Street Fighter

Street Fighter delivers high-octane action with Noah Centineo leading the charge, but Vidyut Jammwal’s role leaves much to be desired.

What makes Street Fighter such a joy to watch is that it never takes itself seriously. It knows the stakes. But it also knows that, at the end, it is a film about men fighting each other in the street and shooting fireballs out of their wrists. So, fun is the buzzword.

The film is so committed to its own bubble that its characters rarely feel connected to anything beyond their immediate rivalries. The silliness is intentional, but intention does not make every joke land or every action sequence equally engaging. Still, Street Fighter never promises sophistication and largely delivers on those terms, embracing the ridiculousness of its premise without pretending it is something grander.

Street Fighter's greatest strength and its greatest weakness are one and the same: it doesn't take itself too seriously. For its specific sub-genre, live-action video game adaptation with a huge ensemble and plenty of action and comedy, Street Fighter commits the cardinal sin of delivering unremarkable action sequences.

On the whole, STREET FIGHTER scores with its impressive action, grand visuals and fine performances. However, the weak writing and unconvincing developments dilute the impact. The film will appeal mainly to fans of the video game franchise.

What starts off as a promise of an entertaining fantasy adventure turns into a parade of incredibly generic and cliché-ridden action slop that never delivers any fun. The fights should be the main attraction in a film like this. Instead, the set pieces feel like something the film needs to get through before moving on to the next plot point.