Estranged street fighters Ryu and Ken Masters get thrown back into combat when the mysterious Chun-Li recruits them for the next World Warrior Tournament -- a brutal clash of fists, fate and fury. However, behind the battle royale lies a deadly conspiracy that forces them to face off against each other and the demons from their past.
Director: Kitao Sakurai
Cast: Noah Centineo, Andrew Koji, Callina Liang, Joe Anoa'i, David Dastmalchian, Cody Rhodes, Eric André, Andrew Schulz, Vidyut Jammwal, Curtis Jackson, Jason Momoa
Release Date: October 16, 2026
Genre: Action
Rated PG 13 for violence/action, bloody images, strong language, sexual references, partial nudity and brief smoking.
Runtime: 1h 59m
Review:
The newest iteration of Street Fighter hit the screen with the energy of an unsupervised child at a playground with kinetic action paired with splashy visuals which almost makes you overlook the nonsensical plot. Kitao Sakurai brings a late 90’s/early 2000’s aesthetic to his film and his candy-colored world populated with oversized characters and performances. He has fun with the property dropping a boatload of easter eggs for fans of the games but never taking any of it overly seriously. In a strange contrast, the animated flashback sequences are the only portions of the film that plays the story straight which makes those moments almost feel like they belong in a different film. The animation is incredibly well done, and the voice acting is excellent throughout which clashes with the over-the-top live action scenes. The live action portion of the film does offer up plenty of wonderfully choregraphed fight sequences that are well staged and fun throughout. The ensemble cast is clearly having a ball hamming it up across the board with Noah Centineo’s Ken Masters and Callina Liang’s Chun Li doing most of the heavy lifting. Centineo and Liang both look the part, but they also bring great screen charisma that makes their performances engaging and fun. They balance the action and comedy with relative ease even when the jokes don’t land. The large cast all plays off each other so well that there’s an infection energy to their exchanges whether it be David Dastmalchian channeling Raul Julia’s take on M. Bison. His henchwomen, Cammy and Juli, played by Mel Jarnson and Rayna Vallandingham, both look like they could easily walk in and out of a Lady Gaga video. Cody Rhodes and Vidyut Jammwal turn as Guile and Dhalsim feel like it needs more time since their bromance is just begging for more screentime which the film’s two-hour time could have easily worked it in with its hefty run. Especially since the film starts to wear out its welcome as it starts to lose momentum with the finale doing more to set up a sequel as opposed to a wrapping up the story in a satisfying manner. Street Fighter is far from a perfect film, but it still offers up plenty of fun for both fans of the game and causal movie goers looking for some mindless entertainment.
B-
