Hear me out: I’m not saying Street Fighter (2026) is a masterpiece, or even that it’s especially well written. The writing often takes a back seat, and plenty of the criticism is fair. The movie has its flaws.
Still, some of the complaints I’ve seen feel a little overblown or at least not like deal-breakers to me.
The first thing that struck me was how much it felt like a movie from the ’90s or early 2000s, and I mean that as a compliment. The humor, the dialogue, the fan service… I honestly didn’t think a movie like this could still get made in 2026. It’s clear the people behind it love the franchise, and the character designs are remarkably faithful, including the women’s.
I never thought I’d see a big movie in 2026 that wasn’t afraid to draw attention to Chun-Li’s thighs and Cammy’s ass. The film doesn’t censor that part of the source material; it leans into it, and the people making it are happy to promote that. It’s also one of the things the “specialized” press seems to complain about most. To be fair, I think some of the coverage makes a much bigger deal of it than the movie does. There’s fan service, sure, but reading some reviews, you’d think the whole thing was basically a porno. The ’90s animated movie showed a lot more.
I even saw one journalist get worked up over a scene where Chun-Li takes a shower, even though she’s completely covered by steam. Meanwhile, nobody seemed bothered by the shot of a sumo wrestler’s ass. Funny how that works.
The humor and dialogue get a similar reaction. The movie mixes ’90s-style comedy with 2020s internet humor “Ahhh, yes, step on me, Cammy,” for example. It’s not exactly DEI-friendly humor, and that seems to have pushed some critics’ buttons. One journalist even accused the film of homophobia because it used the word “freak.”
There are lines I never expected to hear in a modern movie like this, either: “I don’t get why he’s obsessed with your thighs” and “Careful, hot stranger women are coming you know what to do,” delivered in a very pervy way. Basically, it has pretty much everything the “male gaze” crowd could want, female characters included.
Some reviews also seem to overlook the film’s strengths. Take the fights. People keep saying there are no tournament fights. Technically, that’s true: the movie skips some matches between minor characters. But we still get plenty of fights with the three leads Chun-Li, Ryu, and Ken. From the way some critics describe it, you’d think there were only two or three fights in the whole movie. That feels a bit misleading.
The character designs stick close to the source without looking cringe, and the movie doesn’t shy away from the fan service. The fights are generally well choreographed, even if they’re not mind-blowing. My favorite part, though, is the anime-style sequences. They’re so well animated that I caught myself wondering if this should’ve just been an animated movie.
Without spoiling anything, a few of the reveals genuinely caught me off guard. And even if the writing is mostly an afterthought, the characters’ lore is at least respected. Ryu and Ken get some interesting moments. Bison, though, is a big disappointment the animated movie did him so much better. I also would’ve rather seen Cammy’s personality given to another character, maybe Juli. That’s just my preference, though. Cammy’s personality works; it’s simply not what I would’ve chosen for her.
So, should you watch it?
I’d say yes. This movie is clearly aimed at geeky guys somewhere between 25 and 50 who play video games. If you’re in this sub, there’s a decent chance that’s you.
People here complain all the time about censorship, unattractive female characters, woke content, toned-down humor, and fan service disappearing. Well, this is a chance to support a movie that actually brings some of that stuff back. I’ll say it again: this doesn’t feel like a movie made in 2026. Even if you don’t end up liking it, buying a ticket could be a rare chance to show studios there’s still an audience for this kind of movie. Sometimes you have to vote with your wallet.
