Though you would think that the critical obliteration of a major motion picture based on a gaming franchise would cause concern for said franchise's progenitor, Capcom seems to be unaffected by the poor reception of the recently released film Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li. In response to the movie's harsh scrutiny, Capcom communications head Chris Kramer simply replied, "Critics were unkind to the first Street Fighter movie as well, but that film has been ridiculously profitable for Capcom over the last decade." Sadly, that success came at the cost of the life of our beloved Raúl Juliá. Was it worth it, Capcom?
Kramer explained that from this point on, Capcom will be adopting the cinematic strategies of Marvel Comics, whose heavily branded, co-produced films have helped revitalize sales of its ink-and-paper offerings. If the company is following Marvel's cinematic example, we sure hope Legend of Chun-Li is its rare, Elektra-esque misstep, and that future titles (Clock Tower and Lost Planet adaptations are currently in development) will be of a more favorable, Spider-Man 2-esque caliber.
Reader Comments (30)
Posted: Mar 3rd 2009 4:08PM TheDarkWayne said
I think you mean the "common Elektra, Daredevil, Spider-Man 3" misstep
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Posted: Mar 3rd 2009 4:24PM MarkezJM said
I think they did a great thing in Daredevil: Ben Affleck. They should've kept it up; ie Ben Affleck as Spider Man, Ben Affleck as Elektra, etc.
I think they knew this had bomb written all over it. And in all seriousness, the only role Ben Affleck should likely ever be allowed again is another Keith Olberman bit on SNL.
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I think they knew this had bomb written all over it. And in all seriousness, the only role Ben Affleck should likely ever be allowed again is another Keith Olberman bit on SNL.
Posted: Mar 3rd 2009 5:26PM (Unverified) said
When you think about it, all Marvel's really done are two good Spider-Man movies, two good X-Men movies, and (IMO) Iron Man.
However, it must be noted that the movie sucking often has little impact on the vast sums of money it can bring down, taking for example every Marvel movie except those 5 above (and Elektra). If Street Fighter had the kind of name recognition (or the movie the kind of marketing) that Marvel flicks have, it probably would have done well in spite of itself.
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However, it must be noted that the movie sucking often has little impact on the vast sums of money it can bring down, taking for example every Marvel movie except those 5 above (and Elektra). If Street Fighter had the kind of name recognition (or the movie the kind of marketing) that Marvel flicks have, it probably would have done well in spite of itself.
Posted: Mar 3rd 2009 6:39PM Batzarro The worlds WOrst Detect said
For Daredevil and Elektra, that mistake was called Fox.
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Posted: Mar 3rd 2009 4:09PM Hyams said
How about making a Resident Evil movie that is actually, you know, a horror? The games are scary - why aren't the films?
Also, make a Devil May Cry film. Give it loads of crazy over-the-top action and smack talking, and you can't go wrong.
Oh, and make Mega Man Legends 3, just because.
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Also, make a Devil May Cry film. Give it loads of crazy over-the-top action and smack talking, and you can't go wrong.
Oh, and make Mega Man Legends 3, just because.
Posted: Mar 3rd 2009 4:11PM shadowhowl1900 said
totally agree with your first para.
But there hasnt been too many good marvel movies either. DC is way better IMO
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But there hasnt been too many good marvel movies either. DC is way better IMO
Posted: Mar 3rd 2009 4:40PM AoE said
The games are scary? Um.... maybe the room i'm playing in has never been dark enough...
Anyhow, I know I am probably alone in this, but I actually really enjoy the live action RE films... to be honest I can't think of a video game to film adaptation I like more (there really aren't many to like at all).
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Anyhow, I know I am probably alone in this, but I actually really enjoy the live action RE films... to be honest I can't think of a video game to film adaptation I like more (there really aren't many to like at all).
Posted: Mar 3rd 2009 5:01PM cuteSAVAGE said
Maybe they aren't really all that scary, but at least they try. The RE films, especially 2 and 3, make no attempt at horror. Instead, they trade in the moody atmosphere cheap, primitive, action... with super scary zombies!
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Posted: Mar 3rd 2009 4:41PM cuteSAVAGE said
What else has DC put to screen other than Batman that turned out well? Superman Returns was a massive letdown. Are we including V for Vendetta, History of Violence, and Road to Perdition? Those were great, but if we include those, we'd also have to include The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. Constantine was good, but a bit too disconnected from the source material.
And let us not forget about Catwoman...
At least Watchmen looks to be quite good.
