Street Fighter: 0% Rotten Tomatoes

Well Street Fighter has hit the theaters. Just for context, a year ago Jonh over at themovieblog.com wrote this about Street Fighter:

Now, if you’re sitting there reading that cast list and thinking “my dear sweet lord, this this is going to be horrible”, let your mind be at peace. The good news is that the man who directed such classics as Romeo Must Die, Exit Wounds and Cradle 2 the Grave, Mr. Andrzej Bartkowiak is directing so there’s nothing to worry about. Oh wait a second… all those movies SUCKED. Yeah, not a lot of hope for this disaster in the making.

And sure enough… as of this moment Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun Li is sitting at a big 0%. Maybe it’s just me… but I can’t remember another wide release film that held a 0% after being released in theaters. Who knows… maybe it’ll get lucky and someone will give it a positive review in the next few days… but I think the odds of that are pretty low.

So the big question here is… is anyone surprised?

New Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li Set photos

A handful of new photos from the set of Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li have just been posted on the Legend Films website. Not only do we get to see additional photos of Kristin Kreuk as Chun-Li, but we get our first look at Michael Clarke Duncan as Balrog and a few of the locations they're shooting at.
There's not enough in these photos to actually start making judgments about the direction of this movie, because looking at these alone makes me think it could be pretty good. My only hesitation is with Michael Clarke Duncan, but maybe it's just a bad photo. Thoughts?

We've posted six of the photos below, but you can take a look at a few more over on the official website. These photos look pretty cool, but that's probably just because the filmmaking process is mesmerizing. However, I don't think any of these are going to convince anyone that Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li could actually turn out good? I'm still crossing my fingers, though…

Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li is being directed by ex-cinematographer Andrzej Bartkowiak, of Romeo Must Die, Exit Wounds, Cradle 2 the Grave, and Doom. The script for this was penned by up-and-coming screenwriter Justin Marks, who also penned screenplays for Masters of the Universe and Voltron. Hong Kong fight choreographer Dion Lam, who previously worked on The Matrix Trilogy, Spider-Man 2, and all of Bartkowiak's previous films, is handling the fight sequences. Fox currently has Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li set to arrive in theaters on February 27th, 2009.

Source: FirstShowing

Rick Yune replaced by Robin Shou?

Its the weekend, so there's nobody with an 'All Access Pass' around to verify this in phone distance, but MovieHole heard an unconfirmed whisper today that Rick Yune may have left "Street Fighter - The Legend of Chun-Li" and Robin Shou, of "Mortal Kombat" fame, may have replaced him.

About Gen Wikipedia says: He was a master assassin and friend of Chun-Li's father; he briefly trained her in her youth. However, he was forced to kill another assassin in front of the young girl, and blamed himself for what he saw as the violent path her life had taken since then. He swore never to assassinate again, and instead settled down in Hong Kong, opening his Genhanten restaurant and continuing to perfect his fighting skills, using them on Shadaloo punks whenever possible. Gen's Ansatsuken incorporated various Kung fu styles, such as Mantis, Crane, Bear, and Tiger. He has refined his strikes to target an adversary's vital parts to deliver quick, deadly blows. Gen entered the first World Warrior tournament alongside his friend Lee, hoping to find a worthy opponent. Dissatisfied, he returned to Hong Kong. Gen then took on the responsibility of raising Lees nephews, Yang and Yun Lee, and trained them in martial arts.
Sometime during the tournament Gen discovered he had developed leukemia and had to withdraw from the tournament. Not wanting to die on a death bed he started to search for fighters to give him a "deathmatch". The only opponent Gen had ever considered to be truly worthy of one was Akuma. When the two fought, however, Gen withstood Akuma's most brutal technique, the Shun Goku Satsu, by emptying his own heart and mind. He then struck back with his Zan'ei shadow fist attack, but Akuma was also unaffected (When Gen encounters Akuma during Street Fighter Alpha 3, the match begins with a reenactment of this battle). After a grueling match Akuma was in position to deliver a fatal blow but he left after discovering Gen had leukemia. Disappointed that he did not get his deathmatch, Gen went on a search to find Akuma. Once Gen tracked Akuma down they battled once more, the results of which are unclear, but either he died fighting Akuma or died after the fight as he has not been in the continuity since.

So Shou as GEN, hey?

I think there's some truth in this. Why? Firstly, Yune's name is no longer listed as part of the official production blog for the film that kicked off this week - everyone else in the cast is listed there; Kristin Kreuk, Chris Klein, Michael Clarke Duncan, Vega, and so on - and secondly, at the bottom of that same blog, the webmaster notes that "One [role] that’s not mentioned in the cast breakdown but one who’s surely an integral part of the film" has not been mentioned on the site yet. "And so now, for your first exclusive scoop, allow me to present you faithful readers with some brand spankin’ new casting you’re surely not aware of. The integral role of GEN will be played by none other than……tune in next week to find out!".

The choice is yours - either wait for the big reveal, or believe this bit of gossip.

Source: MovieHole