STREET FIGHTER (2026)

Genre: Action
Director: Kitao Sakurai
Cast: Noah Centineo, Andrew Koji, Callina Liang, Joe "Roman Reigns" Anoa'i, David Dastmalchian, Cody Rhodes, Eric André, Andrew Schulz, Vidyut Jammwal, Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson, Jason Momoa 
Runtime: 1 hr 59 mins
Rating: PG13 (Some Violence and Coarse Language)
Released By: UIP
Official Website: 

Opening Day: 15 October 2026

Synopsis: Set in 1993, estranged Street Fighters Ryu and Ken Masters are thrown back into combat when the mysterious Chun-Li recruits them for the next World Warrior Tournament: a brutal clash of fists, fate, and fury. But behind this battle royale lies a deadly conspiracy that forces them to face off against each other and the demons of their past. And if they don’t, it’s GAME OVER!

Movie Review:

Capcom’s renowned Street Fighter video game franchise has had a hard time making the transition to the big screen. The original 1994 movie was plagued by numerous on-and off-screen problems, particularly involving its then-lead star, Jean-Claude Van Damme, and its obvious lack of the kind of action choreography seen in the games. The second live-action adaptation, Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li (2009), was both a critical and commercial failure, sending the video game franchise into hibernation.

Fast-forward 17 years, and we have the third live-action outing from Legendary and Paramount Pictures. This time, we see Chun-Li (Callina Liang) recruiting Ken Masters (Noah Centineo) and Ryu (Andrew Koji) to enter the World Warrior Tournament, organised by Lord Bison (David Dastmalchian). Yet, while everyone is here to see the fights unfold in the tournament, it takes a while to get there.

In the meantime, we learn that Chun-Li is actually an undercover Interpol agent seeking revenge on Bison, who supposedly killed her father. However, the bulk of the story is reserved for Ken and Ryu, who trained under Gouken (voiced by Korean star Don Lee) but have since gone their separate ways following their master’s death. Not forgetting the evil Akuma (Joe “Roman Reigns” Anoa’i), who is lurking somewhere, waiting for the right moment to strike against Ryu.

For a start, Street Fighter is a respectable video game adaptation compared with its two predecessors. Fans of the games will love the Easter eggs and tributes scattered throughout. But to be fair, we’re reviewing this from a movie-goer’s perspective, and we can say that director Kitao Sakurai understands the essence of the franchise and mostly delivers the goods.

Since most of us are here primarily for the spectacular combat sequences, the action is, for the most part, well choreographed and presented with a mix of grounded martial arts and fantasy elements. This allows the fighters’ trademark moves to remain easily recognisable without venturing too far into the fantastical territory of a wuxia movie. Don’t worry, the Hadouken and Shoryuken are both rightfully intact here, even though some of the fight scenes feel frustratingly brief and few and far between.

If you think the late Raul Julia did a hell of a cheesy job as Bison, wait till you see Dastmalchian hamming it up another notch. Koji and Centineo are generally fine, while relative newcomer Callina Liang impresses with her high-speed kicks and punches. The biggest surprise, however, is Jason Momoa’s cameo as Blanka, the green, mutated creature capable of generating electricity. It’s the second time in a year that Momoa has overshadowed the main leads, following his appearance as Lobo in Supergirl. In short, we need to see more of Blanka. Other memorable characters, including E. Honda, Guile, Dhalsim, Vega and Cammy, also get their own brief moments on screen, if you must know.

Most of the flashbacks are presented in traditional 2D animation, which is impressive, to say the least. The generous budget also allows the production team to deliver some excellent CGI and impressive production sets. That leaves us with one major issue: Street Fighter spends too much time building up to the action, only for the eventual showdowns to be something of a letdown. We didn’t even realise the movie was going to end on an inconclusive note, with the filmmakers seemingly banking on a sequel to tie up the loose ends.

Street Fighter is purely a fan-service movie, made specifically for fans of the video game franchise. It’s about time this property received a proper live-action adaptation, and Kitao Sakurai makes sure the campy laughs, slick action and over-the-top characters are all present and accounted for. Maybe he just needs to work on the storytelling if a sequel gets the green light.

Movie Rating:

(Street Fighter is a faithful adaptation of the ’90s video games, made primarily for the fans)

Review by Linus Tee