The Street Fighter Movie Is Good, Actually

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This article first appeared on September 4, 2019. We’re sharing it again now that the trailer for the new Street Fighter movie is out – and it’s clear the movie has a high bar to meet, as this piece explains.

This year marks the 25th anniversary of the Street Fighter movie. It’s amazing to think it’s been a quarter of a century since it first came out. While it was originally criticized as one of the worst video game adaptations, it continues to be seen that way today.

The standard for good video game movies isn’t very high, and the Super Mario Bros. movie is a strange sci-fi film that barely resembles the game. The Tomb Raider films are similar to National Treasure, which itself feels like a less exciting version of Indiana Jones. I saw Prince of Persia and Assassin’s Creed in theaters, but I honestly can’t remember anything about them, except that Jake Gyllenhaal narrowly avoided criticism for playing a character of color.

While not all video game movies are terrible, a few stand out. Silent Hill is okay, Mortal Kombat is enjoyable, and Detective Pikachu was surprisingly good. Plus, there are the well-done anime adaptations of games like Pokémon and Street Fighter. And for those keeping track, yes, I did mention anime, so please don’t correct me on that!

Video game movies generally receive negative criticism because they struggle to recreate the experience of actually playing the game. They also often don’t deliver a compelling story for audiences unfamiliar with the game’s established lore.

The Street Fighter movie doesn’t bother with expectations. It isn’t aiming to be a faithful adaptation, a well-made film, or even a coherent story. Instead, it’s a chaotic mess that somehow, miraculously, comes together as something surprisingly beautiful – like a stunning sculpture rising from the wreckage of a plane crash.

Street Fighter: The Movie is good, actually.

Even the movie’s opening is flawless. After the calm Universal Studios intro, the film’s logo bursts onto the screen! Powerful music plays as the names Jean-Claude Van Damme and Raul Julia appear, followed by a dramatic reveal of the title: “STREET FIGHTER.”

The scene quickly cuts to a live news report featuring Chun-Li (played by Ming-Na Wen, before Scarlett Johansson became well-known) covering a conflict between M. Bison (played by Julia in one of his final roles) and a group of nations referred to as the Allied Nations – perhaps to avoid licensing fees associated with the United Nations. The story involves a civil war in the made-up Asian country of Shadaloo, but ultimately, these details aren’t important to the bigger picture.

The most memorable part is our introduction to M. Bison in his ridiculously elaborate base of operations. It’s full of impressive uniforms, and of course, a massive TV screen constructed from smaller, older televisions. Even with a civil war raging in his nation, Bison is strangely eager to personally fight anyone who dares challenge him.

Bison swiftly defeats a soldier and casually dismisses him with a “Pathetic.” And it’s surprisingly captivating. Raul Julia delivers an incredible performance in this movie – he truly shines. Like many superhero or video game adaptations, these films often struggle with weak villains. Usually, the villains are over-the-top and simply exist for the heroes to defeat. But here, it’s different. Bison is so charismatic and enjoyable to watch that you actually want him to be on screen.

It’s important to remember that Raul Julia was battling cancer while filming this movie. He was aware of his illness, as was his family, and he apparently accepted the role simply because his children loved the source material. (He sadly passed away from a stroke just two months before the film’s release.) He even included his family on set, wanting to maximize their time together. Despite facing a terminal illness and a chaotic production, Julia delivered one of the most enjoyable villainous performances ever put on film – he truly gave it his all.

Take the most famous scene in the movie.

You really don’t need to know much backstory because the Street Fighter movie doesn’t bother with much of it. Basically, Chun-Li is secretly trying to get revenge on Bison, which gets her captured. Then, for reasons movies often have, they end up in a strange situation where hero and villain just…hang out. It’s not a particularly important plot point.

The key thing about this scene in Street Fighter is that it subverts expectations. Instead of the villain, Bison, having the lengthy speech, it’s Chun-Li who gets to deliver it. And surprisingly, it’s Bison who ends up with the cool, powerful line. Honestly, just watch what is widely considered the best scene in the movie – you won’t be disappointed.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=watch?v=iVzAMmpMra8

That scene is so strong it feels ready for performance right now. It perfectly captures the over-the-top drama of Chun-Li’s story, and the bizarre details – like Bison changing into pajamas and making a drink – are brilliant. The line, “For me, it was Tuesday,” is the perfect touch, delivering a lot of impact with very little effort, and it’s delivered with a cool indifference.

