Let's give credit where it's due: director Kitao Sakurai knows how to shoot a fight. The action sequences are visceral, brutal, and beautifully choreographed. Andrew Koji is a revelation as Ryu. He brings a stoic intensity that anchors the film, making you believe that this guy has spent the last decade punching trees and ignoring his phone calls. You genuinely feel the weight of his punches.
Then there's Noah Centineo as Ken. It's a bold casting choice, and honestly? It works better than it has any right to. He brings a smarmy, Succession-style energy to Ken that contrasts hilariously with Koji's brooding. Their chemistry is the engine of the movie. When they're on screen together, bickering like an old married couple mid-combo, the film soars.
Callina Liang's Chun-Li is a solid addition, bringing the necessary gravity and martial arts prowess to the trio, though she sometimes feels like she's stuck explaining the plot to the boys. And speaking of plot, that's where the cracks begin to show.
The "deadly conspiracy" involving M. Bison is where the film loses its footing. David Dastmalchian is delightfully weird, as always, but his Bison feels underutilized for the first two acts. The film spends so much time building the mystery of the conspiracy that by the time we get to the actual tournament, it feels rushed. The runtime, clocking in at two hours, feels bloated in the middle section where the pacing slows down to explain backstory that could have been shown rather than told.
Then there's the tonal whiplash. With Eric Andre as Don Sauvage and Andrew Schulz as Dan Hibiki, you expect some comedic relief. However, their scenes often feel like they were beamed in from a completely different, much sillier movie. Joe Anoa'i as Akuma is physically imposing and terrifying, but his introduction feels like a sequel setup that we never quite get the payoff for within this runtime. The result is a movie that wants to be a gritty martial arts epic like The Raid but also wants to be a buddy comedy. It mostly balances, but the teetering is visible.
Cody Rhodes as Guile is a bright spot, bringing a ridiculous amount of physical charisma to the flat-top hair. He doesn't get much to do, but when he's on screen, you can't look away. The film is at its best when it stops trying to be a globe-trotting spy thriller and just focuses on the personal conflict between Ryu and Ken. The emotional beats work. The "demon of the past" angle is handled with surprising sincerity, avoiding the pitfalls of melodrama.
Street Fighter isn't a flawless victory, but it's a knockout compared to previous attempts. It sets up a world brimming with potential, even if it occasionally knocks itself out with its own ambition.
