‘Street Fighter’ Review: A Hadouken of Horny Fan Service and Frenetic Chaos
Street Fighter’s large, colorful, diverse roster boasts some of the most iconic characters in gaming history, and they are among the most challenging to translate into a feature film. OF COURSE we all know the 1994 train wreck Street Fighter as a pioneer of the video game adaptation wave that persists today and remains a mess. Only a select few people even remember 2009’s The Legend of Chun‑Li. The Simon McQuoid Mortal Kombat movies took the generic “when in doubt, capeshit blockbuster it out” route, going for cheap, self-aware, quippy points beyond their bloodfest. Honestly, I expected Kitao Sakurai’s (of The Eric Andre Show and Bad Trip fame) new Street Fighter to do the same, but to my surprise it felt inspired… at first. It deploys a Joel Schumacher‑by‑way‑of‑Stephen Chow approach similar to Sakurai’s slapstick, practical-oriented comedic style. To my chagrin, its fun is short-lived and often aims at the chuddiest of audiences.
MPA Rating: PG-13 (for violence/action, bloody images, strong language, sexual references, partial nudity and brief smoking.)
Runtime: 1 Hour and 54 Minutes (114 minutes)
Language: English
Production Companies: Legendary Entertainment, Capcom
Distributor: Paramount Pictures
Director: Kitao Sakurai
Screenwriters: T.J. Fixman, Kitao Sakurai
Cast: Andrew Koji, Noah Centineo, Callina Liang, David Dastmalchian, Jason Momoa, Joe "Roman Reigns" Anoa'i, Cody Rhodes, Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson, Vidyut Jammwal, Orville Peck, Olivier Richters, Hirooki Goto, Andrew Schulz, Eric André, Mel Jarnson, Kyle Mooney
U.S Release Date: October 16, 2026
In 1987, orphaned martial arts students Ryu (Andrew Koji) and American Ken Masters (Noah Centineo) train under Master Gouken (Don Lee) after Ryu participates in — and wins — the first World Warrior Tournament. But his dark Hado rage upon winning unleashes Akuma (Joe “Roman Reigns” Anoa’i), Gouken’s “I got winner” brother. Refusing to fight him, to Ken’s dismay and Gouken’s demand, the master is killed alongside their brotherhood.
Cut to 1993: Ken has become the Pauly Shore of martial arts, with his manager Dan Hibiki (Andrew Schulz) at his side, while Ryu lives as a recluse. When Chun‑Li (Callina Liang) recruits Ken and Ryu for the second World Warrior Tournament at criminal overlord M. Bison’s (David Dastmalchian) high‑rise, Ken seizes the opportunity to fight and reclaim the honor he lost long ago. The brothers reunite, but unbeknownst to them, it’s all a ploy; the tournament is a means to draw out Ryu and extract his power for Bison’s own gain.
Street Fighter gets the fights right before the storytelling goes haywire.
Andrew Koji, left, and Noah Centineo star in PARAMOUNT PICTURES AND LEGENDARY PICTURES In Association with CAPCOM.A LEGENDARY PICTURES Production “STREET FIGHTER” | ©2026 PARAMOUNT PICTURES, CAPCOM AND LEGENDARY. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Sakurai goes about this adaptation with a welcoming, unabashed stillness. Given this is his first foray into action, he packs a punch, blending kinetic, well-choreographed combat scenes with slapstick comedy, amplified by a colorful pop. The early fight scenes bring iconic stages from the games to life, sharing the same practical effect-fueled precision as his work with Eric Andre (who stars as ring announcer Don Sauvage), making them feel cinematic and crunchy.
I was digging the film’s first act entirely; Chun Li’s quest for vengeance, M. Bison’s search for power, and the focus on Ryu and Ken’s relationship struck an emotional chord. The idea of a Ken-anchored Street Fighter film is so frustratingly American, but the humility Centineo imbues made me a little sympathetic, especially during his forlorn scenes, drunkenly singing his brother’s emotional therapy tune, “What’s Up” by 4 Non Blondes, to no one at his own party.
