IR Film Review: STREET FIGHTER [Paramountl]
A video game adaptation can be done many ways but it depends who is adapting it. They can be done larger that life but the way the humor and the play of it works is key. "Street Fighter" wants to be fun but makes so much fun of itself while trying to have some real moments that is becomes embarrassingly stupid while still having a couple really cool sequences. The strength and weakness comes from the big bad in David Dastmalchian who plays another weird character in M. Bison. He plays it different but with the same camp element that made Raul Julia accept its last incarnation. What sets up the film nicely (but also maybe budget wise) is doing an anime sequence that sets up Ken and Ryu’s plight in 1987 before it jumps to its present day (1993) which is in time with the video game. Noah Centineo plays Ken. He was in "Black Adam" but looks totally different here. He definitely makes one think of those old school wrestlers like Macho Man but with his own flair. With Ken (like Johnny Cage), Centineo plays it all with ego and hurt while being a bit dumb which is what the character needs. The arch isn’t bad. The situations and dialogue are badly built too but again this might be completely on purpose. That said, a lot of it falls flat. Andrew Koji plays Ryu. Having done "Warrior" he has so much more range than this but in terms of big budget when you have skills you have to go where the money is. He did "Snake Eyes" for Paramount so this might have made a lot of sense as a legacy character...like it did for Karl Urban in "Mortal Kombat II". Not really sure if this will fare any better.
It sets itself up for a sequel and, like if you were doing an adaptation of "Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out", all the characters characters and their powers are represented. Cody Rhodes as Guile doesn’t really fight but is a brief highlight (almost like a cameo) and gives aa bit of gravitas while innately understanding the camp element. Jason Momoa as Blanka is even briefer but his character has the most heart of them all even if Momoa plays it mostly for laughs. He is a producer on the film so likely he helped get it made (after the success of "Minecraft") and it shows in the casting. Similarly 50 Cent shows up (as a fighter) but likely because he is a fan. Eric Andre is the announcer but he is mostly just annoying. The film is bombastic, pulls a lot of 90s needle drops from Melisa Etheridge to Soundgarden to White Zombie to The Offspring (so it knows what it wants to be -- and those licensing rights aren't cheap). The aforementioned anime is a throwback to "Kill Bill" but doesn’t use the music to as much avail as it could have. That said, it is still some great work as done by Titmouse to reflect the "Akira" and "Ghost In The Shell" style. These anime sequences elevate the film but they have a different tone from the rest of the film. Director Kitao Sakurai, who co-created "The Eric Andre Show" with the comedian is obviously a fan but the film is way all over the place. It is pretty stupid, even for intentional campy, and too sentimental at times for its own good (though it is the 90s). Calian Liang as Chun Li perhaps fares the best of the characters because she has an arc. She both leans into the fun and sexiness of the role while still maintaining the gravitas. Koji does similar though his use of blunted speak is perhaps the wrong idea for the character. "Street Fighter" is dumb fun but almost too dumb for its own good. 76%/C+
By Tim Wassberg
