So, the latest live-action Street Fighter movie is out and I did go to see it on opening day. I know the movie isn’t doing too good with critics but is doing remarkably well with general audiences. Like my partner over here at 3rd World Geeks, I’m siding with the general audiences here. This Street Fighter movie is just big, goofy fun and I think critics are taking it too seriously. I mean, this film has a big, green, childlike monster who can control electricity. Were they expecting The Godfather?
As someone who’s been intensively been playing Capcom‘s flagship fighter since the second installment, it would be very easy for me to take apart the movie with what they got wrong based on the lore. But as I didn’t mine the inconsistencies while I was watching the film, that would be kind of hypocritical, in my opinion. I mean, I could nitpick with observations like how this version of “Killer Bee” Cammy acts more like Juri than the more disconnected way she behaves while under M. Bison‘s sway like she does in the games. You know, things like that.
Rather, I would look at the film and follow the film’s self-contained continuity… but still made me scratch my head with some inconsequential questions! Since I will be talking about specific moments from Street Fighter, I do have to put out the obligatory SPOILER WARNING! You have been officially warned!
#1 How is Ryu listening to 4 Non Blondes‘ “What’s Up?” in 1987?
At the start of the film, we see Ryu trying to calm down before his big match with Sagat for the championship of the first World Warrior tournament by listening to music over his headphones. Ken goes to his friend and takes the headphones to playfully hear what Ryu is listening to and laughs when he realizes it’s 4 Non Blondes “What’s Up?”, a song that doesn’t exactly get your pumped up before getting into a fight.
But how is this possible? The film takes place during the second World Warrior tournament M. Bison set up and that was in 1993. This was also the year when 4 Non Blondes released “What’s Up?” But the first World Warrior tournament happened a full six years before the second World Warrior Tournament! How did Ryu get his hands on a tape of “What’s Up?” years before it came out?
The only possible explanation, well, the only one I could think of, is, in this movie universe, all of the songs that were made in our ’90s was released in their ’80s. That’s because “What’s Up?” isn’t the only other time displaced song that appears in the movie! Songs like The Offsprings‘ “Come Out and Play (Keep Them Separated)” and Meredith Brooks‘ “Bitch” came out after 1993, when the movie supposedly took place. It’s either that or the producers weren’t aware of when these songs came out during the ’90s.
Speaking of Ryu…
#2 How did Chun-Li find Ryu?
After winning the first World Warrior tournament, Ryu goes into hiding in order to avoid fighting and unleashing the murderous intent within him. M. Bison sets up the second World Warrior tournament in the hopes of drawing him out. However, it’s actually Chun-Li who manages to find Ryu, who’s been living a very simple life of selling bad ramen, apparently. Chun-Li actually coaxes Ryu out of his early retirement by saying Ken will be participating in the tournament. Although Ryu declines, he changes his mind when Akuma appears and tells Ryu he will destroy the winner of the tournament. Ryu then travels to Metrolao City, where the tournament is being held.
But how exactly did Chun-Li find Ryu? I do believe he was doing a really good job of living a very incognito life of selling (bad) ramen to patrons in a rather sketchy side of the city. The only real explanation we get is when Chun-Li says she’s “good at finding people.” That’s not a lot of detail, is it?
In retrospect, I guess Chun-Li, since she does work at Interpol, could get the agency to put out an APB on Ryu. Maybe Interpol already was staking out Ryu from the very start after he won the first World Warrior tournament and Chun-Li just dropped in. Still, it wasn’t explained, was it?
Speaking of Metrolao City…
#3 Where the heck is Metrolao City?
The majority of the Street Fighter movie takes place in Metrolao City. That make sense as that’s where M. Bison appears to be the dictator of the area. Although it does look like a dilapidated metropolitan area, it still has a bustling population, a huge cityscape filled with skyscrapers and even it’s own prison! Outside the city, however, the area does look rather desolate as there’s nothing but dirt roads out there as seen in the film, anyway.
But where is it located? I mean, what region of the world is Metrolao City in? The name suggests it may be somewhere in Asia but, if you look at the population, especially the ones who have been incarcerated in the prison, a good chunk of them look Caucasian, hinting that it’s either in the Western part of the world or it’s in a region where European colonizers settled. Also, I do have a hard time believing it’s in an island as, at the end of the film, it does look like Guile brought his own car to Metrolao. So, is it drivable from the United States? Or does the United States have an airbase in the area? It’s really confusing!
Speaking of the prison…
#4 How long has Blanka been in the prison?
M. Bison does capture Ryu and he tries to convince him to give him his energy but Ryu declines. He then tries to forcibly extract Ryu’s murderous intent energy by forcing him to fight. He sends Ryu to Metrolao prison and there he faces off against Blanka, essentially the ruler of the prison. Ryu tries to convince Blanka to not fight but the green beast explains that M. Bison promised him that he can find his mother as long as he keeps fighting for him. Ryu then has no choice but to fight.
But for how long was M. Bison keeping Blanka in prison? In one of the animated flashback scenes, we do see M. Bison finding a very young Blanka hiding out in the forest. But the Blanka Ryu encounters is already grown! So, let’s just safely assume Blanka was around ten years old when the dictator found him and now Blanka is, if I’m being generous, around his mid-twenties by the time the movie rolls around. Are you saying M. Bison has been dangling the entire “I can bring you to your mother” lie for around a decade and a half? Are you saying Blanka didn’t think it was suspicious that he hasn’t been taken to see his mother in all that time? I know Blanka is supposed to be dumb… but that’s taking it to a whole new level!
Speaking of parental figures…
#5 Where was Dan when Akuma attacked Gouken?
We get to see how Ryu and Ken become estranged during one of the flashback scenes. Akuma, in the hopes of unlocking Ryu’s murderous intent so he can find a worthy opponent to fight, attacks Gouken, Ryu, Ken and Dan’s master. Ryu was about to knock Akuma out with a Hadouken but Gouken, realizing this would lead Ryu to get engulfed with the murderous intent, pleads with Ryu to stop. Ryu does and Akuma does kill Gouken and Ken resents Ryu for not stopping Akuma.
But where was Dan during all of this? Even though we never see it, the movie specifically states Dan also trained with Ryu and Ken. So, where was he when Akuma attacked their dojo? He wasn’t with Ryu and Ken, that’s for sure!
I guess it’s possible they’re following the official lore Capcom put out for Dan in this case, wherein Gouken kicked him out when he learned he was training so he could kill Sagat for accidentally killing his father. So, since he wasn’t a part of the dojo when Akuma attacked, then that would be a suitable explanation why he wasn’t there. Still, I only know this because I’m familiar with the lore. Audiences who have no knowledge about the lore might be scratching their heads so it would’ve been nice if they explained it.
BONUS: Why does Interpol have a Chun-Li dress up game on their computers?
During one scene, one of Chun-Li’s fellow Interpol agents to confirm the status of her undercover mission. At the end of the scene, you can see the Interpol agents playing a Chun-Li flash dress up game on his computer.
Now, here’s the thing: I actually know these were pretty popular when Street Fighter II first came out. But why is it here? I don’t think Chun-Li was in a worldwide video game phenomenon in the movie universe. That would be a detriment to her undercover work! So, I can only assume someone at Interpol made the game! Does that mean Chun-Li can sue them for sexual harrassment or for using her likeness without permission?
What other inconsequential questions popped into your head while watching the new live-action Street Fighter movie? Let me know in the comments section below!
