Movie Reviews: Street Fighter & Whalefall
Street Fighter (2026) Review: The Ultimate Love Letter to 90s Fighting Game Kids
When the trailer for the new live-action Street Fighter reboot dropped, my initial thought was that it already looked infinitely better than the recent Mortal Kombat films. And after catching an early fan screening, I am so thrilled to report that the greatness doesn't stop at the trailer.
This movie is a deeply satisfying, glorious ode to every 90s kid who grew up button-mashing this game, whether you spent your pocket money at the arcade or, like me, spent endless hours glued to the original PlayStation!
I sat there with the biggest smile on my face from ear to ear the entire runtime. It was just so beautiful to experience.
Movie Overview (Without Spoilers)
Directed by Kitao Sakurai and produced by Legendary Pictures, Street Fighter (2026) reboot sweeps back to the classic 90s arcade lore.
The story centers on estranged martial artists Ryu (Andrew Koji) and Ken Masters (Noah Centineo), who are drawn back together when Chun-Li (Callina Liang) recruits them for the legendary World Warrior Tournament. What begins as a brutal clash of fists across the globe quickly unveils a sinister, subterranean conspiracy orchestrated by M. Bison (David Dastmalchian) and his Shadaloo empire.
Pitch-Perfect Casting & Game-Accurate Special Moves
What makes this film work so well is how much care was put into the cast and character representations. Using actual athletes and martial artists (like pro wrestler Cody Rhodes as Guile and real-life fighter Hirooki Goto as E. Honda) makes the physical combat look remarkably believable and punchy.
Seeing my two absolute favorite characters done complete justice on screen was a huge high point for me:
Dhalsim: Portrayed by Vidyut Jammwal, he was translated so gracefully to live-action without looking goofy.
Vega: Played by Orville Peck, they nailed his diva-ish, narcissistic personality and his obsession with beauty and perfection straight out of the lore.
It literally felt like watching the video game come to life on a giant screen. Every single iconic special move was executed with incredible visual flare. My absolute favorite moment had to be watching E. Honda pull off the Hundred Hand Slap and when that hit the screen, I was practically cheering out loud in the theater!
The Flaws: Choppy Match Transitions & Animated Cutscenes
As much as I loved the nostalgia trip, the movie isn't without its minor flaws. The interaction and pacing between certain character matchups felt a little all over the place. While the fights themselves are fantastic, the sequencing between matches cuts away so fast that you don't always get to fully soak in the beauty of each showdown. For instance, we didn't even get to see Guile actually fight Vega, it suddenly just announced that Vega won the match!
Additionally, I’m still on the fence about the choice to use stylized animated sequences for certain backstory beats. Part of me found it cool and artistic, but another part of me really wished those had been shot as actual live-action scenes instead.
The Best Fighting Game Movie Yet?
Mortal Kombat wishes it could be this good! Minor editing nitpicks aside, this is easily the absolute best live-action fighting video game movie adaptation we've ever received. It honors the fans, respects the source material, and delivers pure, unadulterated fun. Bring on the sequel!
RATING: 8/10: A vibrant, action-packed, and wonderfully nostalgic adaptation that does its legendary arcade roster justice with fantastic casting and game-accurate combat.
Whalefall Review: An Anxiety-Inducing Deep Sea Survival Nightmare
This is one of those movies where I know for sure I will never do the things the main character does, yet I desperately want to watch what happens if someone actually tries it!
I love being in the water, but the open ocean? Absolutely not. There is something about deep water that just doesn't feel right to me. I mean, what do you mean there are giant creatures living in the deep, pitch-black water, and what kind of creatures survive conditions like that?! I don't want to think about it! So going into Whalefall with a built-in fear of deep water and massive aquatic beasts, I knew I wasn't doing myself any favors.
Plus, I watched this in a beanie hall, and when I tell you that after the main character Jay got swallowed by the whale, I felt like I was stuck inside the whale's belly with him just because I was struggling to sit comfortably on the beanbag and fighting for my life to find a cozy spot!
Movie Overview (Without Spoilers)
Based on Daniel Kraus’s acclaimed thriller novel, Whalefall follows Jay, a young scuba diver who embarks on a high-risk dive off the coast of California to retrieve his late father's lost diving gear.
Disaster strikes when a giant sperm whale swallows Jay whole. Trapped inside the pitch-black, pressurized belly of the leviathan with less than an hour of oxygen remaining, Jay must fight severe physical trauma, claustrophobia, and agonizing odds to find a way out before his air runs out.
Real-Life Terror & Emotional Depth
This anxiety-inducing thriller is so well done! Honestly, it felt scarier than most supernatural horror movies I've seen because this situation is grounded in real-life possibility for anyone brave (or crazy) enough to go deep-sea diving.
Beyond the survival horror aspect, the plot carries a surprisingly simple yet effective emotional core revolving around the strained relationship between a dying father and his son. I really didn't expect to get emotional watching a whale movie, but those character beats hit surprisingly hard.
Surrealistic Shifts & Incredible Ocean Sound Design
A movie is rarely without its flaws, and there were a few things that made it slightly harder to stay fully immersed during the third act. The story suddenly takes a somewhat surreal, spiritual turn. However, given that Jay is trapped inside a whale with severely limited oxygen, becoming delusional and hallucinating actually makes narrative sense. There's also a reasonable amount of visceral body torture and practical gore, which added to the tension.
My other minor gripe is how convenient certain man-made items inside the whale's stomach happen to be for his escape plan. But what truly elevates the film is its sound design. The visuals are solid, but the audio of the deep ocean and the eerie, echoing whale calls gave me chills straight down my spine.
Cinema Dive Worthy?
Whalefall is another fantastic cinema watch. It delivers pure claustrophobic dread, incredible sound design, and a touching emotional narrative that makes it well worth experiencing on a big screen with great speakers.
RATING: 7/10: An intensely claustrophobic, sound-heavy survival thriller that combines deep-sea dread with a surprisingly touching father-son story.
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