Street Fighter (2026)
Directed by: Kitao Sakurai
Premise: An adaptation of the video game. Set in 1993, dictator M. Bison (David Dastmalchian) organizes a fighting championship to lure a talented competitor out of hiding and absorb his powers.
What Works: The Street Fighter video game series was produced in the 1980s and 90s. Unlike Mortal Kombat which was fantastic but generally had a human scale to its violence and characters, Street Fighter looked more like a cartoon. 2026’s Street Fighter resembles the comic book films of the 1990s like Dick Tracy, Batman Forever, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. The moviemakers find a way of doing this material in live action while retaining the characteristic Street Fighter aesthetic. The costumes and characters are loud and larger than life but presented with a credible physicality. The filmmakers know this is ridiculous and include a lot of humor. They don’t turn Street Fighter into a joke but many of the fights have an element of physical comedy. Street Fighter has a lot of characters and subplots and it’s impressive how well the filmmakers manage everything. The core of the story is the relationship between Ryu and Ken Masters (Andrew Koji and Noah Centineo), childhood friends who’ve had a falling out. Meanwhile INTERPOL agent Chun-Li (Callina Liang) infiltrates M. Bison’s inner circle. Most everyone has an identity of their own and given how much is happening, it’s amazing that Street Fighter makes any sense at all.
What Doesn’t: The supernatural element of Street Fighter is not done well. The film throws a lot of exposition at the audience and it probably makes sense to fans who are steeped in the lore but for everyone else it’s bound to be confusing. The filmmakers of 2026’s Street Fighter lean into 1990s nostalgia but they don’t do that very well either. There are some relevant fashion choices but quite often the movie comes across as generic 1990s rather than specific to 1993. That’s especially evident in the music. The film has needle drops from all over the decade and songs are often placed randomly in ways that don’t match the action or the tone. Like the recent Mortal Kombat films, the tournament of Street Fighter is treated as an afterthought. A lot of the fights don’t happen in the ring or even on a street. Instead, Street Fighter becomes a buddies-in-action flick. It ends on a cliffhanger that is unsatisfying. The story doesn’t come to a close in the way of The Empire Strikes Back or Back to the Future Part II. The movie just stops.
Bottom Line: Street Fighter is chaotic and overstuffed. The excess generally suits the movie. This film has been made for the fans of the video game and for them it’s probably satisfying. Given the incomplete ending, how we feel about this film may change if and when a sequel is released.
Episode: #1124 (November 1, 2026)