Now, I don’t entirely mind video game adaptations, but what makes them special for me is when they’re based on a game I grew up with. It could be Mario, Sonic the Hedgehog, or even Five Nights at Freddy’s. It could also be a game that my father was a big fan of and he would geek out about. Recently, there was a video game adaptation that had my father forcing everyone in my family to watch it together, and that was the newest Street Fighter adaptation.
The story revolves around two brothers, Ken (Noah Centineo) and Ryu (Andrew Koji), as they join a fighting tournament under the evil Lord Bison (David Dastmalchian), who is envious of power. They soon realize that the tournament they’ve joined isn’t just fighting to win, but for survival. The cast also includes: Chun-Li (Callina Liang), Akuma (Roman Reigns), Barlog (50 Cent), and Blanka (Jason Momoa). Fun fact: my father’s favorite character to play was actually Blanka. He said, “My favorite was Blanka because he had electricity.” Besides that, the plot seemed very interesting, especially for a video game adaptation.
To be completely honest, I didn’t play Street Fighter as a child. So, I definitely don’t know the entire lore and storyline of the game. However, I had heard the iconic “Fight” sound and knew some of the characters’ names. That being said, I went into this movie blind with only a basic knowledge of the game. My father, on the other hand, is a fangirl. When asked if he would purchase the arcade game today, he said, “I would purchase the arcade game, yes.” When I also asked him how knowledgeable he was, he said, “I knew about it from my childhood and playing the game as a kid.” So, I knew his inner child was jumping up and down when my family and I went to see this movie. Even from the official trailer, I had a feeling this movie would be an action-packed adventure that would further expand my knowledge.
Unfortunately, this movie did the complete opposite. It not only failed to provide me with any knowledge of the franchise, but also left me even more confused. The characters were very unique and I enjoyed their designs, but that was really about it. The plot and characters were not only confusing, but their motives for fighting just didn’t make any sense. Also, most of the marketing for this film emphasized that we’ll be seeing our favorite characters fight each other in the tournament, using their special moves. However, there was barely any tournament to begin with; it was mainly just about Ryu and Ken’s “happy” reunion. So, if you’re going to make a movie whose priority is having a tournament, why take that element away? When I asked my father about how he felt before, during, and after the movie, he said, “I thought the movie could have been better. The story wasn’t great. Characters didn’t reach [their] full potential.” I have to agree with him. The characters just felt one-sided and didn’t get to reach their full potential. Another thing that I didn’t like was how the story was rushing through every event; we never got to sit with the characters and understand them. We would see them fighting, an iconic move that fans would understand, and then go straight into the next scene. Lastly, I really disliked how they ended the film. They were definitely trying to set it up for a sequel but from the reaction audiences and critics have shared, that might not happen. This film had diverse reactions on Rotten Tomatoes, with critics giving it a 41% and audiences giving it a 79%.
I know I’m mostly expressing negatives about this movie, but there is one thing I enjoyed. I really enjoyed the 2D hand-drawn animation flashbacks. It made me happy that the production team showcased the talent and hard work put into the animation. However, every time those flashbacks were shown, it made me think, “Well, why can’t we just have this movie fully animated? It looks so much better.” And honestly, I wasn’t the only one who thought this as my father said the exact same thing.
Overall, this movie was definitely something for those who are die-hard fans. It wasn’t completely bad, but for a movie like this, I was very disappointed. On a scale from one to 10, I would give this a three. My father agrees as well. He said, “I was disappointed. I thought it was three out of 10.” However, if you’re someone who is a big fan and will still see this, don’t let my opinion stop you — everyone’s is different. In the words of my father: “If you’re a fan like me, I’d say see it, but I’d wait until it comes on the home theater.”