The first trailer for the upcoming Street Fighter film is out, and I'll tell you this: It looks very Street Fighter.
It seems that the friendship between Ryu and Ken has gone a little off the rails, as have the men themselves: Neither of them are looking especially sharp as the trailer begins. Fortunately for all, Chun-Li steps in to reunite them, perhaps not entirely willingly, for the 1993 World Warrior Tournament, "a brutal clash of fists, fate, and fury."
But why? Well, this tournament isn't the pure Kumite of days gone by: "Behind this battle royale lies a deadly conspiracy that forces them to face off against each other and the demons of their past. And if they don’t, it’s GAME OVER!" So it's up to the three of them to clean house, I guess. Shades of Mortal Kombat, maybe?
Anyway, while the drama is high, the movie is clearly not going to be shy about embracing its videogame roots. Here, for instance, is Ken about to get his ass suplexed through a taxi from 20 feet up by an oddly Donald Sutherland-looking Zangief:
There's also a clip in the trailer of Ken beating the hell out of a car, knocking the hood flying with a single kick while a crowd hoots, hollers, and cheers him on. Hey, the '90s was a weird time.
But while there's cheese a-plenty, this Street Fighter flick looks more knowing about it than the classic 1994 original—or at least it shows the potential—and that could elevate it to an actually good movie, rather than one that's merely accidentally entertaining.
The trailer serves up a pretty good look at just about all the street fighters in Street Fighter, and I have to say that casting David Dastmalchian as M. Bison is a brilliant choice.
Will he say the line? Man, I hope so.
The one notable semi-absence is Jason Momoa as Blanka: He's arguably the biggest name in the cast, but he's only seen near the end of the video, in a very brief clip obscured by dust and motion. Other characters have smaller showings too, but in terms of raw star power, Momoa is the big hook, especially after his turn in A Minecraft Movie. Is Street Fighter holding something back for the next trailer?
This is about as clear as it gets:
So it looks like it might be fun, hopefully in the "actual fun" way and possibly in the "so bad it's good" way. Hopefully the former, but we'll find out later this year: Street Fighter hits the big screens on October 16.
