(Long Island, NY) Occasionally, I actually go to the movies not just as a critic, but for my own personal pleasure. Saturday night was one such occasion- I finally got around to viewing Doubt, a powerful drama starring Meryl Streep and Philip Seymour Hoffman, set in a Catholic school in the 1960’s. However, my procrastination in experiencing one of the finest-acted films I’ve seen in ages resulted in a bit a dilemma for me: while I’d love to review Doubt and extol its virtues for you all, alas, it’s not exactly timely- it’s been playing in theaters for some time. And that’s a shame, because I can’t remember the last instance where a movie rendered me nearly breathless based on the strength of its acting alone- Doubt is an amazing film, and one you should rush right out and experience for yourself.
Instead, I’m reviewing Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li…a film several orders of magnitude less impressive than Doubt. What did I do to deserve this?
But as luck would have it, this week’s review opens up a unique possibility, a first for my column: today, you’re getting two movies reviews for one (I still get paid the same, but that’s okay). I’ll be reviewing Street Fighter (of course), but if for some bizarre reason you actually still insist on watching it, I’m also presenting you with a review of Doubt. Why? Simple: because you’re going to desperately need something to cleanse your savaged cinematic palette afterwards.
Doubt is a tale of faith, suspicion, and rumors. Meryl Streep stars as Sister Aloysius, the feared Principal of a Catholic church in the Bronx, New York. Rigid, inflexible, and a stern disciplinarian, Sister Aloysius nonetheless only has the best interests of her students at heart, although this can be hard to see given her harsh exterior. Philip Seymour Hoffman co-stars as Father Brendan Flynn, a popular Priest due to his inspired sermons and progressive outlook on the relationship between the Church and its flock- especially when it comes to how they relate to the students of the school. It’s Father Flynn’s unconventional mannerisms that first arouse Sister Aloysius’ suspicions, but while he is her superior and is thus untouchable, that doesn’t stop her from instructing the nuns serving under her to keep an eye out for anything out of the ordinary.
Dutifully following her instructions, Sister James (Amy Adams), a young and naïve teacher, takes note of the unusually close relationship between Father Flynn and Donald Miller, an altar boy and the school’s only black student. Already predisposed against Father Flynn for violating the established norms, Sister Aloysius assumes the worst and pursues the matter with the fervor of a zealot, despite having no concrete evidence whatsoever…just her unshakable faith. This leads to a battle of wills between the two, where things aren’t always what they seem and all parties involved have their faith tested to its very core.
Doubt is an adaptation of the John Patrick Shanley stage play called Doubt: A Parable. Written and directed by Shanley, the film resonates with such a strong emotional impact that it admittedly caught me off-guard. The performances were top-notch all-around, but Meryl Streep in particular stands out. I would say she even steals the movie, but that honor actually belongs to Viola Davis, who manages to do it despite only appearing in one scene. Ms. Davis plays Donald Miller’s troubled mother, and the scene in question is when Sister Aloysius confronts her with her suspicions regarding her son and Father Flynn. Mrs. Miller’s reaction to such charges was not only unexpected, but so wrought with emotion and brutal realism that it left me stunned.
Another area where Doubt excels is the presentation- a period piece set 1964, the producers got the look and feel of the era just right, an era where the innocence of the 50’s was giving way to the radical civil change. Plus, given the fact that the director is experienced with stage plays, he seems to know that the primary focus of each scene should be the performance contained within. Not multiple camera cuts per second, not fancy lighting, not an overbearing soundtrack…just ACTING. The scene with Sister Aloysius and Mrs. Miller appears to be one long tracking shot with 2-3 cameras following the action, but it feels like it one long, well-rehearsed scene instead of dozens of cuts stitched together in post-production. It feels organic and real, and more films could benefit from this approach.
Oh, yeah, Street Fighter. I almost forgot about it. Well, where to begin? It’s a movie based on a video game involving martial artists fighting head-to-head. I used to be pretty good at it, back in the early 90’s. No one could stand against my mighty Dragon Punch…why, I remember this one match- wait, I’m off-track again. Anyway, it was very popular, with various merchandising tie-ins, culminating in a live-action film being released in 1994 starring Jean-Claude Van Damme and Raúl Juliá (in what would sadly be his last role before his death). Needless to say, the movie was horrifically bad and flopped hard at the box office, but has endured to this day as a camp classic due to its silly, over-the-top nature.
Someone apparently thought it was a great idea, 15 years later, to re-visit the Street Fighter franchise in live-action film form once again, and we are now blessed with Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li. I have to say that my faith in humanity has been shaken, as I thought it was impossible to make a flick worse than 1994’s Street Fighter- but somehow, somehow…they managed to do it.
Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li follows the character of Chun-Li (in case you couldn’t guess from the title), who is portrayed by Smallville star Kristin Kreuk. The story concerns Chun-Li’s origin and her fight against the criminal organization Shadaloo, headed up by the evil M. Bison (Neal McDonough). Michael Clarke Duncan co-stars as Bison’s henchman Balrog, proving once again that a past Oscar nomination doesn’t guarantee a prestigious and successful film career afterwards. There are other actors in this movie as well, but suffice it to say that I’d be doing them a service by not divulging their names here. Overacting, bad acting, no acting…you name it, the cast of Street Fighter puts on a clinic. Out of all of them, only Kristin Kreuk manages not to embarrass herself completely, aside from the fact that she actually gets top billing for this mess.
Like most martial arts movies, Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li starts with a flashback, where we find M. Bison wronging Chun-Li and her family. A little girl at the time, Chun-Li trains in the ways of Wushu and grows up looking for revenge. What follows is a series of poorly-staged fights, bad dialogue, and amateurish film editing. Say what you will about the first Street Fighter film’s quality (or lack thereof), but at least it had the good sense not to take itself seriously at all. This movie strips out that good-natured fun in favor of a realistic approach, which means we don’t have a movie that’s “so bad it’s good” like the Van Damme movie is. Instead, we have a movie that’s “so bad it goes straight past good and back to bad again.” In other words, it’s boring…the worst crime any movie can be accused of.
I think the overall quality of Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li can be summed up with the hilariously bad line Bison uses to preface the murder of Chun-Li’s father: “Your father has been the milk of my business. But even milk has an expiration date.” It still boggles my mind that people are actually paid to write garbage like this.
If it hasn’t already gotten through to you, let me spell it out as clearly as I can- skip Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li and go see Doubt while it’s still in theaters instead. You’ll thank me.
