Film Review: Street Fighter
Hadouken! Street Fighter arrives in theaters as an exceedingly silly yet entertaining enough adaptation of the beloved Capcom video game. Fan-favorite characters, their ferocious special attacks, and the franchise's iconic costumes are faithfully represented. Less successful, however, are the handful of minor game characters who consume far too much screen time, adding unnecessary clutter to an already farcical story. That said, the filmmakers deserve credit for the stylish anime flashback sequences that inject creativity into an otherwise choppy narrative.
The beatdown begins with an animated intro that takes place in 1987. A young Ken Masters (Noah Centineo) watches as his best friend and training partner Ryu (Andrew Koji) fights in the championship match of the inaugural World Warrior tournament. The boys come from vastly different backgrounds, but have become inseparable under the tutelage of Master Gouken (Don Lee). Ken watches in horror as Ryu is pulverized by his vicious opponent. The fight seems to be over, but a powerful force emerges from Ryu that shocks the spectators.
Six years later, Ryu has long disappeared and Ken has become a laughing stock in the martial arts world. The once great fighter shills any product while performing ridiculous publicity stunts. He’s prodded by the pony-tailed Dan Hibiki (Andrew Schulz), another disciple of Gouken who’s now Ken’s manager and bestie. Meanwhile, in Metrolao City, it’s vile and sadistic ruler M. Bison (David Dastmalchian) tortures the strongest prisoners to extract “psycho power.” But their strength isn’t nearly enough, Bison wants the energy he witnessed from Ryu in the tournament. He decides to host a second World Warrior competition to lure him out of hiding. Bison dispatches his seemingly loyal lieutenant Chun-Li (Callina Liang) to find Ryu and gather the world’s best fighters.
Let’s start with what works. Street Fighter takes place in 1993 and successfully captures that aesthetic. The settings and hard-rocking score, except for a particularly soulful and recurring tune, achieve the period look and feel. It’s purposely cheesy and aids Ken’s descent into inanity and worthlessness. The anime flashbacks continue as we learn what drove Ken and Ryu apart. Ken is desperate to prove himself and prime for Chun-Li’s beckoning. Liang plays her character seriously while everyone else overracts to fit the game’s personalities. She’s the film’s anchor in a subplot that reveals her true ambitions.
The fight sequences are well-shot and choreographed. Director Kitao Sakurai, known primarily for his collaborations with comedian Eric André, keeps the hand-to-hand combat thrilling and aligned with the game interactions. He also does a good job bringing certain trademark characteristics to life. Dhalsim (Vidyut Jammwal), with his elongated arms and rubbery movement looks pretty cool. The same goes for Zangief (Olivier Richters), Balrog (Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson), and Vega (Orville Peck, sticking to his guns and continuing to wear a mask). The standout performance comes for Dastmalchian, who nails Bison as a creepy and narcissistic psychopath.
The remaining ensemble isn’t as good with two that are insufferably annoying throughout. Schulz and André are usually funny performers, but their schtick gets old fast. André plays Don Sauvage, the host of Combat News and sole judge in the tournament. His irritating antics and exaggerated mannerisms become grating in scenes that are already foolish. Then Schulz, who plays Dan, is a constant at Ken’s side. He’s supposed to be further comic relief but just serves as a verbal punching bag who does nothing in the film. Sakurai’s longterm relationship with André explains why he wasn’t edited further, but Schulz’s presence is truly baffling. These two roles should have been truncated. There are too many characters and absurdity overload for them to play such big parts in the film.
Street Fighter does a poor job connecting events in big action sequences. The tournament itself is incredibly disappointing with little actual fighting. You have matches that aren’t seen and just mentioned in the aftermath. There are also no-shows and draws that don’t deliver the showdowns that legions of fans expect. I didn’t get to see my favorite game character fight and that frankly sucks. How can the tournament be a minor part of the plot? This makes no sense whatsoever and is a tremendous negative.
Street Fighter is a mixed bag experience that eeks out a recommendation. The parts worth watching generally outweigh what fails. Centineo, Koji, Liang, and Dastmalchian embody the games’ primary characters and action. The animation looks great and probably saved the budget by not having to film complex, VFX-heavy scenes. Everything else is goofy and overblown.
Street Fighter is a production of Legendary Pictures and Capcom. It will be released theatrically on October 16th from Paramount Pictures.
