Why So Blu?

Street Fighter: Assassin’s Fist (Blu-ray Review)

One of the most recognized video game franchises in the world, Street Fighter: Assassin’s Fist tells the origin story of some of the series’ most beloved characters: Ryu, Ken, and Akuma. Delivering top-notch, martial arts action with visual effects that rival major Hollywood studios, this will be a must-see for Street Fighter and action cinema fans, alike. 

 

Film 

It was bound to happen. Mortal Kombat got it started by re-envisioning their franchise that it was natural for Street Fighter to do the same. Street Fighter: Assassin’s Fist is the newest entry into the world of Street Fighter and it’s been almost 25 years since the game hit arcades everywhere. This version of Street Fighter Ryu (Mike Moh) and Ken (Christian Howard) are young students, who have gone to Japan to study the mysterious martial arts fighting style known as: Ansatsuken (Assassin’s Fist). Here, with Master Gokken, the lads seek to learn the mysterious ways of Asatsuken while not falling under its spell. Asatsuken isn’t the only thing Ken and Ryu have to worry about, Master Gokken has a mysterious past of his own that will come back to haunt him and his students.

I’m quite divided on the final product. I believe Assassin’s Fist started out at as a web series or television series, I’m not sure, because I’ve seen conflicting information out there. If this were indeed made for television or a web series then in concept I believe it would work. It doesn’t quite work out as a theatrical feature, or as it is presented on the Blu-ray, because editing is a big factor. The Blu-ray is 152 minutes, almost as long as Pulp Fiction, but feels twice as along, because any sort of development or plot points get lost as it lumbers on. I wonder if it was released in episodes – it may have been flowed better. There are many scenes where characters drone on and on about their place in life before we are either whisked away to a flashback or introduced to a character or two that appear out of nowhere.

Ken and Ryu sparring endlessly throughout the long running time also hamper this pacing. I get that it’s supposed be another origin story but some sort of editorial oversight should have been implemented in order to get the best possible flow narrative going. Those are my biggest complaints. As far as the fights and signature moves, well, they’re all here and look pretty damn good! I am aware that this was produced on a modest budget but production wise they got their money’s worth.

I will say, and it’s another small complaint, I do hope that the wig work budget is increased for the next chapter in this franchise, because some of it can get a bit distracting. Proper wig work is very expensive and I can see that the low budget of the production may have had something to do with it. Joey Ansah (The Bourne Ultimatum) has done an admirable job in bringing this latest chapter to the masses. It doesn’t always work but due to how dense the material is presented as, but I do give props on style over substance. This is probably the best Street Fighter adaptation since the first anime adaptation that came out in 1994 (or was it 1995?). How does it compare to the awfulness of the Van Damme version? It doesn’t, because they’re two totally different films and this one takes the material a little more seriously than that one ever did.

If you’re at all curious about how this turned out then scoop up the Blu-ray or rent it and see for yourself. Fans will no doubt enjoy it but if you’re a casual viewer or curious then a rental is in order. I do look forward to more adventures and hope that the editing is better down the line.

 

Video 

Encoding: MPEG-4 AVC

Resolution: 1080p

Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1

Clarity/Detail: No doubt this was shot on digital and what a transfer! There were more than a few instances where I had to stand up right in front of the television set to if I was really seeing what I thought I was seeing. The picture was quite startling in it’s clarity and the detail levels were phenomenal.

Depth: As I said before, I got real close, and was taken away at how “painting-like” the image on this Blu-ray was. I also like that the film does not seem to have been through filters to give it a sleeker look and they kept the lens flares in check.

Black Levels: There are many scenes that take place at night and those scenes look terrific. I did not notice any instances of crush or compression.

Color Reproduction: The color palette is pretty rich and comes through with flying…colors. No pun intended. Ken’s red suit is the highlight and I did not notice any banding or pixilation issues at all.

Flesh Tones: Flesh tones are clean and accurate and only change a bit of the character is wearing prosthetics. I also noticed a few enhancements but I’m sure it was intentional.

Noise/Artifacts: I did not really notice anything out of the ordinary on this release with regards to noise and artifacts. It’s a really clean image. Nom it wasn’t scrubbed either, because there’s a nice layer of grain throughout.

 

 

Audio 

Audio Format(s): English Dolby TrueHD 2.0

Subtitles: English

Dynamics: This is a very robust 2.0 presentation. It was nice and loud, without being overly loud just for the sake of it. The level of depth was very much present, and even the more nuanced scenes were handled well. It’s a very aggressive audio track when it needs to be and scales it back when it needs to.

Low Frequency Extension: N/A

Surround Sound Presentation: N/A

Dialogue Reproduction: Dialogue levels are clean and crisp. There are actors who have thick foreign accents, as they are not native English speakers, so this may confuse some folks, but I was okay and it was easy to understand them.

 

Extras 

The extras included on this Blu-ray may seem plentiful but they’re really not, because it’s they’ve taken featurettes and broken them down to make it like there’s more content than there actually is. It’s an old special features DVD/Blu-ray trick. I will say that what is included is of high quality and the audio commentary is excellent. Everything is presented in high definition, as well.

• Director’s Commentary – Director and co-writer Joey Ansah takes you through the journey of bringing this version of Street Fighter to the big screen. It’s a thoughtful and passionate commentary and it shows that Ansah and company really worked their asses off to make the best film they could.

• Ken’s Video Diary – (HD) This is alternate footage that was shot from Ken’s POV, as he videotapes his time at the dojo. Personally, it’s way too much, and I’m glad they removed it.

• The Making Of… – (HD) This is a making of documentary that’s actually quite lively and entertaining. You get to see what went into the making of the film and candid talks with the cast and crew. My favorite part of the documentary was the part where the practical special effects crew fabricated and made actual shooting fireballs and blew stuff up. This is why the fireballs you see onscreen look damn good! They were real fireballs being shot at people.

• Deleted Scenes – (HD) Here’s a small batch of scenes that were deleted for a reason.

• Outtakes – (HD) Bad takes and goofs.

• Main Trailer – (HD) Here’s the theatrical trailer to Street Fighter: Assassin’s Fist presented in high definition.

• Trailers – (HD) upcoming FUNimation releases. Trailers are presented in high definition.

 

Summary 

Don’t get me wrong – stylistically, this is the best version of the Street Fighter franchise but Assassin’s Fist could have benefitted by some trimming in terms of pacing and plot. The technical specifications, on the other hand, are quite stellar, as are the special features. I am glad that people passionate about the franchise got their hands on this property, because it has been a long time coming. Here’s hoping that the next installment (rumor has it Scott Adkins is playing Guile) continues the trend upward.

 

Order Street Fighter: Assassin’s Fist on Blu-ray!