martial arts movies

if you're into martial arts movies and fighting games 1994 was a great year. now, why is that? 1994 gave us what i consider to be two of what are not only

the best martial arts films to come out of hong kong, but two of the best martial arts movies ever made. these films being fist of legend and legend of the drunken master 2.

f.y.i. 30% of a good kung fu movie is putting "legend" in the title. fist of legend is jet li's best film and showcases just how impressive his fighting and athletic abilities can be. it was also the break out film for fight choreographer yuen woo ping, who went on to international success with his choreography in the matrix films. fist of legend exemplifies woo ping's

style, with its precise strikes and stunning wire work. every fan of the matrix needs to go back and watch this movie. i like keanu, but he is no jet li. woah... not to be outdone, jackie chan released his masterpiece legend of the drunken master 2. following in the footsteps of its predecessor, drunken

master 2 is like the t2 of kung fu movies. it takes everything that worked in the first movie and turns it up to 11. the punches are harder, the kicks are faster, and the action is more intense. creating the best of jackie's period films, as well as featuring his best hand to hand fight choreography. not only that, it

features ho-sung pak. my name is ho-sung pak. i am an actor in real life. i play a character named liu kang... thats right, jackie chan vs. liu kang. if that doesn't qualify as... i don't know what does. speaking of mortal kombat, 94' also saw the home release of mortal kombat 2.

which is considered by many, myself included, to be the best in the series. competing for the attention of fighting game fans, was the often imitated and never duplicated super street fighter 2. although not as good as super street fighter 2 turbo, if you were rocking the genesis or super nintendo, super street fighter ii wast the best way

to bring arcade experience home. now, if that wasn't enough to make fighting fans cream in their pants like a middle aged man looking at kim kardashian's newest ass shot. 94' gave us the theatrical release of street fighter ii the animated movie. like a reese's peanut buttercup, street fighter 2 the animated movie is the best of both worlds.

it takes fighting games and martial arts cinema and puts it in the anime blender. the result is a movie so potent with bad-assness, it'll make your brain melt. directed by gisaburo sugii, from touch and night on the galactic railroad, street fighter 2 manages to take the game and adapt it into an anime, without losing the core appeal

of what made the game a classic. it not only adapts the story and characters, but also manages to adapt the tone of the games as well. even though i love the mortal komabat movie it doesn't fully capture the feel of the games. that's not the case with street fighter. street fighter 2 the animated movie makes you feel like you're playing super street fighter ii. so much so

that after watching the film for this review i had to bust out my copy super street fighter 2 and get in a few rounds. (sigh), call me old fashioned but there really isn't anything more relaxing than playing super street fighter 2, on a super nintendo, while drinking a nice cold bottle of bud. you know i appreciate the producers called the movie street fighter 2,

and not street fighter, like some people. but, that's actually a misnomer. you see, these are the characters in street fighter 2. this movie features characters from super street fighter 2 the new challengers. like cammy t. ha... fei long, dee jay, mahatma gandhi... why the fuck is ghandi in this mo...

like any good martial arts film, the strength of street fighter 2 the animated movie comes from its fight scenes. the fight scenes in street fighter ii have an immense sense of weight and speed. it feels like the characters are inhabiting the space they're in, a lot of anime fights in this period were hyper stylized. they took the fight so far

into the realm of fantasy, it stopped feeling like two people actually fighting. which is fine. but going back to yuen woo ping, if the fight choreography of dragon ball z is similar to the matrix reloaded, than the fight choreography of street fighter 2 the animated movie is similar to the original matrix. the fights have a stripped down grittiness

to them, and they really make you feel every hit. which is no mistake, because the fights in street fighter 2 were choreographed by k-1 founder kazuyoshi ishii and champion kickboxer andy hug. the best example of the full contact style of street fighter 2 is seen in the fight with chun-li and vega. taking the aggressive

style of hug, sugii manages to turn chun-li vs. vega into a bloody, no holds barred brawl. i've seen chun-li and vega fight plenty of times in the game, but this fight is brutal, it hurts to watch. the fight is the centerpiece of this movie, and it really channels the energy

of a real life kickboxing match. every punch is vicious and vega's claws have never been deadlier. it's also worth mentioning the opening fight between ryu and sagat. this fight isn't as technically proficient as chun-li vs. vega, but this fight isn't about that. it's about the mood. similar to what gareth evans would

do twenty years later with the raid, the ryu vs. sagat fight is all about setting up atmosphere and the mindset of the fighter. the camera pans and fades in and out letting the viewer feel the anticipation of the fighters. you see, some directors think a good fight is all about hitting each other, and

smashing into stuff. but other more considerate directors know that when two characters of equal ability are facing off with each other, the fight will not be a wall to wall slobberknocker, it'll be slow and calculated. it's like a chess game. each one can knock the other out with one move. so they have to consider each move

carefully. both fighters wait slowly for their opening and make each strike quick and deliberate. we may have missed out on tyson vs. holyfield in the early 90's, but this fight more than makes up for it. adding to the tension in the scene is the soundtrack composed by tetsuya komuro. the simple guitar riff is very cool, and defiantly

