movies have been based on novels for a while . even old tv-shows and comic books . but only recently have movies been based on video games . the following are short reviews of some recent movies based on video games . enjoy . send any comments/critiques/flames to <a href= " mailto : magus@mindspring . com " >magus@mindspring . com</a> ( me ) . enjoy ! ! super mario bros . : the movie ( 1994 ) starring : dennis hopper and john leguizamo this movie is based off the wildly popular video-game series of the same name . before this film , the game had a few spin-off cartoons- which were ok . but the idea of doing a movie is insane . it should have been animated , if it should have been done at all . instead the people do the best they can with a talented cast . yet it still fails . the plot is completely different from the game's plot- i'm not complaining about that . the story involves the mario bros . having a plumbing business in brooklyn and having to compete with a rival company . eventually they find a construction site by their nemesis , which happens to be enviromentally un-safe . so , due to luigi's ( john leguizamo ) girlfriend - princess daisy - they go and investigate . they get transported to a blade runner-esque world lead by king koopa ( dennis hopper ) . somehow a plot dealing with all the dinosaurs being mutated and transported to an alternate futuristic mega-city jumbles in . the plot is fine- better than the movie deserves . the acting is ok . this seems to be more of a visual film . the special effects are good , especially on the robotic yoshi . however the film drags and is no fun . and it leaves itself open to a sequel , which probably won't ever be made . this movie begins sort of promising , but ends up leaving a weird taste in your mouth . so if you want to watch a sort of odd movie starring the excellent dennis hopper , then watch super mario bros . : the movie . you could do worse . but you could definitely do better . . . * 1/2 out of * * * * . street fighter : the movie ( 1995 ) starring : raul julia and jean claude van-damme this movie was based off of a series of never ending sequels to a game called street fighter 2 . it has all the characters from the game in a reasonable plot . it is more like a " movie " than it should be . yes , it's watchable . raul julia does a good job , considering this was his final film . while the game had non-stop fighting sequences , this movie is a hodge-podge of action scenes and flashy sets and costumes while trying to show off a plot at the same time . does it work ? sort of . . . the plot involves the evil shadowloo organization run by m . bison ( raul julia ) . guile ( jean claude van-damme ) takes his troops to attack bison's main base in an attempt to liberate the innocent villages he has taken over . in a short amount of time , the movie introduces several characters well . it catches your attention . but it ultimately seems like a showcase for fans of the game so you can point out things like " there's chun li ! ! " or " look at that fire-ball ryu did at vega " . it hits the bases by presenting the characters in a plot with good sets , but goes no further . this movie needed more action in the first place . the action scenes that are here are short and not very exciting . if you like light-hearted action flicks , or if you liked the game , watch this one . it is even worth watching if you want to see raul julia's last performance , or if you can't get enough of van damme . other than that , you could find better action flicks . * * out of * * * * . 
