Shadows on the Wall | Street Fighter

Street Fighter

dir Kitao Sakurai
scr TJ Fixman, Kitao Sakurai
prd Mary Parent, Cale Boyter, Jason Momoa, Takayuki Nakayama, Stefan Makhoul
with Noah Centineo, Andrew Koji, Callina Liang, David Dastmalchian, Jason Momoa, Andrew Schulz, Joe "Roman Reigns" Anoa'i, Cody Rhodes, Orville Peck, Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson, Vidyut Jammwal, Mel Jarnson
release US/UK 16.Oct.26
26/US Paramount 1h59

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This latest big screen adaptation of the long-running videogame franchise could have been mindless fun. Instead, it's a bombastic assault on the eyes and ears, with added waves of misogyny and homophobia. There are a few flashes of humour that add some life, but everything is far too in-your-face to connect on a meaningful level. And there's never even the slightest hint of suspense in the violent action.

In 1993, spoiled-diva fighter Ken (Centineo) and his manager Dan (Schulz) are invited by Chun-Li (Liang) to participate in a World Warrior Tournament, a rematch against his estranged childhood friend Ryu (Koji), who disappeared after winning the last competition six years ago. But the evil Lord Bison (Dastmalchian) is actually planning to suck the power from the competitors, specifically Ryu. But he doesn't know that Ryu's strength comes from the spirit of Akuma (Anoa'i), a dark force who feeds on anger and fear. And Ryu has been running from that for all of these years.

An anime prolog and flashbacks offer visual panache between the live-action story, which uses grainy, darkly saturated cinematography mainly in closeup, blurring the context. Frequent fight scenes are startlingly brutal for the children's rating, even if they're wildly cartoonish as characters bound back after being viciously pummelled. The colourful competitors all have history with Ken and Ryu, bringing witty banter and seriously nasty rough-housing. But the machismo creates a generally leery tone.

Echoing this, female roles are almost jarringly thankless, scantily clad tough girls who can't beat the boys. And the men are meatheads without a brain cell between them. Thankfully, the actors lean into the idiocy to bring out distinct personalities. The comical interplay might be entertaining if it weren't so mean-spirited. Koji's Ryu is the most intriguing character, because he's at least trying to reject this nonsense. And Momoa's outrageously Hulk-like Blanka is also a breath of fresh air.

Sadly, what emerges from the din is an unnervingly gleeful charge into intense brutality. These characters are all far too bullheaded to listen to each other, as they would rather throw a punch to make their point. Not a single one of them is interested in finding a real resolution to the issues that are surging inside them. It's clear that the filmmakers know better, because there are vague hints that they do. And the open ending, to unironic the strain of It's Raining Men, doesn't make us long for more of this.

themes, language, violence 12.Oct.26

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