It’s no secret Jean-Claude Van Damme’s performance as Guile is… unique. Director Steven de Souza has said Van Damme was heavily using cocaine during filming, and it’s definitely noticeable. His portrayal of the all-American hero, complete with a strong Belgian accent, feels frantic and desperate. The opening speech delivered through news footage is predictably cheesy. And when Bison interrupts with a threat, Guile’s response – “Anytime, dickhead” – is memorably blunt.

The movie’s wildly over-the-top style is exactly what you’d expect from an Adult Swim original. From the moment Ryu and Ken appear, they’re introduced with a song literally titled “Street Fighter” – a classic ’90s action movie trope. And to top it off, these two fighters are actually con artists posing as arms dealers. It’s all wonderfully absurd.

Woven throughout these tales is the story of Guile’s friend, Charlie, who transforms into Blanka – yes, that Blanka from the games. If you’ve made it this far without playing Street Fighter II, well, I’m not sure what to say. Dhalsim, previously portrayed as a somewhat controversial Indian guru, is now a British scientist who’s keeping Charlie imprisoned in a metal tube, complete with neon signs labeled, quite plainly, “DNA MUTAGENS” – just in case anyone forgets what’s happening.

What makes the Street Fighter movie surprisingly enjoyable is that it fully embraces familiar tropes. It’s packed with predictable elements – like terrorists openly selling missiles, comedic sidekicks abandoning their villain, and a heroine going undercover as a dancer – and doesn’t try to hide it.

And let’s not forget Bison’s habit of calling his money “Bison Dollars” and jokingly threatening to kidnap the Queen of England—all to establish a value of five British pounds for each Bison Dollar.

The Street Fighter movie isn’t enjoyable because it’s bad, but rather because it fully embraces its flaws. It’s so unapologetically bad that it actually becomes fun.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=watch?v=Gh_0cv05iTo

While many people today are nostalgic for the 1990s, the focus is usually on the late part of the decade – things like Y2K, the Spice Girls, and AOL. This overlooks how different the early ’90s actually were. It’s easy to think action movies went straight from films like Die Hard to The Matrix, but that’s not quite right. After the very serious and violent action films of the 1980s, early ’90s action movies embraced more humor and silliness.

The movie Street Fighter perfectly captures the over-the-top action and humor popular in the early 1990s. The acting isn’t the point – everyone is just having fun and being dramatic! The film is full of familiar scenes and ideas, cleverly borrowed and reimagined. A key moment happens when Guile unexpectedly encounters Charlie, who has transformed into the beastly Blanka. Blanka initially attacks him, but stops when Guile reminds him of their friendship, prompting Blanka to questioningly reply, “FRIEND?”

The movie unintentionally shows how silly video game adaptations can be. Street Fighter is fundamentally about fighting – specifically, kicking someone really well. A complex story isn’t necessary. Does it even matter why the characters are fighting when they’re mostly just kicking each other? The plot is just window dressing. So, if you’re making a movie based on fighting, why not create your own story and enjoy the process? Give the characters fun personalities and motivations – it’s all about having fun!

Here’s what makes Street Fighter enjoyable: it’s delightfully nonsensical. The story is so fragmented it almost defies understanding, and each character feels like they’re in their own separate film. But the movie embraces its strangeness and doesn’t bother with explanations. It simply is – unique and unapologetically itself.

What’s really interesting is that Capcom, the company behind the original game, was heavily involved in making the movie – they even funded most of it themselves. They specifically wanted Jean-Claude Van Damme to play Guile and were willing to pay him a hefty $8 million, despite the fact that much of his performance involved looking sweaty and mumbling while doing fancy kicks. While the movie is a bit of a disaster, Capcom shares the blame – and that’s strangely satisfying. It seems even the creators of the game didn’t fully grasp what made it special.

The Street Fighter movie is a masterclass in filmmaking failures, and somehow, all those mistakes combine to create something strangely enjoyable. It’s the kind of big-budget movie that wouldn’t likely be made now – a genuinely flawed film that was released with surprising confidence.

It’s wonderful.

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2026-04-16 20:59