10 OKAY Movies Elevated By ONE Phenomenal Performance
1. Street Fighter - Raul Julia
Street Fighter is not a great movie, but clearly nobody thought to tell Raul Julia that as he gives one of his career best turns here. He goes hammy sometimes, but in all the right ways and with a pomp that’s perfect not only for the movie’s tone, but for the character of M. Bison too.
Julia was a consummate professional, taking inspiration from Mussolini and Shakespeare’s Richard III for the villainous Bison. By contrast, co star Jean-Claude Van Damme frequently showed up late or missed days entirely because of a cocaine addiction and whirlwind affair with Kylie Minogue.
It’s no surprise that the only thing anyone remembers about this movie is Julia’s ‘for you, the day Bison graced your village was the most important day of your life. But for me, it was Tuesday’.
Perhaps the sweetest part of it all (maybe bittersweet, given that this was Julia’s last role before his untimely death), was that Julia only agreed to star in the movie for his children.
He reportedly didn’t think the script was all that but because his kids were big Street Fighter fans, thought it would make them happy to see their father in the movie.