10 Redeeming Elements In Otherwise Awful Movies
7. Raul Julia's Performance - Street Fighter (1994)
Directed by notable action movie screenwriter Stephen E. de Souza, the man who co-wrote Die Hard and Commando, Street Fighter was the third video game to movie adaptation ever attempted by Hollywood, and it proved once and for all that the third time was not the charm for this particular genre.
The films failures are manifold, but the most infamous thing about the end product is how badly it soiled the legacy of the great Raul Julia.
Julia accepted the role of Bison to please his children, but was dying of stomach cancer during production, and you can tell in the finished product if you pay attention to how weary and thin he looks. But you could be forgiven for not noticing, because his performance is still irresistibly magnetic.
He is not given credit for putting all the energy he had left into a deliciously hammy role. He makes some of the most ludicrous speeches ever written thoroughly entertaining, and he seems to be the only actor in the film to understand the proper tone of a Street Fighter film - i.e. one of ludicrous camp. Also, he gets one of the most brilliant villain put downs ever written:
"For you, the day Bison graced your village was the most important day of your life. But for me, it was Tuesday."