The new Street Fighter movie is stepping into theaters with one opponent it has not yet defeated: the critics. The live-action reboot of Capcom’s landmark fighting-game franchise drew mostly negative early reviews Thursday, just hours before preview screenings began across the United States.
The Rotten Tomatoes score moved rapidly after the review embargo lifted on October 15. Early coverage recorded a 34% critics score from 29 reviews, while later tracking put the film near 43% with 43 reviews. With reviews still being added, that number should be treated as a snapshot rather than a final verdict.
Paramount will release the film nationwide on October 16. Directed by Kitao Sakurai and set in 1993, the story reunites estranged fighters Ryu, played by Andrew Koji, and Ken Masters, played by Noah Centineo, after Chun-Li — portrayed by Callina Liang — recruits them for the World Warrior Tournament. A conspiracy surrounding the competition ultimately puts the two former friends on a collision course.
The ensemble is unusually large. Jason Momoa plays Blanka, David Dastmalchian is M. Bison, WWE star Roman Reigns appears as Akuma, Cody Rhodes plays Guile and Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson takes on Balrog. Eric André, Vidyut Jammwal, Andrew Schulz and other recognizable performers round out a cast designed to bring the game’s famously eccentric roster to live action.
The most common criticism is not that the film lacks energy. It is that there may be too much of everything at once. AP critic Jake Coyle gave the movie one star out of four, describing an overloaded narrative in which characters and plotlines collide faster than the story can develop them. The Guardian similarly found the movie heavy on nostalgia and fan service but weak on coherence.
Other reviewers found more to enjoy. TheWrap’s William Bibbiani argued that the film’s sheer enthusiasm and deliberate absurdity can be infectious, while Den of Geek praised its colorful commitment to the games. Even several mixed or negative reviews acknowledged that the fight choreography, visual style and willingness to embrace the franchise’s silliness occasionally work.
That split may be especially important for Street Fighter, a franchise with a complicated movie history. The 1994 Jean-Claude Van Damme adaptation currently sits at 20% on Rotten Tomatoes, while 2009’s Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li remains one of the franchise’s worst-reviewed entries. The new reboot is currently performing better than either film with critics, even if it remains in “Rotten” territory.
The movie also arrives during a period when Hollywood has had considerably more success adapting games for film and television. That raises expectations that did not exist to the same degree in the 1990s. AP’s review explicitly contrasts the new film with more ambitious modern game adaptations, making its deliberately retro, camp-heavy approach a bigger gamble. AP News
The unanswered question is whether moviegoers will care. There was no meaningful verified audience score available before wide release, and films built around established fan communities sometimes perform very differently with viewers than with professional critics. For Street Fighter, Round One belongs to the reviewers. The box office — and the fans — get the next fight.
