Street Fighter: Five musts for the live action movie to succeed

By Mark Lynch | May 9, 2023

PARIS, FRANCE - FEBRUARY 18: A kid plays a video game "Street Fighter" developed by Capcom during an electronic video game tournament at the eSports World Convention (ESWC) on February 18, 2017 in Paris, France. The ESWC is the historic and emblematic event of electronic sports, bringing together every year since 2003 the best players in the world in video game tournaments designed as real live shows and broadcast live on the Internet or on television. 20 of the biggest American teams of Call of Duty will be present to compete in the tournament CWL Paris Open. Never had an event organized in Europe so much engaged the American eSport community. (Photo by Chesnot/Getty Images) /

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Funny, but not slapstick

Street Fighter doesn’t need to be over an hour and a half of seriousness. Zangief can add comedy because it fits his look and what he’s been like in the game. Vega’s narcissism can be entertaining especially when someone shuts him up (Chun Li did it in the animated movie).

There are also moments where serious characters like Guile and Bison can have moments where they’re accidentally funny. This is how a Street Fighter movie can be fun without being over the top. The last thing anyone wants is another Jean-Claude Van Damme speech. However, the scene above is an example of the perfect balance.

Evil M. Bison

One thing both Street Fighter movies got right is Bison being an evil terrorist. This needs to happen again. Marvel Studios’ villains may be sympathetic, but Bison shouldn’t be. He’s a killer willing to use science to augment himself and control other people. There’s no reason that this shouldn’t be the case in this movie. It’s worked in video games for decades. And, if it isn’t broken, don’t fix it.

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What other things are needed to finally create a good Street Fighter live-action movie? Let us know in the comments below.

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