Kitao Sakurai’s Street Fighter, the third live-action film based on Capcom’s long-running fighting game franchise, arrives in theatres on October 16 through Paramount Pictures. Andrew Koji and Noah Centineo star as Ryu and Ken, respectively, with Callina Liang playing Chun-Li and David Dastmalchian portraying M. Bison. The ensemble cast also includes Jason Momoa, Roman Reigns, Cody Rhodes, Eric André, Orville Peck and 50 Cent.
Rated PG-13 and running 1 hour and 59 minutes, the film has received mostly negative reviews, although some critics have appreciated its deliberately cheesy 1990s aesthetic. According to Kotaku, the film opened with a 41% score on Rotten Tomatoes, a figure that remains subject to change. The critical response contrasts with the enthusiastic reactions that followed its initial screenings on social media.
The story begins with an animated prologue set in 1987 before jumping ahead to 1993. Ryu and Ken, once brothers in arms, have grown estranged and fallen on hard times following the murder of their mentor, Gouken, played by Don Lee. Ryu’s victory in a tournament years earlier was achieved through demonic means. When the mysterious Chun-Li recruits the pair for the next World Warrior Tournament, they find themselves drawn back into a brutal competition that conceals a conspiracy led by M. Bison, who seeks to steal power from the world’s greatest fighters.
The most enthusiastic reviews embrace the film’s cartoonish tone and commitment to its source material. Deadline described Sakurai’s approach as having “an affectionate cheesy cartoonish quality,” making the film feel as though it could have been made in 1993. The publication also highlighted the hand-drawn animation in the opening sequence and flashbacks, along with the PG-13 rating, as elements that make the film accessible to longtime fans.
Ryan Cultrera of JoBlo gave the film 5 out of 10, calling it “perfectly harmless, but perfectly fun.” He argued that the film button-mashes its way through the story while wearing its 1993 setting as a badge of honour. Neon visuals and music selections from the era contribute to its nostalgic appeal, while the animated title sequence stands out as one of its strongest touches. TheWrap’s William Bibbiani, who also gave the film a positive review, found that Sakurai’s enthusiasm for making a deliberately goofy action movie comes through.
The more critical responses came from Variety, The Hollywood Reporter and other publications. Variety’s Siddhant Adlakha wrote that the film “nosedives into nonsense” after a promising start. According to his review, the film begins to falter around the halfway mark when it reaches its central tournament, an elimination competition comprising seven fights. The film reportedly shows only about one and a half of those bouts, leaving much of the tournament unexplored.
Adlakha argued that the story becomes increasingly scattered from that point, with mismatched setups and payoffs, confusing additional dialogue recording (ADR) and no meaningful conclusion. Variety also criticised the largely unsuccessful improvised comedy, singling out Eric André’s performance as a television presenter as an example of the film’s misjudged humour.
Frank Scheck of The Hollywood Reporter, reviewing the film from the perspective of someone who is not a player of the games, found it “only sporadically entertaining.” He described the reboot as a love letter to ageing gamers that overwhelms viewers with fan service while offering too few new ideas. Kevin Maher of The Times was similarly unimpressed, describing the direction as “frenetic and meaningless” and finding the fights bafflingly dull. Polygon delivered one of the harshest assessments, calling the film one of the “sloppiest, cringiest, and most incoherent films of the year,” according to Kotaku’s summary.
The performances received more consistent praise, even from critics who found fault with the film overall. Scheck noted Liang’s impressive charisma as Chun-Li, while Cultrera also praised her portrayal of the character. Cultrera found that Koji and Centineo made the strained bond between Ryu and Ken convincing, while Centineo and Cody Rhodes delivered some of the film’s most effective jokes.
Dastmalchian’s portrayal of M. Bison attracted particular attention. Cultrera compared the character to a cult leader in the mould of Jim Jones. Although the film’s use of Bison’s famous “For me, it was Tuesday” line reportedly lacks the impact of the original, Cultrera observed that Dastmalchian appears to relish the role. Polygon’s review also singled him out, arguing that no other performer in the film comes close to matching his level.
Cultrera additionally praised Roman Reigns for bringing a sinister energy to Akuma and Jason Momoa for giving Blanka a childlike quality. These performances provide some of the film’s more memorable character moments, even as the overall execution remains divisive.
The fight sequences and fan service emerged as two of the central talking points in the reviews. Cultrera described the fights as entertaining, highlighting their distinctive styles and power moves, from a light-hearted hotel brawl between Ryu and Ken to the signature “Hadouken!” attack. However, he also noted that some of the strongest battles take place outside the tournament itself. The decision to skip much of the tournament’s fighting was one of the film’s more puzzling choices in his view.
The screenplay proved to be another point of criticism. Cultrera found the writing weak, pointing to clunky dialogue such as “Do you want redemption or not?” He also criticised the abrupt ending, which appears designed to set up a sequel rather than deliver a satisfying conclusion to the present story. Variety raised a similar concern about the lack of closure, suggesting that the film’s narrative problems extend beyond its handling of the tournament.
Taken together, the reviews describe a reboot that works best as a colourful, deliberately silly throwback and struggles when it attempts to deliver a coherent story. Some critics appreciate its nostalgic atmosphere, exaggerated performances and playful approach to the source material, while others find its uneven pacing, scattered plot and incomplete tournament frustrating. Whether viewed as harmless nostalgia or an incoherent action film, Street Fighter is clearly aimed at fans of the games. The critical divide centres on whether its throwback appeal and energetic performances are enough to compensate for its storytelling shortcomings.
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Film Details: Street Fighter
- Director: Kitao Sakurai
- Writers: Kitao Sakurai, T.J. Fixman, Dalan Musson and Gary Dauberman
- Based on: Street Fighter by Capcom
- Cast: Andrew Koji, Noah Centineo, Callina Liang, David Dastmalchian, Jason Momoa, Roman Reigns, Cody Rhodes, Eric André, Orville Peck, 50 Cent and Don Lee
- Genre: Martial arts action
- Rating: PG-13
- Runtime: 1 hour 59 minutes
- Producers: Mary Parent, Cale Boyter, Jason Momoa, Stefan Makhoul and Takayuki Nakayama
- Production Companies: Legendary Entertainment, in association with Capcom
- Distributor: Paramount Pictures
- Release Date: October 16, 2026
