Why do you even want this review? Do you want me to recommend Street Fighter? Did you want me to bully it? Do you want me to compare it to the other slop films in its genre like Mortal Kombat or Masters of the Universe? Fine.
The Slop Genre
I am trying way too hard to think of something clever to say about this movie. On one hand, I am so, so glad that people are finally realizing that if you’re asked to make a movie about an inherently goofy and far-fetched concept, you’re gonna have a really hard time adapting it into a serious movie. It’s ok for a goofy concept to be turned into a goofy movie. It’s ok! You can let things be colorful and funny and playful!
So when Mortal Kombat went this route, I think most people really embraced that approach. No, it wasn’t some cinematic or narrative masterpiece. There were a lot of rough edges to that film, and to an extent, to the sequel, too. Heck, Masters of the Universe nailed the humorousness of the entire idea. They even went a step further and got sort of woke with it.
These are fun movies, and I was absolutely seated for them, even though I wasn’t familiar with the Mortal Kombat games or the He-Man show. I’m sure I’ve played Street Fighter at a local pizzeria arcade, but I don’t have an emotional attachment to it or to any arcade game. I think that this sort of distance is a boon, because the movie gets a chance to reinvent concepts, introduce new ideas, and flesh out characters.
I call it “slop” but in the sense that we know they’re not going to be some impactful, long-lasting, culturally seismic piece of media. They’re entertaining. Popcorn, through and through. Crank everything up. It’s ok.
In fact, the camp almost excuses fanservice. I mean, on one hand, I liked how Masters of the Universe didn’t really sexualize its women, and even rejected the idea that romance was necessary in the film. On the other hand, I know that the twitter psyops leaned really hard into sexualizing Callina Liang and her thighs, and I wouldn’t be surprised if people showed up for butt. I mean. Do you know the last time I talked about Callina Liang? It was part of my review for the ultra-earnest film, Presence. So Liang clearly beefed up for this role, and if she’s ok with showing off her hard work, then more power to her, right?
So… sure? This is ok. I know we could do a deep dive into how the women and how they’re presented in Street Fighter, but I don’t know that calling out the female guards surrounding the antagonist were relegated to objects. But they weren’t sexualized. You could whine that the two female henchmen with substantial screentime were one-dimensional. Shut up?
I think the big reason why I give these films a pass for not getting too deep in their presentations of women and minorities is because often, they’re not problematic. They’re not complex, but they’re also not viscerally gross. These movies can’t get deep. They’re not meant for thoughts and introspection, they’re meant for spectacle. Other than the protagonist, and sometimes not even he gets it, no one has any reason to be too complicated or fleshed out. So as long as it’s not Pitch Black levels of reducing women, there’s no reason to nitpick a movie that’s not really allowed to be anything more than slop.
Recommending Bullying
But if you wanted to nitpick, Street Fighter does present a lot of opportunities to do so. First off, the editing was choppy and uninspired and honestly… amateur? If you look closely, following the opening animated sequence, the introduction of Ken and the life he lives before the plot kicks off was so… disjointed. Even as it was playing, I could tell that the delivery of information was off, and from the existing footage I rearranged it in my head so it wasn’t so redundant. The editing issues continue throughout the film.
The plot runs on forever. Around when the third act kicks off, even though that was when the majority of the action happens, I was ready for the movie to end and was dreading having to sit through more. Funny enough, yeah, there’s not that much action until the end. I can recall two full fights, but the combat tournament- y’know, an easy way to pack a bunch of cartoony martial arts into a movie- was cut to shreds and took a huge backseat to the “Ryu has been kidnapped” plot. Bit of a misfire there.
Of all the slop films, I also thought that Street Fighter missed on more jokes than it hit. I think they just ran through too many passes in the writer’s room, but I wasn’t impressed by the humor. The most consistently funny character was Ryu, who played a stoic, tortured protagonist who was often paired up with the loud, rambunctious, unfunny Ken. Often, not always. It was nice to see them bouncing off one another, but Ryu spends too much time being kidnapped.
So you can bully Street Fighter for its plot, editing, humor, and lack of action. Which… uh… I don’t know, dawg, what’s left for a slop film if it don’t have funny or action?
Fan service?
Look. I’m a horndog. I did not think that Street Fighter had nearly enough fanservice. Maybe they tempered the boobage and buttage. Maybe it was just enough for most people. Maybe maybe. All I know is that Callina Liang is going to get Google Imaged a lot.
In all, I rate Street Fighter
YMMV
It’s slop. Go have fun. Or not. Street Fighter is in theaters now.
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