They're Building It Up; I'm Breaking It Down
Your thorough analysis of the latest Street Fighter 2026 movie trailer
So, with that (my previous post half), let me try to help YOU better understand what may be one of the best movie trailers ever made…why it’s oh so close to PERFECT!
[KO! You win!]
1. Personally, I’d like to ignore the first few seconds, which seem like filler repeating what’s about to be shown. It seems senseless to repeat.
2. The first piece of music has a distinct hip-hop sound (which has been associated with Tu Pac and probably has some connection to “50 Cent” being in the movie). I’m inclined to think this is a marketing strategy to appeal to certain audiences, which will make more sense as the music for the trailer changes. I don’t particularly associate hip-hop music with Street Fighter. [And, it’s both amusing and cringe-worthy to see the “reactions” of white (Caucasian) men to that opening music, as if they’re all trying to look hip and into it. Notice few if any mention Tu Pac the way other folks do.] I also think the music might…just might…be related to a character some have already noticed missing from the “Super” roster, namely Deejay. [‘More on him in just a bit.]
3. One of the first visuals we get is Chun Li traveling to India to “recruit” Dhalsim for a tournament of fighters from around the world. At least one of the “reaction” givers noted how Chun Li’s presence in the trailer seems very similar to Raiden in Mortal Kombat going around the world to collect fighters for a tournament. [How convenient two films in the same year would try such a plot. And, shame on Street Fighter for pitching what Mortal Kombat did first (back in 1995).] I noticed that, too.
4. Let me clarify something the “reaction” givers failed to mention/notice. In the very beginning of the trailer, you see an arena with a Bison statue and banner. But, it’s the SECOND arena to appear that shows the banner on a different building with the date 1993 on it. So, keep in mind some fights seen in the trailer may not be from the “present” tournament/timeline.
5. After being the first glimpses of the lovely Chun Li and surprisingly handsome Dhalsim, we see a few more splashy images of Guile, Cammy, Vega, Balrog and…who’s that little blond guy who seems very exuberant with his mouth always open for some reason? Oh. Some of you younger folks and those who don’t do a little research might not recognize this guy from the original Street Fighter arcade game. Hi. His name is Joe. Yo. [And, I’m a lil jealous of Cody Rhode’s costume in this opening sequence!] There’s also a ring announcer character with whom I am not familiar because I did not keep up with the sequels to SF2.
6. Ken Masters, the perpetual #2 to Ryu, who is the “lone wolf” and “hero” of the Street-Fighter story (not Guile, as the 1994 film has you…uh…see), quickly defeats a masked luchador (from a sequel I have yet to play but who I vaguely know from images I’ve seen from the later games). [If you really want to get a grip on the characters Ken and Ryu, I recommend watching the animated movie that came out in the mid-1990s.] Notice Ken is not wearing the red outfit (gi) he wore as he danced down the aisle to the arena stage only a short time ago. He’s wearing shorts…shorts that look very similar to those worn by the final boss of Street Fighter (One) and the second last boss before Bison in Street Fighter Two. Sagat is also supposedly missing from this new movie. Could there be a hidden explanation in Ken wearing his shorts?
7. Ken quickly celebrates his easy victory in the corner of the ring and gets a PERFECT! This is something that happens in the game when you win a fight without losing stamina. For someone like Ken, who lacks Ryu’s discipline and serious attitude, being “perfect” just feeds his showboat ego, which helps explain what comes next…his downfall. [There are a few uses of the concept “what goes up must come down” throughout the trailer, showing how someone seeming to rise in fame can just as quickly be taken down.]
8. Just before we see and hear Chun Li call Ken a sideshow, we catch a glimpse of a mustached man rooting for Ken. This is Dan, a character added to the Street Fighter roster in the Alpha games. He’s considered a “joke” fighter who tries very hard to mimic Ryu/Ken. It’s convenient that he first appears here when Chun Li calls out Ken for making a fool of himself.
9. Ken is featured as a part of an MTV spectacle. This is just the first tip of the hat to the 1990s, when Street Fighter 2 really took off to launch the franchise. It also allows the somewhat ridiculous concept of trashing a car (a bonus game between fights within Street Fighter 2) to have some sensible placement in the story. It’s all part of Ken’s championship party. But…is Ken really champion?…of anything? [You may have to understand how Ken was one of the only two optional characters to play in the original Street Fighter arcade game. And, still, Ryu was considered the primary hero. In a way, Ken is like Luigi to Mario. Mario gets all of the attention for a long time. Luigi is kind of a sideshow. Who gets featured on the cover of Street Fighter 2? Ryu (and Blanka…and Chun Li). Not Ken.]
10. Chun Li says the tournament (to which she is about to explain she’s gathering fighters for) is Ken’s chance at redemption. But, there’s more to redemption in this movie than just Ken getting something from…who? Ryu. If you watch the anime/animated movie from the 1990s, you’ll see how Ken is divided between chasing some “unfinished business” with Ryu, his former training partner/friend from when he went to pursue his passion for the martial arts and a relationship with a beautiful blonde woman who appears as his fiancé/bride in the original SF2 game ending. He is hasty to get what he wants, unlike Ryu who slowly roams the world in pursuit of greater purpose. And, when he cannot top his buddy/rival Ryu, Ken is pulled toward an early retirement and the possibility of marriage, “settling down.“ Ken never feels satisfied with fighting Ryu because he never finds that edge to be better and actually claim victory. When you play as Ken in the original Street Fighter 2, Ken feels some relief for winning a tournament and decides it’s okay to propose to his fiancé. And, luckily for him, she accepts his proposal. Actually, in the anime movie, she “considers” his proposal after he almost kills her by losing focus while driving his sweet red Porsche.
