Street Fighter - Movie Review

Review Summary

Jeremy Jahns says the new live-action Street Fighter draws mainly on Street Fighter II. Ken and Ryu are at its center, while Chun-Li joins their paths as Bison’s tournament takes shape.

Jahns praises the leads for capturing Ken and Ryu. He also enjoys some of the exaggerated fights, game references, iconic music cues, and especially the animated sequences—which make him wonder why the whole film wasn’t animated.

Criticisms

The movie never settles on a tone, swinging between ’90s-style B-movie action, comedy, and earnest drama without fully committing to any of them. Some characters get little to do. Jahns calls Cody Rhodes’s Guile an idiot with a strange haircut rather than a convincing character, and jokes that the faithful costumes and looks resemble a Spirit Halloween display in a warehouse.

David Dastmalchian’s take on Bison disappoints Jahns, especially alongside Raúl Juliá’s memorable version from the 1994 film. The new movie even reuses a “but for me, it was Tuesday” joke, which Jahns sees as an awkward attempt to recreate Juliá’s magic. He also pokes fun at the soundtrack for using songs released after the story’s 1993 setting.

Verdict

Jahns says the film is sometimes a “brilliant Street Fighter-style disaster,” but often feels dull, poorly executed, and too long. He gives it credit for being more faithful to the games’ story than previous live-action adaptations, while joking that it might be much more enjoyable if viewers watched it drunk.

He closes by calling the ’90s Street Fighter a guilty pleasure and asking which film viewers prefer.

Personalities Discussed

Jeremy Jahns (reviewer); Andrew Schulz, Eric Andre, Cody Rhodes, David Dastmalchian, Jason Momoa, and Raúl Juliá.