Street Fighter (2026) Review – Dumb, Loud, and Better Than Mortal Kombat 2

In 2026, I was burned by a film adaptation of a fighting game. I didn’t think Mortal Kombat 2 was anything to write home about at all, so I remained cautious about Kitao Sakurai’s Street Fighter.

To be fair, I’m not expecting Schindler’s List from these movies. Even the stories in the games are pretty stupid, so just give me (a) something that captures the zaniness of the source material, and (b) a good time at the movies watching these characters.

Step forth, Street Fighter – a film that ticks all those boxes. Is it perfect? Hell no. Is it about to reinvent the genre? Also no. Yet if you’re willing to leave your brain at the door (much like you do whenever you hear the tudum of Netflix nowadays) and you aren’t a miserable sourpuss who solely lives to impress the Letterboxd and Film Twitter communities, you’ll dig this loud blockbuster that feels like an anime come to life.

Street Fighter sees M. Bison (David Dastmalchian) bringing back the World Warrior Tournament. Naturally, he isn’t doing it out of the kindness of his heart, and he has an ulterior motive at play. Bison sends Chun-Li (Callina Liang) to gather the world’s greatest fighters, including Ryu (Andrew Koji), Ken Masters (Noah Centineo), and Guile (Cody Rhodes), and bring them to the contest of contests to crown the next champion.

Despite the trailers showing off a lot of characters, don’t be fooled here. This story is mostly about Ryu and Ken’s friendship; everything else is in the periphery. The adopted brothers used to be as thick as thieves until the death of their master, Gouken (Don Lee). Since then, the relationship has been on the rocks, but it’s now time for them to make amends. Koji and Centineo are on fire as this pairing, and you just want to spend more time with Ryu and Ken. From the back-and-forth banter to the more emotional moments and inherent rivalry, they’re compelling leads.

The same can’t be said about all the other characters, though. Rhodes’ Guile provides comic relief, Liang’s Chun-Li brings a little seriousness to the action, and Jason Momoa’s Blanka adds a surprising level of humanity to the proceedings, but the others are used to move plot points more than anything else. While Dastmalchian’s Bison is positioned as the Big Bad here, that role is actually filled by Roman Reigns’ Akuma, who tends to menace more in the background than actually onscreen. The lack of one clear villain hurts the story, but it’s clear that Sakurai wasn’t looking for one final boss.

Speaking of the story, yes, it’s a messy mess of nonsense. Compared to the dumpster fire known as Mortal Kombat 2 and its chaotic editing, though, this feels like Aaron Sorkin sat in the writers’ room and guided Sakurai and T. J. Fixman’s script.    

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In what’s a fresh departure from general blockbusters nowadays, Sakurai utilizes anime sequences for the flashbacks. It’s something different and a welcome change of pace, slotting into this film perfectly matching the frenetic and colorful energy of the live-action scenes. This film is set in 1993, when MTV still played music, questionable fashion choices ran amok, and everything seemed larger than life.

This comes across in the action, too. There’s no grounded approach taken in Street Fighter at all, as Sakurai brings all the ludicrous moves from the game (think the Flash Kick, Hadouken, and the Spinning Bird Kick) to the big screen. Considering the tone and style of the movie, it all works and doesn’t look out of place, although it must be said that the general martial arts without the supe-power beatdowns is just as cool. Koji, in particular, is a bona fide badass and puts on a show whenever he needs to throw down, though if you had seen Warrior, you would have known this by now.

Watching Street Fighter (Rotten Tomatoes: 46% critics, 82% audience), I couldn’t help but be reminded of Street Fighter 6. It’s louder than hell and embraces vibrant colors in its entire aesthetic, treating its characters like heroes and villains straight out of anime. You know what else is like that? The live-action One Piece show. If you’re willing to accept the ridiculousness of this world, characters, and its rules, you’ll go with it.

Look, Street Fighter is unlikely to make anybody’s top 10 best movie list, though I see it having a similar legacy to 1994’s Street Fighter, starring Jean-Claude Van Damme and Raul Julia. While the majority might turn up their noses to its silliness now, it’s a movie that will age like a fine wine and become a regularly revisited guilty pleasure. 

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Street Fighter is playing in theaters, IMAX included, from Paramount Pictures as of October 16, 2026.