In Street Fighter, celebrated fighters and former duo Ryu (Andrew Koji) and Ken Masters (Noah Centineo) are recruited for the next World Warrior Tournament, a battle royale competition that assembles the world’s strongest and fiercest. Beneath the fights, unknown to the participants, is a dangerous master plan to unearth the evil forces that once haunted Ryu and Ken.
Directed by Kitao Sakurai (a principal director on The Eric Andre Show), the film makes its mid 1990s setting known throughout, from its early MTV style visuals down to the quirky personalities of its characters. But it is the juvenile humour where the film both shines and falters halfway through. In several scenes, Ken unapologetically makes sexual innuendos as a joke, while his foes respond with dated banter.
I am the target audience for Street Fighter, but even I felt uneasy sitting through scenes that were supposed to look cool or intentionally sleazy. I know Ken and Ryu can play around once in a while, but it’s hard to take them seriously when the jokes keep diminishing them. The same goes for Chun Li, decently portrayed by Callina Liang, who was poised to be a fun character but is given little to work with.
Street Fighter has a lot going for it. Its hefty ensemble often feels as if each member is in a different movie, and at times, in a different scene altogether, even when they share the screen. It also has plenty of action that fans will enjoy, including a club fight that makes the best use of its fighters’ key features. What I wanted, given the gnarly tone of the video game source material, is more grit. The film needs to balance fun with a clearer threat to its characters.
Still, I had fun with parts of it, and for many, that’s the only thing that matters. I would love to see Street Fighter go all out with an R-rated version soon.
“Street Fighter” is now showing in New Zealand cinemas.
Featured images from Paramount Pictures.
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