'Street Fighter' Officially KO'd by Critics in Rotten Tomatoes Debut

Getting another shot at a live-action Street Fighter movie was always going to come with some baggage. The fighting franchise has characters fans can recognize from a silhouette, signature moves practically built for a theater screen, and a previous adaptation whose reputation has followed it for decades. There was plenty of room for a new movie to come out swinging, especially with Andrew Koji and Noah Centineo stepping into the ring as Ryu and Ken.

Director Kitao Sakurai takes the action back to 1993, when the estranged fighters find themselves recruited by Callina Liang’s Chun-Li for the World Warrior Tournament. Naturally, an invitation to fight some of the most dangerous people on the planet comes with a catch. A conspiracy behind the competition forces Ryu and Ken to confront their shared history while dealing with a situation that extends well beyond winning their next match.

Unfortunately, Street Fighter has opened to a Rotten 38% critics’ score on Rotten Tomatoes from 32 reviews, as of this writing. That number can change as more reviews arrive, but it puts the adaptation on the defensive ahead of its October 16 theatrical release. There is one consolation: it is currently ahead of the 1994 Street Fighter, which holds a 20% critics’ score from 90 reviews. Clearing that particular hurdle, however, still leaves the new movie some distance from a Fresh rating.

What Are Critics Saying About ‘Street Fighter’?

The less enthusiastic reviews suggest that recognizable characters and arcade nostalgia can only carry the movie so far. The Guardian’s Radheyan Simonpillai awarded it two stars out of five, taking issue with its reliance on ’90s references and its struggle to turn the source material into a satisfying movie. His review points to an overcrowded story, although a fight between Ken and Ryu offers a glimpse of the more inventive movie hiding underneath the chaos. The Times was harsher, giving the movie one star and criticizing its disconnected story and underwhelming fights. That is a particularly bruising complaint for an adaptation whose biggest selling point is watching these characters finally unleash their moves in live action. Between those reviews, the problem appears to extend beyond whether the costumes and callbacks look familiar enough to longtime players.

Still, the response is not an across-the-board knockout. Collider’s Aidan Kelley gave the movie 6/10, writing, “It may not be a total knockout, but Street Fighter rolls with enough punches to be a combination that is a win nonetheless.” Screen Rant’s Brandon Zachary was also more receptive, awarding it 7/10 and finding that its visual style helped compensate for its storytelling problems. Those reactions leave some hope for fans looking for an energetic night at the movies, even if the opening score suggests the movie will have to win plenty of viewers over for itself.

Street Fighter opens in theaters October 16.