Fans of Street Fighter are sharing their mixed opinions on the new live-action film, with reception mirroring its Rotten Tomatoes score—best described as lukewarm at best.
Directed by Kate Sakurai, the film started with a low Rotten Tomatoes Fresh rating, which has since climbed to 45%; the audience score is significantly higher at 82%, a common trend for live-action video game adaptations. The story follows Ryu (played by Andrew Koji) and Ken (played by Noah Centineo), who are persuaded by Chun-Li (played by Karina Liang), driven by revenge, to enter the World Warrior tournament.
Some fans of the game IP—particularly users on the r/StreetFighter subreddit on Reddit—praised the film enthusiastically, while others remained neutral or found it unremarkable. Rest assured, we won't mention any spoilers here, so feel free to check it out in theaters yourself.
One fan wrote, "Honestly, this movie left me more confused than excited. Seriously, what kind of ending is that, especially for an action film?"
Another viewer commented, "I completely agree about the ending. I was stunned: No way? It tried so hard to set up a sequel that it actually ruined the finale."
Other fans stated, "I really enjoyed this movie; I think its strengths far outweigh its weaknesses."
Another fan summed it up: "But hey, for a video game movie... well, there are plenty worse out there."
Fan reactions were particularly divided regarding M. Bison, the supervillain played by David Dastmalchian. Some reviewers noted that the actor "had the chops to pull off the role," but was ultimately let down by a "poor script."