When people talk about the "so bad it's good" era of the late 2000s, one movie usually claws its way to the surface like a botched special effect: Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li. It came out in 2009, a time when Hollywood was still desperately trying to figure out how to make video games work on the big screen without just making Resident Evil over and over again. Honestly, looking back at the Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li cast, you have to wonder what the casting director was thinking—or if they were just throwing darts at a board of "actors who need a paycheck."
It was supposed to be a gritty reboot. A fresh start. Instead, we got a movie that makes the 1994 Jean-Claude Van Damme version look like a Criterion Collection masterpiece. But the cast is where the real story lives.
The Kristin Kreuk Conundrum
Let's start with the lead. Kristin Kreuk was fresh off her massive success as Lana Lang on Smallville. She was the "it girl" for a very specific demographic of TV viewers. Casting her as Chun-Li was... a choice.
Kreuk is talented, sure, but she's not a martial artist. In the games, Chun-Li is known for "the strongest legs in the world" and a fierce, commanding presence. Kreuk brought a sort of soft, porcelain vulnerability that didn't quite mesh with a woman supposed to be the world's most dangerous interpol-adjacent fighter. Most of the heavy lifting for the action was clearly handled by her stunt double, Ming Qiu, which becomes painfully obvious if you watch the wide shots.
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The biggest gripe fans had, and still have, is the ethnicity swap. Chun-Li is canonically Chinese. Kreuk is of mixed heritage (Chinese and Dutch), but the film leanied heavily into her looking more Caucasian to appeal to a "global audience"—a move that feels incredibly dated and kind of gross by 2026 standards.
Chris Klein and the Performance No One Can Forget
If you haven't seen Chris Klein as Charlie Nash, you haven't lived. Or maybe you've lived a very peaceful life and you should keep it that way. Klein, of American Pie fame, plays the Interpol agent with an intensity that can only be described as "accidentally hilarious."
He whispers. He squints. He delivers lines like "I love this job" while looking like he's trying to pass a kidney stone. It's camp. It’s peak "acting with a capital A." People still quote his bizarre delivery on Reddit threads to this day.
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- Character: Charlie Nash
- The Vibe: A 1980s cop parody trapped in a 2009 movie.
- The Reality: He’s using a gun instead of the "Sonic Boom," which basically defeated the purpose of him being Charlie Nash.
The Villains: M. Bison and the Shadaloo Crew
Then we have the late, great Michael Clarke Duncan as Balrog. This was actually a solid piece of casting on paper. Duncan had the physique and the gravelly voice to pull off the powerhouse boxer. Unfortunately, the script gave him almost nothing to do except stand around and look intimidating before being unceremoniously taken out.
Neal McDonough played M. Bison. Now, McDonough is a fantastic actor—he's usually the best part of any project he's in. But his Bison wasn't the caped, psychic-powered dictator we knew. He was a corporate mobster in a suit. He occasionally used an Irish accent that would vanish and reappear like a ghost.
The most "2009" casting move, though? Taboo from the Black Eyed Peas as Vega. Yes, that happened. He wore the mask, he had the claws, and he had about three minutes of screen time where he did some wire-work and then disappeared. It was a glorified cameo that felt more like a marketing gimmick than a character.
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Why the Lineup Didn't Save the Movie
The Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li cast actually had some heavy hitters. Moon Bloodgood (as Detective Maya Sunee) and Robin Shou (as Gen) are legitimately good in action roles. Shou, specifically, had already proven his "video game movie" cred as Liu Kang in Mortal Kombat.
But the movie failed because it tried to be a "serious" crime thriller while keeping the goofy names. You can't have a gritty scene about human trafficking and then have a guy named Vega jump off a balcony with a metal mask on. It creates this weird tonal whiplash that the actors couldn't bridge.
Where Are They Now?
Looking at the cast today, most of them moved on to much better things.
- Kristin Kreuk: Found a long-term home in procedural dramas like Beauty & the Beast and Burden of Truth.
- Neal McDonough: Became a staple villain in the "Arrowverse" as Damien Darhk, finally getting to play the type of powerful, charismatic villain Bison should have been.
- Chris Klein: Reclaimed his career with a surprisingly great turn as Cicada in The Flash and a lead role in Netflix's Sweet Magnolias.
- Moon Bloodgood: Transitioned into a steady career in TV, notably Falling Skies.
If you’re planning a "bad movie night," this is a top-tier pick. It’s a fascinating relic of a time when Hollywood thought the "brand name" of a game was enough to carry a movie, regardless of whether the cast fit the source material.
Your Next Steps:
If you want to see what a "faithful" adaptation looks like, skip the 2009 film and go watch Street Fighter: Assassin's Fist. It was a web series made by fans that actually understands the characters. Alternatively, go back and watch the 1994 movie—at least Raul Julia knew he was in a cartoon and played it to the rafters. If you're feeling brave, look up Chris Klein's "best moments" from Chun-Li on YouTube; it’s a five-minute masterclass in how not to play a detective.