David Dastmalchian singlehandedly lifts the energetic tone. He chews up the scenery with a dry, hilarious demeanor as if repressing his desire to star in a Joel Schumacher movie and unleashing it through Bison. Cody Rhodes pumps up the camp (and a lot of homoeroticism) with gleeful, hilariously corny lines and a hyper-energetic G.I. Joe energy.
I can only say I enjoyed the first forty minutes because the moment the characters set foot in Bison’s domain, projecting Street Fighter II’s story mode onto the big screen, Sakurai stepped out of his depth.
Street Fighter has a full roster and absolutely no functioning plot.
Noah Centineo stars in PARAMOUNT PICTURES AND LEGENDARY PICTURES In Association with CAPCOM.A LEGENDARY PICTURES Production “STREET FIGHTER” | ©2026 PARAMOUNT PICTURES, CAPCOM AND LEGENDARY. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Riddled with studio notes galore, Street Fighter throws everything in, cramming so many of the original combatants, becoming more contrived until the pacing goes off the rails. It abandons the strength of the Ryu and Ken story; sometimes the unfunny Andrew Schulz (for the one Dan Hibiki fan) gets more screen time than Koji.
The film devolves into a screech-fueled fan-service fest with no narrative coherence, cobbled hastily, with Sakurai’s later fights lacking continuity. He throws several fights and character moments on top of each other, pacing be damned, and forcibly goes for shoddy CG blockbuster spectacle. It showcases how bad the plot actually is. Or at least how poorly Street Fighter II translates to a live-action project.
As it progresses, all the loud and obnoxious cues make it feel less like a ‘90s flick and more like a 2017 blockbuster (even down to its entire climax being a shameless setup for a sequel, doing nothing to act as a standalone story), made for people who refuse to grow up. By the time Jason Momoa shows up with his CG face superimposed on Blanka, I wanted to Hadouken myself to oblivion.
Street Fighter completely abandons the ‘90s authenticity. It kicks so much modern lingo into the dialogue, like “problematic” and “lock in.” The music supervisor is drunk in real time, going beyond 1993 and unleashing a ‘90s playlist algorithm shuffle from Spotify, threading the lackluster story together while jingling keys in front of the audience, hoping they don’t realize needle drops like “Who Let the Dogs Out” came out in 2000.
Why does Street Fighter have more of a fetish than fighting technique?
David Dastmalchian, left, and Callina Liang star in PARAMOUNT PICTURES AND LEGENDARY PICTURES In Association with CAPCOM.A LEGENDARY PICTURES Production “STREET FIGHTER” | ©2026 PARAMOUNT PICTURES, CAPCOM AND LEGENDARY. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
The Titmouse-made animated flashbacks, which hold emotional weight for Ken and Ryu’s relationship, lose their luster, and the movie crams more flashbacks to hide how little effort went into filming the live-action scenes. To be honest, I wished I was watching a fully animated production instead. Each time, it made me look like Kevin Garnnett from Uncut Gems going, "Why the fuck would you show me something if I couldn’t have it, then?”
Chun-Li leans into the most uncomfortable gratuitousness for the gooniest of gamers. Her Interpol co-worker (Kyle Mooney) creepily simps for her hard, oftentimes dressed in skimpy clothing to emphasize Liang’s thigh training for the role, presenting her body for the male gaze. Yes, I will acknowledge that sometimes it’s hot, but it comes to a point. I feel bad for Callina Liang (she’s so good in Presence, watch that), who delivers a star performance worthy of her own spinoff. Yet the movie is quick to fetishize her when she should be a legitimate force of nature.
Street Fighter is an embarrassing thirst fest: Sauvage for Cammy, Cammy for Bison, Bison for everyone’s feet. I had to look up if the character had a foot fetish, for he’s smelling them a lot on screen, and it’s fucking gross.
It’s too soon after Zach Cregger’s creative Resident Evil to see a movie go “for the fans” with little creativity for the lowest-IQ, highest-testosterone crowd. For all the goodwill it sets up, the film transforms into the evil Ryu version of itself, becoming as annoying and headache-inducing as playing the buggiest version of Street Fighter II, making you want to ship the arcade cabinet back to sender and ask for one that works.
