STREET FIGHTER derived from a popular Capcom video game in which players could choose a gallery of martial-arts contestants to go up against each other. Screenplay-wise, this translates as high-tech warlord General Bison (Raul Julia) wreaking havoc in the mythical Asian nation of "Shadaloo" and holding relief-workers hostage for a $20 billion ransom, while forcing a captive scientist turn a prisoner into a Hulk-like monster soldier. His main opponent is Col. Guile (Jean-Claude Van Damme), stalwart leader of international military forces, who tries to find Bison's hidden base. Other two-fisted characters ultimately brawling in Bison's temple of doom include Chun-Li (Ming-na Wen), a TV reporter out for vengeance because Bison killed her father 20 years ago in her border village.

Though it scored low at the box-office, Street Fighter racks decent cinematic junk-food points for rainy days when the game console won't boot up. Except for unnecessary swearing it's mostly PG-level inoffensive, and even a bit of a guilty pleasure compared to later (R-rated) movies derived from fancier and more savagely gory joystick material, such as Doom and Resident Evil. This, while lacking in plot surprises, still has a self-mocking sense of humor about itself throughout, with some sly jokes insinuated amongst the colorful-gaudy production design (note the clown painting in Bison's bedroom).

The cast acts it up with relish, especially Raul Julia's eye-popping caped villain. Julia died suddenly before the film's release; he reportedly took this untypical part mainly because his children were fans of the game, and the movie is dedicated to him. In addition to assorted tie-in anime cartoons, another game-spinoff live-action movie appeared in 2009