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And let us not forget about Catwoman...
At least Watchmen looks to be quite good.
Posted: Mar 3rd 2009 4:22PM Negatron said
I dont' care if the movie "Street Fighter did make them money. In all seriousness (omitting "its so bad you just have to watch it") it was utterly horrible. Raul should have walked off the set as soon as he got wind that his costumes chest inflated and platform boots would light up. A youtube trailer for Chun Li was all i needed to not give the film a chance :P
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Posted: Mar 3rd 2009 4:29PM acefondu said
I can't see how this movie will turn a profit. Ryu wasn't in it! He is the main story arc for Street Fighter and wasn't even in the film. Not to mention there isn't ONE big name actor in the movie (aside from M.C.D) so you can't even have a marathon of movies with it like you could with Van Damme.
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Posted: Mar 3rd 2009 4:31PM The Monarch said
Ryu is in the sequel.
Yeah, that's right, you heard me.
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Yeah, that's right, you heard me.
Posted: Mar 3rd 2009 4:53PM acefondu said
I have read about that small mention he gets near the end of the film. But I can't imagine they will make another Street Fighter in the near future. I presume you also remember Bison's hand shooting out of the ground in the FIRST Street Fighter movie right? Nod to a sequel that never came, and I smell a repeat.
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Posted: Mar 3rd 2009 4:30PM The Monarch said
Honestly if I had gone into this movie thinking it was a comedy, I would have considered it a masterpiece. I laughed from the movie previews straight to Chun-Li hadoken-ing Bison off of a roof and then twisting his head 180 degrees with her feet. Spoiler, btw. I had people telling me to shut up, I was laughing so much. Go see it with some bad-movie-connoisseur friends and you'll have one of the best theater experiences of your life. This movie was even better than In the Name of the King.
Chris Klein = god
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Chris Klein = god
Posted: Mar 3rd 2009 5:22PM (Unverified) said
I went into the movie thinking that, but that wasn't the case for me. Unlike the first one, this movie was just out right boring. Most of the dialog was pretty much useless, with only very few gems that would make you bust out laughing at just how horrible it is.
Needless to say, it is not worth see at all, not even to mock, you will sit bored for the majority of the movie. The worst part I find is that you could have changed all of the characters names, and no one would even recognize this as street fighter. Bison has blond hair blue eyes, why was Liu Kang in this movie? Since when does chun-li play the piano.
With that said, I heard if you watch the movie 3 times on hard, you unlock a new character.
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Needless to say, it is not worth see at all, not even to mock, you will sit bored for the majority of the movie. The worst part I find is that you could have changed all of the characters names, and no one would even recognize this as street fighter. Bison has blond hair blue eyes, why was Liu Kang in this movie? Since when does chun-li play the piano.
With that said, I heard if you watch the movie 3 times on hard, you unlock a new character.
Posted: Mar 3rd 2009 8:25PM (Unverified) said
Well it wasn't exactly at a "young age", but it is indeed a little tasteless when you know that he took the role in order to help his family after his death. That's really depressing. As catastrophically bad as the movie is, it doesn't suddenly make anything regarding his appearance and/or death a laughing matter.
Laugh about his glowing feet, inflated chest and "Bisonopolis". There's plenty of comedy there.
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Laugh about his glowing feet, inflated chest and "Bisonopolis". There's plenty of comedy there.
Posted: Mar 3rd 2009 6:38PM Batzarro The worlds WOrst Detect said
Yeah, It's not Capcom's flop. It's the studio's flop. But I guess it made good money for a February release.
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Posted: Mar 3rd 2009 7:29PM (Unverified) said
Just give us a Strider film starring Vin DIesel or something.
Then Capcom could follow that up with a Forgotten Worlds film. It could be like a ost-apocalyptic buddy cop movie.
And finally, release a live-action version of Ghouls 'n Ghosts with Morgan Freeman in it somewhere.
Success!!!!!
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Then Capcom could follow that up with a Forgotten Worlds film. It could be like a ost-apocalyptic buddy cop movie.
And finally, release a live-action version of Ghouls 'n Ghosts with Morgan Freeman in it somewhere.
Success!!!!!
Posted: Mar 4th 2009 6:57AM (Unverified) said
"Sadly, that success came at the cost of the life of our beloved Raúl Juliá."
Really poor journalism, Joystiq, implying that it was the film's fault that Julia died.
Reply
Really poor journalism, Joystiq, implying that it was the film's fault that Julia died.
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