PLOT: Once brothers in arms, Ryu (Andrew Koji) and Ken (Noah Centineo) have become estranged following Ryu’s victory in a tournament years earlier, one achieved through deadly, demonic means. Now, when the mysterious Chun-Li (Callina Liang) recruits them for the next World Warrior Tournament, Ryu and Ken are thrust back into a brutal showdown of fists, fate, and fury. But beneath the tournament’s explosive battles lies a sinister conspiracy that threatens to tear them apart, forcing both warriors to confront not only each other but also the demons of their past. At the head of it all is M. Bison (David Dastmalchian), desperate to steal as much power as he can from the greatest fighters in the world.
REVIEW: When I was a kid, I pumped countless quarters into the Street Fighter cabinet at my local arcade. There wasn’t really any strategy to how I played. I just button-mashed, hoped for the best, and had fun even if the results were mixed. And appropriately enough, that’s kind of similar to how the Street Fighter movie feels. It’s button-mashing its way through the story. Your mileage may vary, but if you don’t take it too seriously, you might have a decent time.
After several films that shifted the spotlight to other characters, the franchise returns to its roots with a fresh start centered on Ryu and Ken, just as in the games.
In an era of reboots and adaptations taking the gritty route to skirt around the campiness of their source material, Street Fighter veers hard in the other direction. This film is poppy, flashy, and unapologetic in its silliness. It’s the kind of cheesy B-movie action romp you don’t see a lot of studios making anymore. At times, it may feel like that’s for the best, but when it’s fun, it’s very fun. It wears its 1993 setting like a badge of honor, soaking each scene in neon and nostalgia, complete with needle drops from the decade and throwbacks to pop culture that feel right at home. As the characters themselves say a few times, give the people what they want.
An unexpected treat resulting from the film’s tonal whiplash is a series of animated sequences that feel right out of the decade’s anime wave. The film opens with one such sequence and uses that animation to drive a title sequence that honestly kind of rules. Using this style to fill in the flashbacks was a wise choice, as it’s an engaging visual language to layer into the rest of the insanity. So much so that when we get into the live-action portions, viewers may feel a bit of a drag before the action picks back up.
But the occasional pacing trouble is far from the only thing that bogs down the fun.
The dialogue is pretty rough at points (though, I guess, to be fair, who goes to Street Fighter for that?). The characters often spell out exactly what the purpose of a scene or their arc is in pretty clunky fashion, with lines like, “Do you want redemption or not?” It’s pretty on-the-nose stuff. The cast does its best to carry it, but some lines feel like placeholders waiting to be revisited in a future draft that never came. The comedy can fall flat, too. Ironically, with a cast featuring several prominent comedians, some of the best jokes that actually land come from actors not necessarily known for being funny, like Noah Centineo and Cody Rhodes, who does a lot with the little time he has.
The plot itself dives into familiar tropes (a fallen warrior seeking redemption, an undercover agent seeking vengeance, etc., etc.) and hits a lot of the beats you’d expect from stories like these. For example, we get our mandatory moment where the hero cuts his scraggly hair and beard and cleans up to represent his emergence back into the world. But again, I stress, we’re not really here for those things, are we? We’re here for the fights, and I’m happy to report that those, at least, are fun.
Each fight is a blast, featuring unique styles and power moves. Some are more lighthearted, like a hotel brawl between Ryu and Ken where Ken is bested by his own incompetence, with Ryu winning the fight using simple moves like scooting back slightly in a chair. All the powers you’d expect from the game are here, each one certain to bring a smile to this ’90s gamer’s face. And you better believe we all cheered when Ryu let out his signature “Hadouken!” The best fights take place outside the tournament itself, with the film often skipping tournament fights altogether just to tell us the result, which was a bizarre move for a tournament movie.
There are plenty of Easter eggs and fan-service moments built in, some almost presented with a pause in the dialogue to make room for the expected cheer, like when Chun-Li emerges in her signature outfit. There are actually a few big costume-reveal moments, and I’ll admit, I wasn’t above ’em. Because this film, while on very shaky ground from a story and writing standpoint, is ultimately made for exactly that sort of thing: a series of nods to the gamers. You can almost feel the cast going, “Here you go, fans!”
Speaking of the cast, we’re presented with a true rogues’ gallery of actors fleshing out the roster, from Eric André and Roman Reigns to Jason Momoa, Orville Peck, and 50 Cent. Many of the roles are limited to a scene or two. Our leads, Andrew Koji and Noah Centineo, do a great job selling the shaky relationship between their fighters, and it’s a good time watching them share the screen. Callina Liang steps into the iconic shoes of Chun-Li and does a great job bringing the character to life. Momoa brings a more childlike performance to Blanka, Roman Reigns brings a sinister energy to Akuma, and Cody Rhodes fills out Guile’s flattop nicely.
And, of course, what would Street Fighter be without its big bad, M. Bison? The role was played by the legendary Raúl Juliá in the ’90s, so I enjoyed seeing the torch passed to a modern horror icon, David Dastmalchian. Dastmalchian plays Bison more like a cult leader in the Jim Jones mold, sneering his way through the dialogue with thick, smarmy gravitas. He’s clearly having a fun time in the role, and even though his version of the famous “For me, it was Tuesday” line doesn’t hit as hard, it’s difficult not to enjoy watching him chew the scenery.
The film’s ending is very frustrating, choosing to focus more on setting up a sequel than delivering a satisfying wrap-up. It’s abrupt and not at all satisfying. It sets up a sequel we may never see and is a total cop-out. Filmmakers should play the cards they have in their hands to tell a complete story instead of holding on to them in the hopes of a sequel that isn’t guaranteed, and it leaves the film hanging on an unsatisfying note.
All in all, this film ok at best. Perfectly harmless, but perfectly fun. It’s the kind of ’90s throwback movie you’d pick up on a whim at Blockbuster on a Friday night and enjoy with your school buddies over a pizza. But that’s about it. It tends to fall flat in some areas, some of it feels incomplete, and not all the humor lands, but at least the fights and the sheer silliness of its tone help balance things out. If you want a good story with the writing and a satisfying ending to match, you’re out of luck. It tries to do a bit too much and loses itself in its own wild ambitions. It doesn’t break the mold, but it’s a mostly fun watch that certainly feels like the game came to life. And depending on what you’re looking for out of this one, that could be enough, but it’s not more than that.
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