Street Fighter Reviews Are Mixed as Critics Split on the Fights, the Cast and the Tone

The first reviews of the live-action Street Fighter are in, and they are mixed. The film, directed by Kitao Sakurai (Twisted Metal), had its world premiere in Los Angeles on October 12, and the review embargo lifted on Thursday. It opens in theaters on Friday, October 16.

What critics liked. Kakuchopurei called it a technical knockout, praising its focus on the friendship and rivalry between Ryu and Ken and action that is shot clearly, without distracting fast cuts. The same review enjoyed the 2D animated flashbacks, including Ryu's fight with Sagat, and singled out Jason Momoa's Blanka as a standout. ComicBuzz said Noah Centineo and Andrew Koji make an appealing central pairing and that Cody Rhodes provides welcome comic relief as Guile. Early reactions on social media were similar, with one critic calling it a silly, fun and fearless good time, according to GamesRadar.

What they didn't. The Jam Report called it a spectacularly misguided adaptation and said Callina Liang's athletic Chun-Li is undermined by clumsy dialogue and a perfunctory revenge storyline. TL;DR Movie Reviews gave it 2 out of 5 and called it a mess of conflicting tones, although it said the leads are compelling and that the Chun-Li section is some of the best of the film. ComicBuzz felt Momoa's tragic backstory for Blanka was needlessly elaborate and that the film spends so long arranging its tournament that it never delivers a knockout punch.

The score. A Rotten Tomatoes score had not settled when we published, as only a few reviews were in. Before the embargo lifted, traders on Kalshi forecast a 43% critics score, which would count as Rotten. The bar is low. Rotten Tomatoes lists the 1994 film with Jean-Claude Van Damme at 11% and Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li (2009) at 3%.

What it is. The PG-13 film is set in 1993, shortly after the release of Street Fighter II. Chun-Li (Liang) recruits the estranged Ryu (Koji) and Ken Masters (Centineo) for a new World Warrior tournament, while M. Bison (David Dastmalchian) has plans of his own. The cast also includes Roman Reigns as Akuma, Cody Rhodes as Guile, Jason Momoa as Blanka, Andrew Schulz, Eric André and 50 Cent. It mixes live action with 2D animation and runs 1 hour 59 minutes.

Street Fighter is a Legendary production released by Paramount. You can read about the UK openings in our box office report, and about Paramount's next game adaptation in our story on the Cyberpunk 2077 movie.