From Console to Screen | Street Fighter: The Movie
- Michael Field
- Jun 30
- 2 min read
Game Over Before It Began?
This week on From Console to Screen, Butler and we tag back in with our good friend and video game movie aficionado Russ Lyman to tackle one of the most infamous adaptations ever to karate-chop its way onto the big screen: Street Fighter: The Movie.
Yes, the one where Jean-Claude Van Damme plays the all-American Colonel Guile (accent and all), Kylie Minogue shows up as Cammy for reasons no one fully understands, and the late, great Raúl Juliá delivers a performance as M. Bison so committed it elevates the entire film — even as everything around him falls apart.
So… surely this movie is good, right? RIGHT?!
Well, let’s just say our discussion was about as chaotic as the plot itself. We dig into:
The wild tonal swings that make you wonder if you’re watching an action film, a Saturday morning cartoon, or an unintentional comedy.
Raúl Juliá’s genuinely scene-stealing performance, which somehow makes Bison both terrifying and campy in the best possible way.
Jean-Claude Van Damme’s… creative approach to playing an American hero.
The challenge of turning a fighting game with almost no story into a globe-trotting military adventure — complete with stealth boats, hostage negotiations, and a whole lot of spandex.
We also ask the big questions:
Is this a movie you can actually enjoy unironically?
Was there any hope of making Street Fighter work as a film in 1994?
And why does it feel like everyone involved was in a completely different movie?
Whether you have nostalgia for this gloriously messy adaptation or you’re just curious how a movie with this cast ended up as the punchline of so many ‘90s jokes, this is the episode for you.
Watch or listen to the latest From Console to Screen wherever you get your podcasts—and be sure to thank Raúl Juliá for giving us one of the greatest villain performances in video game movie history. For him… it was Tuesday.
Listen on your favorite podcast platform!
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