighting skills for his own personal gains. He sets his sights upon Ryu, a nomadic martial artist, who managed to beat Bison's general, Sagat, a towering Thai champion, many years prior. Unable to pinpoint Ryu's exact location, Bison decides on the next best thing; Ryu's childhood friend and fighting equal, Ken Masters.

The film does overload on cameos, but the script accommodates for this by making sure that each character, no matter how brief an onscreen presence, contributes to the overall storyline, or at least offers up a memorable sequence at the very least. It was inevitable that certain characters from *Street Fighter's large roster would be given the short straw, but even so, it's fun to spot some blink-and-you'll-miss Easter eggs scattered throughout the movie.

So, how is the action? In short: freakin' awesome! The film contains one of my all-time favourite fight sequences, animated or otherwise. Yep, I'm talking about the stunning display of violence and animated choreography between Vega and Chun-Li. Charged by KMFDM's track “Ultra”, what transpires is a whopping 5-minute fight sequence that's bound to have your hairs standing on the back of your neck. A vicious and relentless assault by claw-wielding, card-carrying psychopath, Vega, it's a cheeky throw down (with gratuitous shots of Chun-li's underwear as Vega slices through her nightgown) with devastating results. Arguably, the film never quite manages to reach these soaring heights again in terms of emotional resonance and balls-to-the-wall action, even during the impressive final fight. But nevertheless, the action is plentiful and darn impressive through and through.

If Street Fighter never manages to make a worthy live-action equivalent, I'm perfectly content with this anime sitting comfortably among my DVD collection. With some impressive and fluid animation that still rivals, and even surpasses, anime films today, Street Fighter II is a worthwhile foray into anime for those of you unsure of the medium and its often baffling narrative style. It's the best blockbuster film Street Fighter never had.
 
   -- Mark Ritchie