Having watched the disappointment that was ‘Mortal Kombat II’, I have to say my opinion about video games being turned into movies was once again swaying towards film studios staying away from them. However, it would be amiss of me to have noticed that another studio was bringing out a film based on another popular fighting game. One that I never played by the way, but that’s a different thing altogether!
’Street Fighter’ starts with the story of two fighters, Ryu and Ken, who were raised by a legendary master of combat, Gouken. During a fighting tournament, Ryu wins, but attracts the attention of Gouken’s evil brother, Akuma. In the aftermath of that tournament, Ryu goes into hiding. We cut to the present day with the villainous M. Bison, who is looking to absorb the power of fighters but finds all the victims too weak. He therefore decides to organise a second fighting tournament to entice the best of the best. A young woman, Chun-Li, who is attempting to join Bison’s organisation, attempts to sign up all the fighters, and she even manages to find Ryu. Ryu knows that Akuma will have his eyes on whoever is in the tournament, and naturally, he doesn’t want Ken getting hurt, so he agrees to join. The night before the start of the tournament, a huge fight breaks out between the contestants, and in the pandemonium, Ryu is captured by Bison’s forces. With Ryu out of the picture, Ken focuses on his matches in an attempt to win the tournament. Who can the fighters truly trust in this mad game? And can Ryu find a way to bring his power under control before it’s too late?
Guys, let’s talk about this cast! I’m going to start with our lead antagonist, M Bison, played by the ever-present David Dastmalchian. This guy is everywhere! Now I know there was a lot of criticism on his casting due to him not exactly being built like Bison in the video games, but I genuinely think he was so creepy that he did a good job as a villain. We had a couple of musical names involved: 50 Cent and Orville Peck, who played the double-crossing Balrog and Vega, respectively. I have to give Peck his flowers; his portrayal of Vega was sinister. If you’re gonna have a film about fighting, then you should have some real fighters. Cody Rhodes played the hilarious Guile, and Joe Anoa’i, aka Roman Reigns, played the film’s secondary antagonist Akuma. Again, both did a good job. We didn’t see much of Akuma, and if the film receives a sequel, I assume that he’ll play a bigger role. Guile, on the other hand, needs as much screen time as possible because, genuinely, he was one of the highlights. Let’s finish on my standout performance - which is naturally a three-way tie. Callina Liang plays Chun-Li. Never seen her in anything before. Want to see everything she’s in now. She got in crazy good shape for this film. Also, her TikTok promotion of the film was great! Then we had Noah Centineo as Ken Masters. Noah is a guy who I think is so likeable as an actor, and I have to give him credit because he also got shredded for this. Like damn! Finally, Andrew Koji plays Ryu. Now I was familiar with Koji because I saw him in the few episodes of ‘Warrior’ that I watched, but he is a powerhouse, and I’m such a fan! This cast was sick!
Look, I was not expecting much when it came to this film. One of the reasons why had a lot to do with my perception of films based on video games. If it’s not a kids’ film, they tend not to be so good. Definitely true of the’ Mortal Kombat’ series. This, however, pleasantly surprised me. The one word I’d use to describe the film was fun. The entire vibe felt very 90’s, which is what they were going for, but it doesn’t take itself so seriously. The script is funny and well-written, and when the fighters are trying to say those ridiculous catchphrases, it doesn’t come across as cheesy. One of the really awesome aspects of the film was the injection of animated flashbacks. The style of that animation was crisp and clean and helped to further the story in a medium that felt authentic. My only qualm with the film was that I maybe would have liked to see more of the fights with the other characters; the tournament footage actually was limited!
In a world where all these movie studios are combining, it sometimes becomes difficult to remember who owns what. ‘Street Fighter’ was made by Paramount, and clearly, they must have a lot of money, given they’ve just bought Warner Bros. The cinematography reflected that. I was a fan of the choreography of the fights that we saw, and as stated previously, I would have liked more of those. The music, however, really was a highlight; it felt so much like a video game, but also completely appropriate for the scenes. Overall, a good film. I liked it. Maybe I’ll go and play it sometimes. Now, someone please, make a good Tekken film!
Rating:
Story: ★★★½
Acting: ★★★½
Cinematography: ★★★½
Music: ★★★★
Enjoyability: ★★★½