Street Fighter review

It understands the appeal of the source material.

And more importantly, it remembers something that the best thing a movie can do is just simply entertain the living daylights out of you.

The tone is spot on.

It fizzes with energy.

It has a real sense of fun.

And it never seems embarrassed by the ridiculousness of its own premise.

Like when you're adapting a fighting game in which people throw fireballs, perform impossible martial arts maneuvers, and just generally ignore the laws of physics.

There's no point in pretending you're making this grounded examination of the human condition.

And Street Fighter knows this.

It embraces the madness and invites you along for the ride.

And I will say, what a ride it is.

One of the film's great strengths is how well it captures the spirit of the games.

There's an understanding that Street Fighter... isn't just about watching two people punch each other until one of them falls over.

It has the personality, the spectacle, the outrageous abilities and just the sheer pleasure of seeing those larger than life characters collide.

The films, it gives its fights an identity of their own, something I really thought the Mortal Kombat films didn't do.

Each encounter here feels distinct with the choreography, the presentation ensures the acting doesn't become one long monotonous blur of fists and explosions.

The fights are beautifully shot.

They're energetic and crucially, they're easy to follow.

There's an appreciation for the physicality of the action, but also understanding that the spectacle needs personality to make it memorable.

There's a difference between watching a movie fight and watching a street fighter fight.

The movie, I will say, it deserves credit for the visual presentation.

There's a real sense of craft behind the action.

And there's an understanding these characters and their abilities need to look different and need to look spectacular on screen.

It doesn't try to ground them.

It embraces the ridiculousness of it.

It understands the appeal of the source material.

And more importantly, it remembers something that the best thing a movie can do is just simply entertain the living daylights out of you.

The tone is spot on.

It fizzes with energy.

It has a real sense of fun.

And it never seems embarrassed by the ridiculousness of its own premise.

Like when you're adapting a fighting game in which people throw fireballs, perform impossible martial arts maneuvers, and just generally ignore the laws of physics.

There's no point in pretending you're making this grounded examination of the human condition.

And Street Fighter knows this.

It embraces the madness and invites you along for the ride.

And I will say, what a ride it is.

One of the film's great strengths is how well it captures the spirit of the games.

There's an understanding that Street Fighter... isn't just about watching two people punch each other until one of them falls over.

It has the personality, the spectacle, the outrageous abilities and just the sheer pleasure of seeing those larger than life characters collide.

The films, it gives its fights an identity of their own, something I really thought the Mortal Kombat films didn't do.

Each encounter here feels distinct with the choreography, the presentation ensures the acting doesn't become one long monotonous blur of fists and explosions.

The fights are beautifully shot.

They're energetic and crucially, they're easy to follow.

There's an appreciation for the physicality of the action, but also understanding that the spectacle needs personality to make it memorable.

There's a difference between watching a movie fight and watching a street fighter fight.

The movie, I will say, it deserves credit for the visual presentation.

There's a real sense of craft behind the action.

And there's an understanding these characters and their abilities need to look different and need to look spectacular on screen.

It doesn't try to ground them.

It embraces the ridiculousness of it.