Fight Night, Round Three
Street Fighter (2026)
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.
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■ Street FighterYou guys know me, as the Weekend Gamer, I’m more of a Street Fighter than a Mortal Kombat guy. MK just has a different play mechanic compared to a fluid SF moveset. Still, that doesn’t stop me from enjoying seeing MK and all of its goofiness.
Street Fighter (2026)
I can’t believe we have a Mortal Kombat movie and a Street Fighter movie in the 2026. It’s only too bad the two franchises don’t crossover.
Of course, this isn’t the first time MK or SF were made into a motion picture, MK is more successful with their trilogy that started in 1995, while SF had its 1994 film starring the Kickboxer himself, Jean-Claude Van Damme.
Between the two fighting “reboot” films, I still stand behind Street Fighter. I’ve always liked the Capcom video game over Midway games. But let’s be totally honest, all these movies are not good. What did you expect when you base a movie on a fighting game? They’re all dumb.
Street Fighter’s story is focused on Ryu and Ken. They were close friends, until their master was killed and the two separated. They all meet up in the tournament that M.Bison put together to try and harness the fighter’s energy. Characters like Dhalsim fights Vega fights Zangief… None of it makes any sense, but who cares, Cammy looks amazing!
Although Street Fighter isn’t going to win any Oscars, what it does make up for being fun. All the over-the-top moves are represented, from Hadoken (“ha-doo-ken”) to Shoryuken (I’ve always pronounced it as “all you can”) to Guile’s scissorkick. All the characters look like the game, including that crazy Guile haircut. At the least, they got the looks and moves right.
What I didn’t like is all the backstory are told through Animation. I feel like they just re-used the Street Fighter II The Animated Movie, but I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt by saying the animation was created for the movie.
I also didn’t like that they included characters from other games, like Dan from Street Fighter Alpha or Don Sauvage from Street Fighter V (I didn’t even recognize his character). I personally think they should have just stick mainly to Street Fighter II and Super Street Fighter II: The New Challengers (which introduces Cammy, T. Hawk, Dee Jay, and Fei Long (Bruce Lee).
I think the only core Street Fighter II character that didn’t appear live is Sagat, who is only shown in animation.
What I did really like is the soundtrack. It’s all 90s, baby! It makes sense, since Street Fighter II came out in 1991. I love hearing 4 Non Blondes’ “What’s Up”, Elastica’s “Connection” and Offspring ’s “Come Out and Play”.
If you’ve never played the game, I can’t really recommend this film to you. You’ll only want to see this film, if you’re into the Street Fighter game. You’ll love it.
The Street Fighter movie is out in theaters today (October 16, 2026).
Shogun’s Ninja (1980)
My brother gave me Shogun’s Ninja Arrow Video Bluray as a gift. The film came out on Bluray on August 25, 2026, and it’s pure 80s Ninja magic, if you’re into that sort of thing. It stars Hiroyuki Sanada, in his first lead role… Sanada is famous for some American genre films, like Mortal Kombat (2021), The Wolverine (2013), Army of the Dead (2021), and John Wick: Chapter 4 (2023). The film also stars Sonny Chiba, who is famous for the The Street Fighter (1970s movies).
What I really like about Shogun’s Ninja is that it’s purely a Japanese film, but there are Chinese elements, obviously inspired by Hong Kong’s Shaw Brothers and their Kung Fu cinema… and also Lone Wolf and Cub. The main villain has two side ninjas, one is mute, the other is deaf. They have a three-man-standing stance that is just so cool!
Our main hero trained in China, learning fighting techniques from a master. He returns to Japan and it’s only with that knowledge is he able to defeat… the Shogun’s Ninja. I think it’s a pretty great film.
The Bluray version has both English dub and the original Japanese track, with optional English subtitles. There’s a nice booklet with articles by Earl Jackson, and a standard reversal cover artwork. There’s also a brand new audio commentary by Asian cinema expert Chris Poggiali, that is exclusive to Arrow Video.
Although I got the film as a gift, this is the kind of movies that I normally collect. I mainly stick to Hong Kong films, but the occasional Japanese films, such as Zatoichi and Lone Wolf and Club, I also dabble in.
