What’s it about?

Estranged street fighters Ryu and Ken Masters get thrown back into combat when the mysterious Chun-Li recruits them for the next World Warrior Tournament — a brutal clash of fists, fate and fury. However, behind the battle royale lies a deadly conspiracy that forces them to face off against each other and the demons from their past.

What did we think?

Anthony Sherratt says: It’s unusual that a film ticks so many boxes and yet somehow still fails. The new Street Fighter has immaculate acting, great atmosphere, impressive sets, incredible choreography and stunts, pays homage to the games and previous movie, and is a heck of a lot of fun. Despite all this it ends up falling incredibly flat because of some truly poor writing.

It’s not clear whether they couldn’t decide on a plot line or if they had fleshed out the two competing plot lines and edited it to a point where it reached incoherence. Either way, the irritating nature of a ‘story’ that makes little to no sense sadly robs from the surprisingly entertaining nature of a mindless and charismatic slugfest.

Noah Centineo’s Ken is the perfect example. Great acting but his character is the typical maverick seeking redemption, yet the film denies him growth, redemption and even likability.

But to be honest none of this matters because this aesthetically gorgeous film – in which flashbacks are all delightfully animated – is fun. It just lacks intelligence and, unlike the game that inspired it, replayability.