gets you blood pumping for the rest of the movie. although, his music does kinda fall flat as the movie goes on. maybe it's because i didn't grow up in japan, but the j-rock/j-pop songs don't always seem to fit. it might be because i'm a stupid american, but as far as i'm concerned the dubbed version with the grunge soundtrack is light-years ahead of the japanese version. i love when the movie

cuts to seattle and silverchair starts playing. actually it would make more sense for alice in chains to start playing, being that they're from seattle. the grunge music really gives the film a sense and place that's missing in the japanese version. overall, i think the american cast does a better job with characters than the japanese cast. blasphemous, i know. a

good example is gouken, ken and ryu's master. in the japanese version he sounds frail and weak. the american one has a strong and commanding voice. as he should, he trained two of the greatest fighters in the world. he also says cool shit like: ken! what do you see beyond your fist?

i also like american ryu. he sounds like what ryu should sound like. i don't know what's going on with japanese ryu, the voice actor kåjirå shimizu is doing some weird clint eastwood whisper thing doesn't really work. you know, sometimes less is more and other times less is less.

okay, i know what you're saying. but paul, what about the story? alright, lets talk about the story. spoiler warnings for anyone who cares, because i know how sensitive people can be with plot details. fucking people with their spoilers... the movie has been out for 20 yea... the story is definitely the weakest part of the film. but it's also the weakest part of the game. actually, i don't think the plot is

all that bad, and they do a good job of making sense of the game's story. the story to the street fighter ii videogame is basically m. bison holds a tournament called the world warrior tournament and fighters from around the world enter. that's it. every character has different motivations for entering the tournament. like, ryu wants to be a better fighter,

chun-li wants revenge, guile wants revenge, ken wants to fight ryu. there is no big thing pushing the story forward like mortal kombat. the movie takes all character motivations from the games but removes the world warrior tournament. now, bison has sent monitor cyborgs all over the world to collect

fighters, and their data so he can use them in his psycho experiments to become a stronger fighter and ultimately take over the world. it's fucking ridiculous. but the story exists as a way to set up the action. things only happen so characters can start fighting. this is

touchstone of martial arts films. also, with the amount of characters in super street fighter ii, the film does a good job of introducing them all, keeping them all relevant to the plot, and giving them all a moment to shine. front and center is the relationship between ken and ryu. as it should be, given that they are the heart and soul

of the street fighter series and the heart and soul of this film. dramatically, the ryu and ken flashback scenes are the best in the film. both the american and japanese actors do a great job of imbuing their characters with nuance and subtle emotions. and, if that isn't enough if it wasn't for these scenes

we wouldn't have street fighter alpha. the movie also explores the relationship between guile and chun-li. which i liked and i wished there was more of. they kind of have a mismatched buddy-cop thing going on. i wish they would give them a spin-off. i don't know why, but a action rom-com with guile and chun-li sounds fucking amazing.

now, there are plenty of plot hoes and things that don't add up. like: why are t. hawk and ken fighting in this warehouse? was ken just hanging out there and t. hawk showed up? how will collecting the fight data from street fighters help bison to take over the world? why did guile and chun-li get into

a plane to tell dee jay bison is watching him? they don't have phones? what the hell happened to sagat? did he kill cammy? if ryu and ken were fighting bison near the laotian border, how did eliza pick up ken? did she drive from seattle to laos? why is bison in that truck? why the fuck is gandhi in this mov...

if you're one of those people asking these questions, you are missing the point. the plot doesn't matter, the action is what's important. now. someone once begged the question: if all you wanted from a street fighter movie was awesome fight scenes? then, why not just play the videogame? okay dude. here

is my answer. this, is not equal to this. and this... is not equal to this. is not equal to this. action in games and action in film

is enjoyed differently. action in games is about participation. action in film is about spectacle. by that logic... if all wanted from a street fighter movie videogame? by your logic there's no point in watching the fast and furious movies because you can always just play the need foe speed. at least that way you don't have to be assaulted

by korn at the end of it! yeesh! what the fuck is wrong with korn? what kind of shit are you listening to? another interesting thing worth mentioning is the different versions of the film that exist. the copy that i have, is the 2006 dvd be manga entertainment. it contains the original uncut japanese version,

as well as a slightly cut three minute shorter english version. from what i understand the english version cuts some language, shortens the intro, and takes out chunks of the chun-li shower scene. since we're on the topic, let's talk about the chun-li shower scene. some people call it gratuitous and unnecessary, but i like it, and it's one

of my favorite parts of the film. and, not just for the obvious reasons. i like it for obvious reasons. going back to atmosphere and tone, the tranquility of this scene is meant to juxtapose the future fight with vega. sugii is giving you some quiet breathing room and lulling you into a false sense of security. because in a

couple of minutes shit is about to get real. like a magic trick, this is what good filmmaking does. it draws your attention to one area as it sets up the action in another area. you can call it "cinematic slight of hand." also... beeewbs! so in closing i want to recommend street fighter 2 the animated movie

to fighting game fans and martial arts movie buffs. and i wanna let them know, if you give this one a shot, you will not be disappointed.