TL;DR – A complete mess of a film, with conflicting targets, wants, vibes, and narratives all colliding together in whatever we got in the final product.

Post-Credit Scene – There is a mid-credit scene.

Disclosure – I was invited to a press screening of this film.

Street Fighter Review Introduction

If you had asked me a year ago if I was excited for a Street Fighter film, I probably would have looked at you oddly. The original was a bit of a camp mess, and video game adaptations in general have not been kind. However, the more we heard about this film, the more the dial shifted, and I became genuinely intrigued to see whether they could pull off such a chaotic premise. (Editor’s note: I was optimistic here before I watched the film; it does not go well for me)

So, to set the scene, for a long time, Ken Masters (Noah Centineo) and Ryu (Andrew Koji) were best friends, inseparable. That is until fate tore them apart in a way that only best friends can be ripped asunder: the death of their master Gouken (Don Lee). Many years later, in 1993, the next World Warrior Tournament is upon the world, and Chun-Li (Callina Liang) is on a mission to reunite the former friends and get them to fight. Still, none of them knows just what M. Bison (David Dastmalchian) has cooking in the background.

Conflicting Drives

One of the main issues with the film is that it has so many conflicting ideas and drives, but none of them is working in tandem. This creates a very haphazard viewing experience as Street Fighter jumps and chops between the many different drives. It feels like every character is in a different movie, with different tones/themes. This is more than just needing to insert a fun quip all the time that pulls you out of the film. It is a systemic problem with Street Fighter’s identity, in that it does not have one, or too many fighting for position. For example: the film goes out of its way to let you know that it is set in 1993, down to some of the more uncomfortable ‘comedic’ points. But then it uses in-universe diegetic music such as Who Let the Dogs Out that didn’t come out until 2000. The left hand does not know what the right hand is doing.  

What is This Film

Where this tension plays out the most is in its narrative, or more importantly, the story that keeps inserting itself into the film to drag the pacing and interests to a crawl. It honestly feels like there was a real struggle to justify how you get all the characters together in a film. We have seen how to put together an adaptation such as this with the recent Resident Evil, where you just need to create the framework as to why these shenanigans are happening. Street Fighter has to drown you in competing narrative interests that do not need to be there. The big problem with this is the dull narrative inserts itself over the fights, of which, writing now, I can only remember there being one interesting one in the entire film [the bathhouse fight for those playing at home]. If you fail in the one premise of your work, then what is it? They literally resolve a fight off-camera, wild. Why do you have Cody Rhodes in your film if you don’t show his fight? This is even more galling given the obtuse ending that is more optimistic than I think they had a right to be.

Hints of Something Better

What really stings with Street Fighter is that every now and again, there are hints of a great film inside this complete mess. They do have hints to the lore of the series, including the car beatdown, they commit to the costumes, and at least one fight happens in a street. Noah Centineo, Andrew Koji, and Callina Liang make for compelling leads; indeed, the Chun-Li section might be some of the best of the film. Also, David Dastmalchian makes for a compelling antagonist. But the best part of the film is the animated flashbacks that we get. The work from Titmouse goes so hard, and I am not overstating it, that it makes the rest of the film so much worse, because you spend the rest of the film going “why couldn’t we have gotten that film?” Visually engaging and crafted with care.

Recommendation

In the end, do we recommend Street Fighter? Unfortunately, not. There are moments where Street Fighter shines. However, they are far apart, and you must wade through an insipidly juvenile, dull affair to get there.  

Have you watched Street Fighter? Let us know what you thought in the comments below. If you liked Street Fighter, we would recommend Sonic the Hedgehog 3 to you because it shows how you can adapt something profoundly wacky and make it work in the context of a film narrative.  

By Brian MacNamara: You can follow Brian on Bluesky at @Tldrmovrev, when he’s not chatting about Movies and TV, he’ll be talking about International Relations, or the Solar System.

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Credits – All images were created by the cast, crew, and production companies of Street Fighter
Directed by – Kitao Sakurai
Story by – Dalan Musson & Gary Dauberman
Screenplay by – T. J. Fixman & Kitao Sakurai
Based on – Street Fighter created by Takashi Nishiyama, Hiroshi Matsumoto, & Capcom
Music by – Leo Birenberg & Zach Robinson
Cinematography by – Ken Seng
Edited by – Luke Lynch
Production/Distribution Companies – Legendary Pictures, Capcom, & Paramount Pictures.
Starring – Noah Centineo, Andrew Koji, Callina Liang, Joe “Roman Reigns” Anoa’I, David Dastmalchian, Cody Rhodes, Andrew Schulz, Eric André, Vidyut Jammwal, Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson, Jason Momoa, Don Lee, Orville Peck, Olivier Richters, Hirooki Goto, Mel Jarnson, Rayna Vallandingham, & Alexander Volkanovski
Rating – Australia: M; Canada: PG; Germany: 12; New Zealand: M; United Kingdom: 12A; United States: PG-13