Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie by Gisaburō Sugii (1994)
I have very fond memories from high school of pumping quarter after quarter into the Street Fighter II arcade machine at the gas station. Guile was my favorite character, and it was always a thrill when I could successfully pull off his “Sonic Boom” or “Flash Kick” special attack to take down my opponent. Had I watched Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie back then, I suppose it might have become a nostalgic favorite. Watching it now, however, on the cusp of my 49th birthday, it has no such appeal. Sure, it’s cool to see animated versions of Guile, Ryu, Chun-Li, et al. take on the evil M. Bison and the forces of Shadowlaw. But in its attempt to give every single character a moment to shine, the movie’s plot hops all over the place, leaving several characters’ storylines unresolved while giving others little more than a glorified cameo. And though I respect the effort to treat Street Fighter II seriously and maturely, the result is surprisingly boring, with long drawn out scenes that I can only assume were intended to create drama and atmosphere. In other words, a movie with the words “Street Fighter” in its title should be a bit more exciting than this.
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