Street Fighter has long been more than just a fighting game. It’s impossible to discuss the most popular video game characters of all time without mentioning Chun-Li, Ryu, or Ken. For many of us, it shaped our '90s childhood at the arcade and served as our introduction to the fighting-game genre. It also has inspired multiple movies, comic books, an anime series and manga, on top of endless collaborations with other fighting game and comic book franchises.
Street Fighter's massive popularity is also a curse when it comes to live-action video game adaptations: 1994's Street Fighter and 2009's Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li were poorly received, despite both films having big budgets and being hyped among fans. The franchise failing twice as live-action films was an embarrassment to Capcom, so it's no surprise fans would be concerned about a third attempt at creating a decent live-action film.
When Kitao Sakurai was announced as the Street Fighter director, fans were both excited and concerned about him taking reins due to a history of working closely with Eric Andre. There was hope though, especially with the positive reception of a few other video game adaptations in the last few years: Perhaps the experience of Andre’s eccentric style of comedy could mean a more unconventional approach, similar to Zach Cregger’s approach with Resident Evil? Maybe the casting mix of Andre, pro wrestlers, martial artists, and, for some reason, podcaster Andrew Schulz could produce a very chaotic live-action comedy? Unfortunately, the questions around the movie's identity are ultimately what hurt the adaptation the most because, even with cartoonish action and plenty of attempts at humor, this Street Fighter movie doesn't really figure out what it is.
As with many other adaptations of Street Fighter, Ken is rich and famous, but he is also a shell of the fighter he once was--Ryu's absence has clearly taken its toll. Noah Centineo encapsulates Ken’s flashy personality and inflated ego excellently, while showcasing his more fragile and sensitive side as he reminisces about his past life with Ryu. Meanwhile, Ryu is now living in the shadows as a homeless ramen chef. Andrew Koji as Ryu is also fantastic casting: His serious and noble demeanor, even when it comes to making terrible ramen, feels natural. The first act of Street Fighter is engaging thanks to its focus on Ken and Ryu’s relationship. Their individual personality quirks should have set the tone for the rest of the film, but sadly it starts to have an identity crisis when it transitions to the main plot.
Don’t get me wrong--there are still many aspects of the film that capture the essence of the Street Fighter games: vibrant and thrilling fight scenes, cheesy dialogue, and some initially questionable casting choices that finally make sense after seeing the movie, especially Noah Centineo's Ken Masters. Street Fighter also immediately captivates you. Shortly after the Capcom logo hypes up the audience, the film transitions to a beautifully animated sequence that highlights the deep bond between Ryu and Ken. The animated sequences are the best Street Fighter has ever looked on screen, and luckily these scenes become a staple throughout the film to highlight the history between the two young fighters.
Once the opening credits are over, the film continues to learn into '90s nostalgia with cool environments and oddly endearing comedic moments, as it depicts Ken living his life in 1993 without Ryu, his childhood rival and sworn brother who has been missing for years. Ken and Ryu’s last moment together was witnessing the death of their master, Gouken, by the deity Akuma, who was awakened by Ryu’s powers in the first World Warrior Tournament. Haunted by the death of their mentor and blaming himself for causing it, Ryu has disappeared from the fighting world.
As with other movies based on fighting games, Street Fighter is in a rush to reach its core goal: Get Ryu and all the iconic characters to battle in the World Warrior Tournament. The rush never fully allows the audience to absorb the other characters and environment. This flaw could have been balanced with the proper tone and character focus, but Street Fighter fails to do so, doing the cast a disservice.
The biggest letdown is the dialogue, as the humor is inconsistent and the movie never fully understands its own tone. Some characters, like Chun-Li and Dan Hibiki, don't fully commit to their personalities, either. Perhaps it’s the juvenile scripting or a casting issue, but either way, it felt like I was watching amateur actors in poor cosplay rather than seeing well-realized versions of these characters coming to life on screen. At first, the cringeworthy interactions got a few laughs out of me and had some very minor endearing moments, but it tries too hard to keep that comedic momentum going and fails miserably. The film forces you to accept bad writing and performances to drive it forward instead of allowing any of the interactions to feel natural.
Chun-Li’s character was the most disappointing to me. Her tragic backstory of avenging her father is already canon, which should’ve made it easier to adapt into a decent side plot with the right amount of tweaking, but instead she is incredibly flat and never fully fleshed out. Actor Callina Liang seems bored and uncomfortable throughout the entire film, even during her intense interactions with M. Bison and minor action moments. The writing and odd directional choices cater to the male gaze, making it obvious she was lazily written by a man. As one of the most capable and badass female characters in gaming, Chun-Li and, by extension, Callina Liang deserved better, and so did the fans.
The dumbfounding casting and scripting choice for this film was Andrew Schulz as Dan Hibiki. When Street Fighter was first announced, there was an immense amount of backlash for the casting of Andrew Schulz--a controversial podcaster and stand-up comedian. I could go on about the drama surrounding Schulz’s audience, his racism, hot takes, comedic style, etc., but for the sake of our collective sanity, I'll just say his inability to portray Dan’s character with any competency is yet another reason to question why he has any involvement in the production.
In Street Fighter canon, Dan is often portrayed as cocky and arrogant, while also being a bit inept as a fighter, yet in the movie his characterization is unclear--is he slimy or charismatic? Is he supposed to crack jokes, or just be an awkward friend? It’s also very odd how prevalent Dan is throughout the film, especially since he is without an arc or story to justify his frequent presence. The movie tries to sell you on a bond between Dan and Ken, but it’s a very uncomfortable friendship that never seems realistic or entertaining. The one vulnerable moment between them is immediately ruined by a weirdly homophobic joke--which, sadly, the film has a few of--and it comes off unsettlingly. In general, Dan and his casting are flat and uninspiring.
The initial joy of '90s nostalgia also wears off pretty quickly. It was certainly a welcome choice to have '90s hits like Montell Jordan’s “This is How We Do It” and 4 Non Blondes’ "What's Up?” feature on the soundtrack, but the movie goes on to then disregard the era the movie takes place in by blasting “Who Let the Dogs Out?,” a song that came out in 2000. While the film still remains pretty colorful, the lack of commitment to being period accurate undermines the vibe frequently.
The only aspect of Street Fighter that maintains a consistent quality is the fight choreography. This film is not afraid to embrace the cartoony vibes and reference unique movesets: hurricane kicks left and right, the iconic Hadoken, Blanka’s Electric Thunders, Zangief’s spinning piledriver, and a few more are sprinkled throughout each fight. Although the action was a little more limited due to the PG-13 rating, I was still impressed with the over-the-top stunts and tonally varied fights--silly spats with gags, a John Wick-style club brawl, and a few unique 1v1 battles that closely resemble what you would see in a Street Fighter game.
It’s also disappointing that a movie called Street Fighter fails to use its tournament structure for more individual fights between side characters. I would’ve loved to see Guile bust out some Sonic moves, or M. Bison doing anything other than complaining he needs more psycho power, but the film attempts to make up for it with a mix of impressive martial arts and campy action sequences elsewhere. Despite a PG-13 rating that limits the level of violence, the choreography team does fantastic work nevertheless. I just wish it had more Street Fighter style fights with different characters instead of being overshadowed by the goofy brawls you see in typical martial arts films.
Street Fighter is full of goofy action, colorful shots, and gorgeous animated sequences that focus on the bond between Ryu and Ken. It’s entertaining for some silly, mindless fun, but also a very messy movie that never quite figures out its tone and fails to sell you on its plot or characters. This is the best Street Fighter live action we have as far though, but unfortunately that's not an accolade worth bragging about.