What You Need to Know: This is a fantastic soundtrack. Stephen Endelman's work on "Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li" is robust, full of melody, and to the point; this isn't a score that wastes the listener's time. As evidence of that, the album begins with combat music that sets up an edgy, energetic tone for the rest of the score. There's no slow build up or brooding underscore here, this one's about the martial arts action! If you're someone (like me) who was disappointed by a soundtrack like "The Forbidden Kingdom," then this one is the draw for you.
As mentioned above, the soundtrack begins in attack mode but soon becomes a more evenly balanced score. After the action fare of the first few tracks blaze by, the Chinese genre instruments become featured with prominence and with a bit of romanticism. Now, we're not talking Tan Dun here, but Endelman's writing is respectable and creates a nice framework for the rest of his material to shine in. And while the energized action tracks stack up nicely on the forefront, its the catchy orchestral background beats that give this album a stylishly "cool" factor to it. Indeed, it's quite rewarding to hear what Endelman does with the secondary layers of music in some instances so be sure to pay attention to the depth that his work offers! Between brisk tempos, genre instruments and impressive background music, there are several elements at work that give this score its appeal.
Overall, I'm not sure if the film itself is a reboot, direct sequel, or merely a one-off with the franchise title, but I do know that the soundtrack gives the movie a fighting chance. I know that after I heard it, I was more willing to see the movie than I was beforehand. Lastly, while I usually criticize some soundtracks for having too much music or too many tracks for an ideal listening engagement, this is one instance where 27 cues is not a problem! The album flows too well for any repetition to set in.
