This unexpected delight delivers over-the-top action combined with moments of laugh-out-loud comedy – deftly balancing its tone to show audiences that the filmmakers are clearly in on the joke, while never descending into spoof or parody. Far more fun and funny than I think anyone was expecting.

Premise: In 1993, militaristic dictator M. Bison (David Dastmalchian) announces that he’s hosting the second World Warrior tournament, with Chun-Li (Callina Liang) tasked with recruiting elite fighters from across the globe to compete, including former fighter turned washed up minor celebrity Ken Masters (Noah Centineo). But M. Bison’s event is a ruse to draw out Ryu (Andrew Koji), the reclusive winner of the first World Warrior tournament and Ken’s estranged brother, whose mystical powers hold the secret to M. Bison’s plans for an ultimate weapon.

Review:

2026 is turning into quite the year for movie adaptions of videogames: first, we had Mortal Kombat II, which was an unpretentious action movie that wasn’t pretending to be anything more than it was (while still being an improvement on the guilty pleasure that was 2021’s first Mortal Kombat movie). Then we had Zach Cregger’s take on the Resident Evil, which perfectly encapsulated the experience of playing a survival horror game. Now, we have 2026’s reboot of Street Fighter, which is far more fun and enjoyable that I was expecting.

I wouldn’t go as far as to say that Street Fighter is an out-and-out comedy, and it’s certainly not a spoof or a parody – but it is regularly punctuated with moments of laugh-out-loud comedy. In fact, as we walked out of the cinema, most of the most memorable moments that we wanted to discuss were the comedic moments more than the action beats. The film and its characters are larger than life, and the filmmakers know this and have fun with these elements – for example, by acknowledging the absurdity of the main villain’s plan, or undercutting a “serious” character moment with something that reminds audiences the filmmakers know how preposterous this all is. There are many very funny moments throughout the film, from an early highlight during the unpacking of Ken Master’s (Noah Centineo) backstory and motivation, to a final act highlight involving a costume change.

“…inventive & fun fight sequences…”

Although it’s the comedic moments that arguably linger in the mind, the film is also packed full of very impressively staged action sequences. Although many (if not all) of these sequences involve a heighten reality that’s augmented with wirework and CGI, they work so well because the underlying martial arts skills are clearly there (in a way similar to how The Matrix managed to combine the real and the unreal to such great effect). Andrew Koji (Ryu), Vidyut Jammwal (Dhalsim) and Rayna Vallandingham (Juli) are all martial artists in their own rights, while others like Callina Liang (Chun-Li) trained extensively for this movie – all of which really pays off with some inventive and fun fight sequences, that also manage to incorporate many of the signature fight moves from the games.

I admit, I have a nostalgic fondness for the 90’s videogame Street Fighter II, and so I did get a kick (pun intended) out of seeing the characters, in their game-accurate costumes, demonstrating their signature moves on the big screen (and which was enough to erase all memories of the abomination that was the previous live-action adaptation) – but I also saw the film with people who’d never played the videogame, and they also thoroughly enjoyed it. So nostalgia may enhance the viewing experience (and you’ll get in-jokes like the Ken vs car scene), but it’s not a requirement to enjoy the movie.

“…has a clear sense of its own identity & an infectious sense of fun…”

The film has a truly eclectic cast, with established actors like David Dastmalchian (M. Bison) appearing alongside relative newcomers like Mel Jarnson (Cammy) and Olivier Richters (Zangief), wrestlers-turned-actors like Cody Rhodes (Guile), Joe "Roman Reigns" Anoa'i (Akuma) and Hirooki Goto (E. Honda), and musicians-turned-actors like Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson and Orville Peck. And Jason Momoa was apparently such a fan of the videogame that he asked to play CGI-character Blanka, a role which he appears to have a lot of fun inhabiting. Comedians Andrew Schulz and Eric André round out the cast as the comic relief (the former a little more effectively than the latter), although the tongue-in-cheek script from co-writers T.J. Fixman (who also wrote the very enjoyable Carry-On) and Kitao Sakurai (who also directs this) ensures that all of the characters get their own comedic moments to play.

The film is packed full of interesting creative choices, from setting the film in 1993 (which allows the soundtrack to be packed full of 90’s anthems) to its use of anime-style animated flashbacks, all of which elevates the film from being just another “fighting movie”, into something with a clear sense of its own identity, and an infectious sense of fun.

“…a knowing & joyful blend of action & comedy…”

Overall, this reboot of Street Fighter is a knowing and joyful blend of action and comedy, that carefully avoids falling foul of the genre’s usual pitfalls. That said, it’s unlikely to appeal to people who aren’t a fan of the action/comedy genre, and I should warn you that the movie also has an open-ended conclusion, which ties up the plot threads for this first chapter, while making it clear there’s still more story to be told. But if you’re in the right frame of mind and you leave your cynicism at the door, this is definitely a cut above your average Friday-night-action-flick.