I seriously doubt that this was intended as one of the Street Fighter films when it was made, as the character Sonny Chiba played was named 'Chico' in this film--not the same guy in the other films. Now it is possible this was just a mistake made due to bad dubbing. Unlike most of the Chiba films I have watched, this one was dubbed not subtitled. Another reason to doubt the pedigree of this film is the intensity of the film scenes--it was a bit lacking. There were few of the 'killing moves' you'd seen in the earlier gritty movies--though fortunately it was compensated for by the addition of a cute kid that actually helped the plot.
The sloppiness of the camera-work doesn't necessarily mean it's not a Street Fighter film. While the film of the series is definitely the best and had great camera-work, in later films it did go downhill rather quickly and often fights occurred in very tight sets where it was hard to follow Chiba's amazing fighting ability. This was a real shame, as Chiba is one of the greatest martial artists to be on film--but here his abilities aren't that evident until late in the film when he uses the Kitana (Japanese sword). Then, I was truly amazed at his fluidity and grace. These particular fight scenes were excellent.
The plot involves Chiba coming into town and meeting an adorable little boy who he immediately befriends. However, Chiba also needs work and goes to work for one of the local gang bosses. Little does this boss know, though, that Chiba is trying to intensify the feud between gangs in order to make more money as a fixer-upper! Unfortunately, the boy's father is the fixer-upper for the other side and you know they will eventually be fated to fight each other. When this does eventually occur, there's not much surprise about the outcome except that now Chiba feels obligated to see that the boy is taken to live with his long lost mother. This reunion scene and the entire last portion of the movie really was exciting and fully of welcome pathos--and it helped to raise an okay film to the level of being exceptional.
By the way, of all the martial arts films I have seen, this one might seem like the most misogynistic, as many, many women are slapped about and even killed. Because of this, the violence and lots of nudity, this isn't a safe bet for your kids--even if there is a cute little kid in the film!
The sloppiness of the camera-work doesn't necessarily mean it's not a Street Fighter film. While the film of the series is definitely the best and had great camera-work, in later films it did go downhill rather quickly and often fights occurred in very tight sets where it was hard to follow Chiba's amazing fighting ability. This was a real shame, as Chiba is one of the greatest martial artists to be on film--but here his abilities aren't that evident until late in the film when he uses the Kitana (Japanese sword). Then, I was truly amazed at his fluidity and grace. These particular fight scenes were excellent.
The plot involves Chiba coming into town and meeting an adorable little boy who he immediately befriends. However, Chiba also needs work and goes to work for one of the local gang bosses. Little does this boss know, though, that Chiba is trying to intensify the feud between gangs in order to make more money as a fixer-upper! Unfortunately, the boy's father is the fixer-upper for the other side and you know they will eventually be fated to fight each other. When this does eventually occur, there's not much surprise about the outcome except that now Chiba feels obligated to see that the boy is taken to live with his long lost mother. This reunion scene and the entire last portion of the movie really was exciting and fully of welcome pathos--and it helped to raise an okay film to the level of being exceptional.
By the way, of all the martial arts films I have seen, this one might seem like the most misogynistic, as many, many women are slapped about and even killed. Because of this, the violence and lots of nudity, this isn't a safe bet for your kids--even if there is a cute little kid in the film!