Hiya!
It’s really weird how, despite being a worldwide phenomenon beloved all around the world, the Street Fighter franchise has never gotten a good full-length, live-action film. Okay, that’s not exactly true as there is Street Fighter: Assassin’s Fist but that was a fan film. Although Capcom did eventually give the people behind it the license to be an official film, I’m talking about the Street Fighter movies which were actually made with Capcom’s backing right from the start. From the “so bad it’s good” Street Fighter movie from 1993 to the “so bad it’s awful” Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li, they simply couldn’t put together a good movie based on their hit video game franchise.
It does look like the series’ fortunes are about to change as, this week, a new live-action Street Fighter movie is coming out… and it actually looks good! Well, I’ve just seen it and it looks like I have to take a quick break from reviewing horror movies for Spooktober to go see this, which I just did a few hours ago as of this writing. I will say, right off the bat, this is the best full-length, live-action Street Fighter movie but that’s not exactly high praise considering what came before it. The question is more if this Street Fighter movie is actually good. Well, read on to find out!
As Street Fighter hasn’t opened in some areas yet, I feel it’s only fair to make this a SPOILER FREE review. The film is actually dense in plot (kinda) and there are a ton of Easter Eggs for the hardcore Street Fighter fans to spot. I won’t be mentioning any of that for this review. Once again, SPOILER FREE review incoming!
Several years has passed since the first World Warrior tournament with Ryu beating everyone. Ever since then, M. Bison has been hunting down Ryu in the hopes of absorbing his fighting energy and he orders the second World Warrior tournament in the hope of drawing him out of hiding. Ken also joins the tournament as a way to regain some glory and to get from under Ryu’s shadow.
First off, I think it’s just swell how this Street Fighter movie is essentially all about a tournament. No silly “taking out a dictator” plot like in the 1993 movie or… whatever the plot of Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li is all about. This is all about a tournament. Sure, there’s the entire thing of M. Bison’s machinations for power and all that but at least there’s an actual fighting tournament this time around!
As this is a movie based on Street Fighter, I’m also very happy to report there is a lot of fighting involved. I’m also doubly happy to report that the fighting is also really great! They weren’t ashamed to show off some fantastical attacks like Zangief‘s Russian/Atomic Suplex and E. Honda‘s Sumo Headbutt. It also looks like they used very minimal CGI to do them and mostly relied on wirework to execute these moves. They do look a little janky, as if they sped up the footage, but the jank adds to the charm of making these unrealistic looking attacks fun to see on the screen. However, there are a lot of action scenes and fight choreography which looked like they didn’t use any wire work and just good old fashion stunt work and, even then, those sequences look pretty damn good!
The film also doesn’t take itself too seriously and that’s actually a good thing. The Street Fighter games have always had this weird mixture of seriousness and silly to them and they do nail the vibe here pretty well. It just feels very good natured about it all so, when something goofy does happen on screen, you just accept it wholeheartedly. There’s just a really fun tone throughout the movie. That does kind of negatively affect the more serious moments, though, as they never let those moments really sink in because they have to move on with the plot.
Speaking of the plot, there are a lot of moving parts to it. Essentially, there are 4 main plots (yes, 4!) going on all at the same time revolving around Ryu, Ken, Chun-Li and M. Bison. If you know your Street Fighter lore, you know what they are but, as this is a SPOILER FREE review, I won’t be talking about them in detail. What’s important to know is it is a lot! I’m not sure if someone who’s not familiar with the characters will be able to follow it all because all of their stories are happening all at once! It doesn’t help how the film with cut between plot point to plot point frequently. All of their stories do come together in the end but I just have a sneaking suspicion all of this might feel overwhelming for those who just want to see a fighting tournament movie.
Thankfully, the acting here is surprisingly superb all around! The guy who plays Ken, Noel Centineo, captures the big, dumb jock with a soul energy perfectly. Adrew Koji‘s Ryu does well as the brooding fighter who takes himself a little too seriously. Callina Liang‘s Chun-Li is excellent as a woman who is very driven to achieve her goals. Weirdly enough, I do think, among the main characters, it’s David Dastmalchian‘s M. Bison which comes off the weakest. M. Bison is supposed to be this really intimidating and scary figure but he makes him more like an eccentric weirdo. It’s still good but it’s definitely a choice.
I also do have to say the entire supporting cast did an incredible job of embodying the characters they portray, even though they don’t exactly behave the way they do in the games. I was surprised at how good Cody Rhodes as the brash talking Guile was. He’s very much a scene stealer throughout the movie’s 120-minute runtime. He’s not on screen for that long but Roman Reigns‘ Akuma comes off as really menacing in all the right ways. I also liked Andrew Schultz‘s fast talking con artist energy he gave to Dan Hibiki as well as Eric Andre‘s brazen and smack-talking Doc Sauvage. I have to say, however, it took me a while to get into Mel Jarnson‘s Cammy and Vidyut Jammwal‘s Dhalsim but that’s mostly due to the fault of the writers. The film’s version of Cammy and Dhalsim are diametrically opposite on how they’re like in the games! Still, among the supporting cast, I will say I really didn’t like Orville Peck‘s take on Vega. He just didn’t act narcissistic nor graceful enough to do justice to the Spanish Ninja.
One thing I really was surprised by was the use of animation whenever they would go to a flashback. They really didn’t phone in these segments because the animation sequences are drop dead gorgeous! They’re all super fluid and drawn incredibly. I honestly wouldn’t mind if they just use animation for the sequel because it’s that good!
Finally, I have to talk about the ending of the movie as I was expecting a more satisfying closing. I won’t delve into what it was exactly because, again, this is a SPOILER FREE review. What I can say is it feels like they’re setting up for a sequel and it does look like they have ideas on what it’s going to be about. Still, I don’t like it as I would like my movie stories to end cleanly. Besides, it’s not like the movie studio can’t pull the plug if the film doesn’t do well. So, please, in the future, always write a good and definite ending in your movies in the future, people!
Overall, if you’re a fan of the Street Fighter series, this is a no-brainer must watch. The more important question is, if you aren’t a Street Fighter fan, should you watch this video game adaptation? I also say yes but you have to temper your expectations a little. This is a more cartoony fighting tournament with fighters flying around performing unrealistic attacks. It’s also very silly and non-serious in general. Heck, I would say it’s like watching a live-action anime with fights! If that’s your speed, you’ll have a good time, even though you might have some trouble following the multiple plots. Then again, the fights are so good, you might not mind not knowing what the heck is happening.
So, yeah, not only is Street Fighter the best live-action Street Fighter film, it’s also just a plain, old good movie as well.
Byee!
Have you seen the new live-action Street Fighter film? What did you think of it? Let me know in the comments section below!
