View Larger Image |
Street Fighter Alpha - The Movie Directors: Shigeyasu Yamauchi, Joe Romersa Number of Items: 1 Picture Format: Pan & Scan Format: Color, Animated, Dolby Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated) Running Time: 90 minutes Studio: Palm Pictures/Manga Video Product Group: DVD Release Date: 2001-01-30 Buy from Amazon |
 "The Way It Should Be!"First and foremost, I love the Street Fighter series, ever since Street Fighter II: World Warrior was made available on Nintendo, ahhh memories. The thing that set Street Fighter apart from anything else were the strength of the characters, diverse yet loveable over time. All had very interesting histories that had led them to this point, (hence the creation of the current Udon comics). I have to say i love this movie. This film is the way it should be. I'm such a sucker for films which combine an element of destiny and spiritual self discovery. I think i'm definitely a minority when i say that this animation is better than the animated effort before it, Street Fighter - The Animated Movie. That film had good combat sequences but failed miserably in delivering a story, i mean come on it was so cheesy, it hurt. And the voice acting... OH MY GOD, that was sooo bad! Anyway, that is in the past and now we have Street Fighter Alpha, it's just soo perfect, adopting a very compelling story, although i do believe it loses its way towards the end. The writers have done great job with the script, whereby the characters convey themselves the way should be, along with the voice acting which is also perfect. It really is, the script and voice acting make the characters likeable (i particularly like the way Ken was intepreted), we can really understand their positions. Unlike the previous film which made the characters appear arrogant and stupid, it made me hate the characters more than anything. Also the animation is very nice, with very "arty" moments such as Ryu's blood washing away in the rain, these moments really add to the film as whole. Sorry i know i'm long winded, but the ending is also worth noting, i don't think many people like it, but i always like an ending with some question attached and climax. All in all, a great film  "You'll either hate it, or you'll hate it"To begin with, I think it's important to say that I'm a huge Street Fighter II fan -- I have been for years. Recently I acquired the Street Fighter Alpha movie from this website, and as a fan of Street Fighter II, was somewhat shocked. The storyline is plain at best. Ken meets up with Ryu in Japan, only to discover their former master has been killed. Suddenly this kid shows up, tells Ryu he's his younger brother, and that they're from Brazil (yes, even though Ryu is Asian, he's in fact Brazilian). Meanwhile, the "dark hadou" has been haunting him for months, and it will soon overcome him... In comparison to the Street Fighter II series, this movie is garbage. The animation isn't even that great -- again, I preferred that of Street Fighter II. No, I don't buy that Ken's a blond, although it's interesting how in Alpha he suddenly turns into a pervert. So, the storyline gets 2/5 stars, 'cause I'm a nice guy. The one thing I didn't mind was the voice acting. Ryu's and Ken's voice actors both do a terrific job, and everyone else is also very good. Ken's voice actor, Steven Blum, plays Dhalsim in the original Street Fighter II, but he definitely grows as an actor between II and Alpha. 4/5 for the voice acting. Despite the voice work, however, Street Fighter Alpha is not a movie that even the most zealous Street Fighter fan should bother with. I was actually embarrassed to have watched it. Save your money.  "Not nearly as bad as some seem to believe..."I'm pretty sure that if you're reading this review, then you are a Street Fighter fan. I know there's a chance that you're just an anime fan in general, but chances are if you're after something this specific, then you're a fan of the game series. Well, I am too. I love SF to death, and I love this movie too. First of all, I cannot understand why anyone would prefer the SFII Animated Movie over this one. About the only redeeming factor of that movie was the fight scenes - but if you're anything like me, then the plot is quite important also; I can't get excited or even really care if the people on the screen are just fighting for no evident reason. Enter SF Alpha. Plot - First and foremost, the plot. Where everyone who has written previous reviews gets off saying that the plot sucks is lost on me. To sum it up: Ryu and Ken get word that their master has been murdered. They return to Japan and are surprised to meet a young boy who inists that he is Ryu's younger brother! Moreover, Ryu has been feeling a dark, evil power within him, one that he isn't sure he can overcome. From there, they discover a menace has been preying on street fighters the world over, capturing them and sapping all of their energies, under the disguise of some kind of tournament. Many characters are met along the way, and all are portrayed exactly like you would expect; no one says or does anything out-of-character, but that by no means makes the experience a shallow one. Rather, it makes it an enjoyable one. Yes, Akuma makes an apperance - but no, he and Ryu do not fight. This did not disapoint me as much as I thought it might, mostly because Akuma tells Ryu that he must come back and challenge him when he is ready. Animation - Superb. Fluidly done and totally appropriate. I have no real gripes about it, aside from wanting the whole time for Ryu to put on a red headband, but that's so minor it's not even a complaint. The scenes where Ryu briefly succumbs to the dark energy are particularly well done, as are most of the fight scenes. Each fight scene is done in a stylish, over-the-top way, but not so much that you think it's too fake to be entertaining. The character designs are great - each character looks his or her best, with the overall style clearly influenced by the designs of the video game namesake. Voice acting - Also very well-done. I was so worried that the young boy who claims to be Ryu's little brother would have an annoying, nasaly, little-kid voice, but thankfully I had no reason to fear. He is voiced by an accomplished anime voice actor - I think it was the same person who voiced Jim from "Outlaw Star". Ryu had a suitably deep, thoughtful voice. Ken was perfect - he could go from outlandish and comical to serious without sounding like a totally different person. Sakura was a good pick, as were Chun-Li and even Akuma. Akuma's lines were terse and precise, which is good since he would not likely blather on, and the actor had a dark, intense, punching sound to his lines. Music - Unremarkable. All the tunes fit the situations, but they won't get stuck in your head. Overall - Fun, entertaining, and suprisingly deep. This won't disappoint anyone who liked the alpha games, nor should it disappoint anyone who likes Street Fighter in general. This one was a champ. "A STORY BEYOND THE AVERAGE STREET FIGHTER STORY LINE"PERHAPS ONE OF THE BEST STREET FIGHTER STORYS OF ALL TIME. THE MOVIE DOESN'T ONLY SHOW YOUR FAVORITE ALPHA FIGHTERS, BUT ALSO TAKES A DEEPER LOOK IN THE STREET FIGHTER WORLD. AS RYU TRIES TO OVERCOME THE DARKNESS WITHIN HIM, HE MUST ALSO FIND OUT WHO HE REALLY IS AS WELL AS FINDING THE TRUTH BEHIND A "LONG LOST BROTHER". IT'S REALLY EMOTIONAL AND HAS A SOILD STORY TO GO WITH IT. IF YOU LIKE THE STREET FIGHTER MOVIES AND INTO DEEP STORY LINES, THEN DO YOURSELF A FAVOR AND GET THIS UNBELIEVABLE STREET FIGHTER MOIVE.  "Good dvd, BAD movie"Very dissapointed with how this movie turned out. I don't where the script writers came out with younger brother angle , but it doesn't work. Rule One : Don't rewrite histories of established , tried-and-true ,bread -and-butter characters , geez! Some scenes are very reminiscient of Akira and Dragonball Z , only very hacknyed and lame. Too much groaning and powering for SF in my opinion. The whole movie kinda floats around with barely any screentime for all those new Alpha fighters. The movie SHOULD have been based around a tournament , with nice, lengthy fights..only nauseating or incredibly short fights here. And the character designs are ugly and very strange..I loved the art in Street Fighter II V...how can they drop the ball on a feature film?! On to the DVD, video and sound quality are excellent , and I was pleased by the extras (interviews with the REAL cast for once). And the requisite trailers..if you are SF fanatic or completist , then go ahead pick it up. Otherwise , look elsewhere. |
