Street Fighter Blu-ray Movie

This is what I do to my critics!

Street Fighter Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

'Street Fighter' assembles its armies (yeah, the movie has more army-on-army action in it than it does fighter-on-fighter action) on Blu-ray with a 1080p. 2.35:1-framed transfer. Ranging from "acceptable" to "ugly," 'Street Fighter' begins poorly with a fair amount of shimmering over the opening credits and never really improves from there. The image often appears overly sharp and processed with some edge enhancement plaguing some scenes. Featuring anything but a true film-like appearance, 'Street Fighter' features a few artifacts here and there and plenty of noise in some places while appearing terribly smooth in others, sometimes differing not between scenes but between shots. The image often takes on an incredibly hazy appearance that diminishes colors and details, and to such an extent in a few scenes as to practically wipe the screen clean of all but the most basic structure of the displayed imagery. Detail and color reproduction aren't bad in the better scenes. Outdoor shots hold up well enough, the film's colorful palette coming to life in both the dusty streets of Shadaloo City and in the rich, jungle-like areas outside of it. Colors on the Allied Nations Uniforms stand out nicely, particularly the bright blues, and the finer details to be seen in the uniforms -- flag patches and other adornments -- look rather good. The 1080p transfer does reveal some of the shoddily-constructed sets and props; close-up shots sometimes reveal unnatural seams or bad paint jobs. Fortunately, there's no major problems with banding or blocking, but even in the relative absence of these issues, 'Street Fighter' never looks all that good.

Street Fighter Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

'Street Fighter' pummels Blu-ray with a DTS-HD MA 5.1 lossless soundtrack. Loud but somewhat muddled, this aggressive presentation excites the senses but never really satisfies them, the track delivering all the makings of a first-rate soundtrack but not quite managing to squeeze enough clarity or realistic ambience out of the material to create a seamless environment. Sound is often tossed all through the listening area with only moderate regard for precise placement. Sure, a cage fight in chapter three features cheering crowd noise pouring from every speaker, but there is more a sense of phoniness than realistic immersion in the moment. Such scenes place most of the emphasis across the front with only a few cursory sounds thrown into the rears. A soundtrack need not offer a full-throttle back-speaker assault to be good, but this track uses them in such a way that they don't generally serve their primary purpose of delivering good, supportive atmospheric sounds, both small and large. Action sound effects -- punches, gunshots, explosions -- pack plenty of heft and tend to deliver the goods. Dialogue is also consistently reproduced adequately. Not a bad soundtrack but sounding more like a preliminary effort rather than a final, finished product, 'Street Fighter' sounds good but not great on Blu-ray.

Street Fighter Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Like the laundry list of characters that appear in 'Street Fighter,' this Blu-ray contains plenty of extras that do little other than look good on the back of the box. First up is a commentary track with Director Steven E. de Souza. He discusses the process of bringing the game to life and making it seem "real." He also speaks on the challenges of creating a feature film, the cast, the trio of primary environments that populate the film, some of the nuances scattered about the film, the role of the "Allied Nations" in the film, and plenty more tidbits. A decent track but not one that's a must-listen, fans of the film might want to skim through it. Next are several pieces that deal with the 'Street Fighter IV' video game: 'Street Fighter IV' Game Trailer (1080p, 3:08), 'Street Fighter IV' Game Teaser Trailer (1080p, 0:36), and 'Street Fighter IV' Anime Trailer (1080p, 3:12).

Moving on, "The Making of 'Street Fighter'" (480p, 5:56) is a generic making-of piece that features a look at all of the characters and the story and contains interview snippets with cast and crew and plenty of clips from the film. Also included is a series of outtakes (480p, 3:08). Next are a pair of deleted scenes (480p, 0:56 & 1:13) followed by 'Storyboard Sequences' that showcase a series of storyboards followed by the actual footage from the film. Scenes compared include 'Boardroom' and 'Prison Break'. 'Video Game Sequences' contains clips of Guile fighting Bison from both 'Super Street Fighter II' (480p, 0:32) and 'Street Fighter: The Movie' Game' (480p, 0:46). 'Cyberwalk' takes users into the world of 'Street Fighter' by going through some of the phrases required of a Bison soldier in 'Recruiting Center' and replaying some of the newscasts as seen in the film in 'Crisis in Shadaloo' (480p, 3:46). Finally, 'Archives' contains a collection of 'Street Fighter'-related materials: 'Publicity Stills' (1080p, 1:06), 'Arcade Movie Game Trailer' (480p, 0:50), 'Concept Drawings by Nikita Knatz' (1080p, 0:32), 'On the 'Street Fighter' Set' stills (1080p, 0:40), 'Ad Campaigns' stills (1080p, 0:28), 'Trading Cards' (1080p, 0:16) images from Upper Deck, and 'Toys and Tie-Ins' (1080p, 0:08) images.

Street Fighter Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation