Street Fighter

Movie review by Charles Cassady Jr., Common Sense Media
Street Fighter Poster Image

Common Sense says

age 14+

Campy video game-derived action-fest.

PG-13 1994 102 minutes
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Parents say

age 9+

Based on 2 reviews

Kids say

age 13+

Based on 1 review

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A Lot or a Little?

The parents' guide to what's in this movie.

What Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that this movie is based on a well-known martial-arts video game (albeit one not infamous for gruesome violence, as the Mortal Kombat line was), and consequently, there's a lot fighting (believe it or not). Characters are kicked, pummeled, shot at, slashed at, electrocuted, and so on. Almost all of it is bloodless and not taken terribly seriously, though a few seconds of genuine war-atrocity news stock footage are worked into the fantasy. There's no need to be familiar with the game to enjoy the movie, but it helps with character recognition. There's some scattered swearing, smoking, and drinking, and a reference to the drug trade.

Community Reviews

desunda
desunda Adult
July 25, 2020
age 5+

Perfect

it had plenty of action and followed the comic book.
derek642
derek642 Adult
March 8, 2012
age 13+

Bring the Wine, Cheese Provided

Ok, first off, let me say that I put that it's 'too violent' only to say that there is a lot of action-packed violence in it. Considering what you can do in the video game (from my day and the PS3 version we just got on clearance) what would you expect from a movie based on it... That being said, it's kindof a cheesy movie version of the game that adds a plot and includes most of the characters I believe. It has an interesting backstory/plot for the 'creation' of the character Blanka also. It's definitely not the best movie production, but I got this for my son to watch as he really liked playing SF4 for PS3 and I think he will get a kick (pun intended) out of the movie. It has language in it, definitely ones that our kids can't say. They have been exposed to language already, not that we go out of our way to promote movies that have it, but given this is based on a video game we have played, this will be the expeption reason for me, but usually I wouldn't suggest a movie with tons of language in it.

This title has:

Too much violence
Too much swearing
See all 2 parent reviews

What's the Story?

STREET FIGHTER derived from a popular Capcom video game in which players could choose a gallery of martial-arts contestants to go up against each other. Screenplay-wise, this translates as high-tech warlord General Bison (Raul Julia) wreaking havoc in the mythical Asian nation of "Shadaloo" and holding relief-workers hostage for a $20 billion ransom, while forcing a captive scientist turn a prisoner into a Hulk-like monster soldier. His main opponent is Col. Guile (Jean-Claude Van Damme), stalwart leader of international military forces, who tries to find Bison's hidden base. Other two-fisted characters ultimately brawling in Bison's temple of doom include Chun-Li (Ming-na Wen), a TV reporter out for vengeance because Bison killed her father 20 years ago in her border village.

Is It Any Good?

Though it scored low at the box-office, Street Fighter racks decent cinematic junk-food points for rainy days when the game console won't boot up. Except for unnecessary swearing it's mostly PG-level inoffensive, and even a bit of a guilty pleasure compared to later (R-rated) movies derived from fancier and more savagely gory joystick material, such as Doom and Resident Evil. This, while lacking in plot surprises, still has a self-mocking sense of humor about itself throughout, with some sly jokes insinuated amongst the colorful-gaudy production design (note the clown painting in Bison's bedroom).

The cast acts it up with relish, especially Raul Julia's eye-popping caped villain. Julia died suddenly before the film's release; he reportedly took this untypical part mainly because his children were fans of the game, and the movie is dedicated to him. In addition to assorted tie-in anime cartoons, another game-spinoff live-action movie appeared in 2009

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about the idea of basing movies on video games. What are some favorites? What game would make a good movie? Is it more fun to watch if you're a player of the video game or not? Would you rather see a movie based on a simple action-combat game, like Street Fighter II, or a more problem-solving and story-dependent game, like Myst, Riven, or the Seventh Guest?

Movie Details

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