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Street Fighter is very close to my heart, starting with the very first game in the series that me and my brother played to death on our Amstrad CPC and subsequently being blown away by the release of Street Fighter II in Arcades - I've followed the franchise and bought nearly every version of SF on each generation of console.
Obviously being such a huge fan I have always wanted to see these characters and their unique stories,look and fighting styles brought to life in live action.
I remember seeing the 94' movie at the cinema and the disappointment I felt when the credits rolled, how could they have got the characters so wrong? Why were the two main heroes of the Street Fighter story reduced to con-artists who were literally just flimsy supporting characters. How could a Van Damme movie suck so HORD?!
My faith was somewhat restored by the awesome Manga cartoon, which I bought on VHS twice (as I wore out the first copy). Subsequent anime movies and shows failed to impress but luckily around this time we had the amazing ALPHA series of games that seemed to breathe new life into the franchise.
Then years later I became increasingly excited at the announcement of a new SF movie even if it was to focus on Chun-Li (once again bypassing Ryu and Ken). I followed every news item about the production and poured over every nugget of information I could get my hands on...then the film arrived and AGAIN another disappointment! The film makers missed the point entirely and wasted the budget and cast at their disposal but worst of all the rich source material with an in built audience just ready to love a true live action Street Fighter adaptation.
I feared I would never see my beloved characters brought to life on screen so I resigned myself to reading the UDON comics and sticking with the games.
Then Street Fighter:Legacy happened.
It was obvious that this was no ordinary fan-film. This was made by real movie industry folks who just happened to have the love and passion for the source material, along with the skills,resources and ability to film and perform a TRUE SF film. It may have consisted of a single fight scene, but the mood, moves, costumes and brief glimpses of Akuma just blew me away. I literally watched it hundreds...okay maybe THOUSANDS of times. I shared the hell out of it, I screen-capped shots from it and used them as desktop backgrounds, avatars, xbox backgrounds etc etc. In short: I LOVED IT.
I knew from the positive response around the web that "Legacy" had received and the buzz it created that this would NOT be a one off. Then Joey Ansah - the genius behind the project - started communicating with the fans and the origin of the film along with possible future projects was all on the table.
It turned out to be a while before anything came, but it was obviously not for lack of trying! A kickstarter came and went - with the guys managing to receive funding for the project without having to compromise their vision and STREET FIGHTER: Assassins FIST was announced.
I joined the facebook page and followed the twitter account with every set pic, official still and news piece getting me giddy as a schoolgirl (insert geeky Sakura joke here). Until finally the series arrived...
Did it live up to my huge expectations? No.It SURPASSED them!
This series is the live action Street Fighter I have been waiting for since I was a kid, its earnest, beautifully crafted, true to the source material, moving and above all badass!
The dedication of everyone involved oozes through the screen with the cast flawlessly pulling off their roles with all the physicality and nuance you would expect from a major motion picture.
How Ansah and his team managed to pull this off with a fraction of the budget that most movies/TV shows boast is beyond me. It looks stunning, the sound is incredible and the FX are perfect.
Mike Moh and Christian Howard are Ryu and Ken come to life (with the latter also providing story/script along with Ansah). At no point did I see them as anything other than the characters I have grown up with. The fact that they nailed the acting side of these characters whilst simultaneously pulling off all the fight scenes and stunts is a testament to how gifted these guys truly are, I see big things for both of them in the future.
Togo Igawa, Gaku Space, Shogen, Mark Killeen all deserve equal praise as they bring both physicality and presence to the series whilst injecting true heart into the piece. Hyunri is beautiful as Sayaka and her final scenes were heartbreaking.
Last but not least we have Mr.Joey Ansah himself, co-writer, Director and the most intimidating AKUMA you could ever hope to see. The story of Gôki's transition into the monstrous Akuma was handled so well that by the time Ansah takes over the role we are not only totally invested in the character and his arc,but are as terrified of him as the characters on screen.
This was obviously a labor of love and that shows through in every scene. Make no mistake though, none of this would have come to fruition if not for the hard work and passion of Joey Ansah, Christian Howard and the whole cast and crew behind this project.
Above all else I just want to say: THANKYOU! Now bring on Series 2!!!
score 10/10
wastedgeneration-263-327227 28 May 2014
Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw3024027/ |
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18-3-2021 02:43:03