Fighters from around the world compete in a tournament while a villain tries to steal power from one of them in Kitao Sakurai’s disjointed, frustrating, and annoying Street Fighter, an adaptation of the Capcom game series.
It’s almost unfair to try to compare the two recent Capcom video game adaptations. With Resident Evil, Zach Cregger had a strong game story to draw from and translate. Street Fighter has less story and more punchy action to draw together for Kitao Sakurai’s film. But it also highlights how differently the two films work, and why one succeeds and the other falls flat. Cregger transforms the video game experience into a compelling narrative, building it with the care of a film and making it one of the year’s best. However, Sakurai and T.J. Fixman’s script for Street Fighter barely seems to understand how film works, with a scattershot, half-done script translated dully into a visual medium, failing to add a compelling story to the fighting game.
Yes, I’m aware there’s a ton of lore built up over dozens of games and other media since 1987. I’m coming in first and foremost as a film person, watching a movie; I don’t need deep background knowledge to enjoy a film. My knowledge is mostly geek knowledge, mainly the first film and vague memories of the myriad Street Fighter II editions in the mid-90s (when I was a teen). “It’s made for the fans” is a weaksauce excuse; as is “it’s aimed at young children.” But if one will go this route, shoving in references and direct game notes without trying to make it cinematic, at least make it entertaining rather than facepalm-worthy.
I might have to turn in my critic badge and film degree, but I honestly enjoy the 1994 Street Fighter, starring Jean-Claude Van Damme and directed by his frequent collaborator, Steven E. DeSouza. It’s knowingly cheesy, leaning into a silliness and large, cartoonish chutzpah. And it has Raul Julia’s go-for-broke, much-memed, final performance. He elevates all the silliness. True, punch for punch, the movie isn’t GOOD. But damn, it’s enjoyable. Unfortunately, Street Fighter 2026 mostly lacks fun or energy, except for a few moments. No, it need not be a goofy, fun sort; it can absolutely be serious and work through, even if it might clash with the colorful nature of the games; but it’s clear Sakurai’s film is intended to be comedic and energetic, even if it falls flat. For a more serious take…well, there was another. But the less we talk about 2009’s The Legend of Chun-Li, the better. I bet you forgot about that one until right now, didn’t you?
As it is, 2026’s Street Fighter is an ugly, annoying film. It’s a total mess in tone, fighting, character, and plotting. Now I shouldn’t slam the named creatives so hard; Street Fighter screams studio and producer notes, forced rewrites, and edits that cause the film to clash and fight with itself. But I won’t speculate; I’ll just report on the nearly two-hour result I sat through. The story Street Fighter follows is of Ken and Ryu, former best friends who grew up together. Ryu won the 1987 tournament, defeating Sagat by tapping into a darker nature, which brought about the demon Akuma. After Akuma kills their master, they separate, with Ken becoming an over-the-top stunt fighting icon and Ryu vanishing. In 1993 (for 1987 and 1993 were the years of the first two games, a set of dates that makes no sense with the references made to pop culture and stating current slang “problemantic” and “lock in”, indicating a late in the game add), M. Bison is trying to make himself powerful and sets up a new tournament to lure Ryu out and gain his power for his own. A tournament that does not matter at all, treated like a necessary evil for the film. It’s barely seen, with various off-screen fights and drop-outs for… reasons, it seems. It’s a plus to leave it off, since that means fewer annoying Eric Andre (Sakurai directed The Eric Andre Show) announcer scenes. At least they have it, unlike the 2021 Mortal Kombat that is pure prologue. But Street Fighter also leaves off incomplete, with an inane cliffhanger that is less of intrigue and more of “oh, we’re done? But the story isn’t over yet! Did they run out of money or lose the last 12 pages of script?” Along the way, Chun-Li, a mole in Bison’s organization, tries to take down M. Bison for killing her father; Ryu figures out his issues; and Ken comes to terms with being a loser.
But they all are. The characters are weak and sad; hobbled by the film. Yes, one expects growth and character arcs, but this doesn’t work, with half-idealized traumas to work past. That is, when they aren’t fully underwritten, like Balrog and Zanglief, they get nothing. Guile gets a few notes, as does Dhalsim. Vega’s swishy, stylish Spaniard nature is treated as an extended gay joke. These happen often, not just with Vega, but throughout. They do not fit in 2026. As does the reductionist Asian fetishism put on Chun-Li, especially in a creepy turn by Kyle Glover. A final punch-down in the writing notes that the humor is awful and grating, even beyond the outdated jokes. Prepare to see jokes like Ken’s clumsiness 4 times in a row; also, did you like “What’s Going On” used in the trailer? Prepare to hear it 7 times. When Masters of the Universe, a film that does have a meme connection to the song, is restrained with its use, but Street Fighter forces the joke, it’s an issue.
Street Fighter also falls into the issue of many video game adaptations: references for reference’s sake, in ways that don’t truly affect the plot. A fight between Ryu and E. Honda does nothing; Jason Momoa’s Blanka is a throwaway. It’s forced and awkward. To be fair to these sequences, the film is so disjointed that you could remove any specific element and it wouldn’t really change the film. This includes Ken and Chun-Li, let alone Andre’s announcer or Grover’s Interpol agent. It’s so disjointed.
It’s not all for naught. Some parts of Street Fighter work. The animated sequences from Titmouse work like gangbusters. They have an energy and drive. The animation is amazing; it moves and feels alive. It’s a strong choice to do these flashbacks this way, whether it’s Ken & Ryu, Chun Li and Bison, or Blanka. It makes me wonder why they didn’t do the whole thing this way. I’m aware there are other animated Street Fighter films, showing it works. Some parts, such as a prison break and Cammie firing a bazooka, have a wonderful, colorful, knowing B-movie feel. When the prison-break sequence started, it felt like another director stepped in for five minutes. I was enthused, perking up with a new jolt. Until it goes away and back to the drab. I liked a particular joke about the useless tournament and how a specific character works through it. Some of the easter eggs are fun.
The performers are mostly fine, doing their best with what they can. Noah Centineo tries real hard as Ken. Andrew Shlutz is annoying as Dan Hibiki. Orville Peck’s mask gimmick continues to play Vega. Callina Lang seems unsure how to approach Chun-Li (the writing for her is all over the place). Andrew Koji, as Ryu, is an actual martial artist, and that goes a long way. It’s too bad Cody Rhodes, playing Guile, doesn’t get much fighting time. With many of the cast being actual fighters, there are flashes that show it, even if the fights are shot terribly, fast and quick, with little time to let the punches and kicks land. Nearly all are done quickly (for the title, about 30 seconds on a street). But I have to mention David Dastmalchian as M. Bison. Dastmalchian is a wonderful actor, one of my favorites, and I love to see him. But he’s supremely miscast as M. Bison. He doesn’t have the sheer power of will Bison needs; yes, Raul Julia set a very high bar (and referencing a specific line proves the point; if you don’t want me to compare, don’t include that line). Having him say “I’m too small” as his first line sets a bad precedent that never gets overcome. He’s as weak as the rest.
My review is a little bit of a mess. But the film is, too, which makes it hard to explain concisely why it falls flat. Bad editing, characters, plotting, and just all-around annoyance. Street Fighter is mostly a failure, with some bright spots: an occasionally cheesy tone, some good fights, and awesome animated sequences. It’s a film that doesn’t quite know what it is and how to play its game. Don’t put any quarters in.