Street Fighter Movie Review: A Messy KO That Pulls Its Punches

Ever walked out of a movie feeling like you just survived a hyper-edited TikTok binge? That's the Street Fighter reboot in a nutshell.

Capcom's been on a roll lately—Resident Evil: Requiem, Pragmata, Onimusha: The Way of the Sword, and the latest Monster Hunter Stories have all been bangers. Even Zack Cregger's Resident Evil set a new bar for game adaptations. But this Street Fighter flick? It's an overstuffed miss. A hyper-edited, dick-joke-filled, tonally inconsistent movie that ends halfway through its own story. Instead of leaving you wanting more, you're left with a headache from too many booming needle-drops and too few satisfying uppercuts.

The character roster is bursting at the seams—four primary protagonists all get too little screen time. Ken Masters is a washed-up fighter doing Duracell ads and novelty bouts with polar bears. He's rich, jacked, and looks like Noah Centineo, but nobody wants to party with him, so he sings karaoke alone. Meanwhile, Andrew Koji's Ryu has gone into hiding after failing to save his master Gouken from Akuma. Possessed by a dark force, he's swapped hadoukens for selling noodles to tourists.

Then there's M. Bison—a high-camp David Dastmalchian—hosting a second World Warrior tournament to lure out Ryu and steal his 'hado' powers. He sends Chun-Li to recruit fighters, but surprise! She's an undercover Interpol agent with a revenge streak. Ken's agent Dan Hibiki, a metaphorical punching bag, ends up with as much screen time as Chun-Li. And the rest? Eric André's Don Sauvage, Jason Momoa's Blanka (raised by electric eels), Cody Rhodes' Guile with the most ridiculous haircut ever, plus 50 Cent's Balrog, Vidyut Jammwal's Dhalsim, Orville Peck's Vega, and more—all just set dressing.

Director Kitao Sakurai edits every scene like it's a TikTok, leaving no room to breathe or form emotional connections. Characters shout their motivations repeatedly, just in case you're scrolling reels. The fights suffer too: wirework and CGI recreate game moves, but they often look janky. Cool moments are signposted with slow motion. Unlike Mortal Kombat, there's no blood to distract from the clunkiness—it's aimed at 12-year-old boys.

Surprisingly, the movie works best as a comedy. Sakurai's slapstick shines, but your mileage depends on how much you enjoy lowbrow jokes. Example: Ken gets punched in the cajones and someone yells, 'Yo, his dick is toast!' It's one of the biggest laughs. The animated sequences, however, are stunning—serious in tone and like classic '90s anime. If the whole movie were animated, it might've been another Capcom win.

Street Fighter's biggest flaw is trying to do too much: cramming three movies' worth of characters and plot into two hours, then ending inexplicably halfway through a scene without resolving the main conflict. It's sequel bait when they should've focused on making round one perfect. Street Fighter hits theaters on October 16. Will you be buying a ticket, or are you sitting this fight out?