Street Fighter (2026) Review: Kitao Sakurai's Bold Reboot

The setup is lean and efficient. Ryu (Andrew Koji) and Ken Masters (Noah Centineo) were once inseparable training partners, brothers in everything but blood. A falling out - shrouded in guilt, pride, and a tragedy neither man will name - left them estranged. Enter Chun-Li (Callina Liang), a mysterious operative who recruits both men for the next World Warrior Tournament. Her motives are her own, but the pitch is simple: a brutal clash of fists, fate, and fury.

What neither fighter knows is that the tournament is a façade. M. Bison (David Dastmalchian) lurks behind the bracket, orchestrating a conspiracy that turns ally against ally and forces Ryu and Ken to confront each other and the demons they've spent years outrunning. The script, working from a property that has never been known for narrative subtlety, wisely keeps the mythology light and the stakes personal. If they don't sort themselves out, it's game over - literally and figuratively.

Sakurai, best known for his work on The Eric Andre Show and the gleefully unhinged Bad Trip, might seem an odd choice for a franchise picture. Yet his instinct for controlled chaos serves the material well. The fight choreography is the film's backbone: grounded, bone-crunching, and refreshingly free of the CGI weightlessness that plagues so many modern actioners. Koji, who already proved his martial arts bona fides in Warrior, brings a coiled stillness to Ryu that makes his explosions of violence feel earned. Centineo, meanwhile, leans into Ken's showboating arrogance without turning him into a cartoon - a tricky balance he mostly sticks.

The supporting cast is where things get spicier. Dastmalchian's Bison is a silky, unsettling presence, less a physical titan than a psychological predator. Liang's Chun-Li gets the film's most intriguing arc, though the screenplay never fully commits to exploring it. Cody Rhodes makes for a suitably granite-jawed Guile, and Andrew Schulz's Dan Hibiki is exactly as obnoxious as the character demands - which is either a feature or a bug depending on your tolerance. The wild card is Eric Andre as Don Sauvage, a character seemingly invented for this film; his energy is chaotic enough to occasionally derail scenes, but he's never boring.

Where the film falters is in its connective tissue. At 120 minutes, the pacing sags in the second act as the plot pivots from tournament bouts to conspiracy mechanics. The dialogue gets exposition-heavy exactly when it should be tightening. And for a movie called Street Fighter, some of the street fighting gets swallowed by lore - though the finale delivers the Ryu-versus-Ken showdown the poster promises, and it lands hard.

The fantasy elements are handled with a light touch, which will please purists and may disappoint those hoping for full-blown Hadouken spectacle. Sakurai keeps things tactile, and the film is better for it. This is a Hollywood production through and through, with English-language dialogue throughout, and it wears that identity without apology.

Pros

• Koji and Centineo have genuine chemistry, selling the fractured brotherhood at the story's core
• Fight choreography is crisp, grounded, and genuinely exciting
• Dastmalchian's Bison is a menacing highlight
• Sakurai's direction keeps the tone punchy and self-aware without tipping into parody

Cons

• Second-act pacing drags under exposition
• Chun-Li's arc feels truncated
• Some supporting players verge on caricature
• Fantasy elements may underwhelm viewers expecting bigger spectacle

Street Fighter is a flawed but genuinely fun adaptation that understands something the 1994 version never did: these characters matter to people. It doesn't reinvent the genre, and it occasionally loses its footing between brawls. But when the fists fly - and they fly often - it lands with real impact. A solid 6.6/10 outing that should satisfy longtime fans and curious newcomers alike. Perfect? No. But a knockout in the moments that count.