The upcoming adaptation of Street Fighter, directed by Kitao Sakurai, completely flips how the big screen has viewed the iconic video game so far. The film is a more over-the-top, goofy, game-faithful adaptation that captures the eccentricities of the video game and its era - the 90s. In a candid conversation with Hindustan Times, director Kitao opens up on taking this tone for the game and what he hopes to achieve with it.
A very 90s’ film
Kitao says he wanted the viewer to feel as if they were playing Street Fighter 2 while watching the film. He tells us, “I really wanted to have a very accurate expression of the feeling of the game, especially Street Fighter 2, and what it felt like growing up in the 90s playing Street Fighter. It has this tone that's both heartfelt and emotional, but it also is over the top and crazy, and embodies a spirit of fun.”
To this end, the filmmaker focused on including era-accurate score and elements. “I really wanted to capture the feeling of the '90s itself, be it '90s movies or music, because Street Fighter is a product of the '90s. It was important that the film had a connection to that era,” he explains.
Street Fighter takes a zany approach to video game adaptation at a time when many video games are taking a more grounded, relatable route to the screen. Be it The Last of Us or Resident Evil, many video games have seen gritty reboots and been quite successful. But Kitao says there is no one ‘right’ approach to it. “I felt like there could be a different tone that existed in the world of like translating video games to the screen, where not everything has to feel totally grounded, gritty and realistic. There can be things that exist in a more punk rock fun universe, where you just have fun,” he says.
Hundreds of game moves in the film
{{/usCountry}}Street Fighter takes a zany approach to video game adaptation at a time when many video games are taking a more grounded, relatable route to the screen. Be it The Last of Us or Resident Evil, many video games have seen gritty reboots and been quite successful. But Kitao says there is no one ‘right’ approach to it. “I felt like there could be a different tone that existed in the world of like translating video games to the screen, where not everything has to feel totally grounded, gritty and realistic. There can be things that exist in a more punk rock fun universe, where you just have fun,” he says.
Hundreds of game moves in the film
{{/usCountry}}Kitao says the film could only have been game-accurate with the myriad of moves used by the characters, which he has tried to a large extent. He explains, “Something that hasn't fully been explored in the way that we've explored it was just how intricately detailed the fighting. The fans are going to be surprised at how many moves from the game are in the movie. It's not just that we're taking this character and thinking of them as a person in the world. We're taking all the moves too. There are hundreds of moves in the movie. And it’s not like something where the Hadouken (Ken’s special move) comes at the very end of the movie, and you never see it throughout the movie. We're not doing that. We are giving it a narrative and emotional weight that I think audiences will also be kind of surprised by.”
About Street Fighter
Street Fighter is the third live-action feature-length film based on the Street Fighter video game series by Capcom. It features a large ensemble cast, including Noah Centineo, Andrew Koji, Callina Liang, Roman Reigns, David Dastmalchian, Cody Rhodes, Eric André, Andrew Schulz, Vidyut Jammwal, 50 Cent, and Jason Momoa. The film will release in theatres on October 16.