Jul 31 2008First Look at Balrog from 'Street Fighter', or Maybe Just a Dude with a Gun
Man, they really nailed a couple of broad physical traits (being large, black), and totally got the name right. Street Fighter is definitely on the right track. I don't want to get too over-excited, but I have a feeling this is going to be The Dark Knight of video game movies. Except that the characters in this won't so much be darker, more realistic versions of themselves as much as completely unrecognizable. And instead of being hailed as a breakthrough in the genre, it will be shit.
New Set Photos: Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li [/Film]
Reader Comments
1. wendy - July 31, 2008 1:49 PM
Technically they should call him M. Bison as that was what he was called in the original Japanese release of Street Fighter 2. Only in the American version did they switch Balrog's and Bison's names.
2. jesse - July 31, 2008 2:00 PM
Well I do have to say I couldn't have expected anyone better than John Coffey to play Balrog's part.
3. TallFace - July 31, 2008 2:10 PM
BOLLOCKS is more like it!
4. Eville1 - July 31, 2008 2:59 PM
@Wendy;
I'm going to have to go with ...nah. Since he was M Bison in the original japanese version, let the Japanese make their own Street Fighter movie and call him M Bison. There are a zillion people out there aside from you and I who did not know that and would not insist on it so why does it matter? He's Balrog.
5. wendy - July 31, 2008 4:20 PM
#4, I was just being silly.
6. wendy - July 31, 2008 4:21 PM
cont: I sometimes forget that people on the internet actually say those kinds of things seriously.
7. dan - July 31, 2008 4:33 PM
considering the cast and the craptacular "ghetto" theme of the movie (from whats implied from the official site) i think the characters names are the lat thing we need to worry about.
p.s-doesn't balrog have hair? it just looks like michel duncan playing michel duncan.
8. Bobeyo - July 31, 2008 8:25 PM
Thank God they didn't get him to play Balrog in Lord of the Rings. The big fiery guy pulled it off much better.
So there was some big muscular doofus in some dumb fighting game named Balrog? That's as insulting as the green-skinned pteranodon shapeshifter who hypnotizes people named Sauron in X-Men. Ugh.
9. Aerialgreen - July 31, 2008 8:55 PM
Check out Balrog's huge package, damn, how is he able to walk hahaha
10. Mr. Mason - August 1, 2008 1:30 PM
Can this movie get more pointless?
Casting somewhat recognizable names based on somewhat similar body type without bothering to make them look like the people they're supposed to be playing? If the title wasn't telling people that this is a Street Fighter movie no one would know otherwise.
Here's hoping that's actually the case.
This is the difference between enjoyable schlock like the new Hulk & Punisher movies vs. ...whatever this is supposed to be. If you're going to do a B-movie, do it with stylized violence that can't be seen anywhere else. Otherwise, if I wanted to see a giant angry black man screaming and shooting a gun I'd move back home with my father.
P.S. HAHAHA OH MAN ROBIN SHOU'S HAIR [ http://www.slashfilm.com/wp/wp-content/images/chunli1.jpg ]