11. Now, at this point, most reviewers of the trailer get hung up on “Fitty Cent” giving Ken (in his red two-piece, again) the KO, which causes most if not all of them to miss the line from Ken. “Is Ryu going to show?” This might seem like a pointless line thrown in…but I think there’s a subtle little message hidden in that. Is Ryu going to show? If he does, then the tournament will SHOW RYU to KEN. Sho-ryu-(to)-Ken. It’s the damn rising dragon punch, people! Shoryuken! And, as that line is delivered, look closely to see how the rain moves UP past Ryu’s face while falling DOWN Ken’s face. I’m inclined to say this is a subtle visual cue to Ryu’s rise to fame/power and Ken’s descent. That’s one for you English/Literature teachers out there.
12. Now, there’s another subtle visual message I think most will miss that comes in this same “neon” fight scene. Ryu smashes Ken’s face into a brick wall three times. I don’t know if it’s the third game in which they first appear. But…Ryu and Ken WERE added to the SMASH BROS. roster. And, in various stories, they call each other brothers. Could that face-smashing be a little nod to another game series? Hmm? Clever; right? You didn’t see that coming. [And then we get that sweet roll throw these two guys like to use in the games.]
13. Ryu, who I did not recognize AT ALL with his haggard hair and beard (because I have only rarely seen a glimpse of his change of appearance after SF2 and am surprised he ever gives up the white training suit) says he’s not currently on a path of combat. Why? I mean…this is a fighting-game movie with him at the center. Well…as you hopefully will soon see (and possibly learn if you watch other footage of his story), he’s kind of steering away from fighting to avoid unleashing a darkness hidden within himself. He’s kind of like Bruce Banner from Marvel Comics trying to avoid turning into the Hulk. As the anime movie explains, Ryu possesses so much potential power that Bison wants him most of all for his special world-domination plot. In a way, Bison’s organization is Team Rocket, and Ryu is Ash’s pikachu. [‘Bet you didn’t see that comparison, either.]
14. As Chun Li kicks some dark sense into Ryu, we get a peek at a photo that shows a rather young and clean-cut Ryu with Ken in different outfits…outfits we haven’t seen since the 1994 live-action movie. Yes. That is what the Ryu and Ken of that movie wore. [I swear…when they cut back to Ryu’s dejected and slightly bloody face, I thought he was a member of Linkin Park. I apologize for not knowing Andrew Koji. …But I don’t apologize for not recognizing a character who never quite looked Japanese to me, anyway.]
15. Ah. Notice the music change. Now, we shifted from hip-hop/rap to what seems to be kryptonite to the same viewers who loved the first piece of music. Hmm. Isn’t that interesting. Why would a trailer feature two distinctly different pieces of music, one that appeals and one that turns away? Well, it sure widens the audience potential; doesn’t it? Not everyone likes one type of music; so rather than pass off a movie soundtrack with Vanilla Ice as the main feature, they include two very different pieces of music to appeal to different audiences. Some might go so far as to say if the movie is lacking in a certain casting…culture…element, you might try using music to draw them back into the fold. [‘Pied Piper, people. You’ve been played by the Pied Piper. Subliminal advertising.]
The second piece of music…is a 1990s song by the Four Non Blondes. A casual listener could associate the lyrics with the promotion of movies in general and say this is just a cheap choice which may simply be asking viewers what’s the plot here. But, once you see Ken singing karaoke…alone…it begins (hopefully) to become more clear that this isn’t just a random song choice. Why is Ken singing so sadly, alone? Gee. If you pay attention to the whole trailer—spoiler alert—he and Ryu once sang together…you know, like buddies in that photograph we saw just a moment ago. This isn’t just Ken being sad because he couldn’t top Ryu. He’s sad because he misses his sparring and karaoke partner, who has “gone off the grid.” The two “brothers” choose different paths, and absence makes the heart of Ken grow sadder. Also note the lyrics mention many years of trying to reach a pinnacle (the top of that hill of hope). THAT is Ken’s failure to become champion which he is struggling to accept/get past.
As reviewers of the trailer question the music choice, it got me thinking…there’s a scene in this movie that seems to take place at a nightclub. There was a nightclub in the first live-action film. And, there was a Deejay. What if this nightclub has a DJ to represent the Deejay of Super Street Fighter 2?
16. [I got a bit ahead of details in the trailer with that last item…because the music is a complex key to the puzzle of this story.] Now, this is where a very brief scene is shown which may only be explained when we see the movie…unless one of you can help explain it for me. We see a savage street or parking lot littered with unhappy people and a burning car. One brute throws a trash can at someone getting up on top of a truck. What is this? Where is this? Who is getting clobbered?
[My first thought was that the PALE HAIRED MAN was Guile taking a hit for trying to police the streets…kind of like Jean Claude’s Guile did in the first live-action movie, when he drives that ridiculous tank with two big missiles attached through the side of a building. Some say this is a glimpse of Metro City from the Final Fight games. I noticed the setting kind of resembles a stage for one of the fighters from the first Street Fighter…or possibly Sodom’s or Birdie’s stage in the alpha games. I also wonder if the guy getting hit isn’t Guile’s deceased teammate Charlie; maybe that’s a flashback. Considering how goofy Cody’s Guile appears to be when he’s actually speaking in the trailer, it’s possible he does something really stupid at this point in the movie and gets knocked down by the thugs in the scene.]
17. The next shots include a glimpse of the roaming Ryu on his on-going quest for wisdom/greater purpose and Chun Li riding a horse to meet with Zangief. The latter gives me serious Legend of Zelda vibes. ‘Anyone else get that feeling? And then, we see Ken doing his sad solo before the result of Chun Li’s mission brings Ryu and Ken back together. [Oh…the timing of that song lyric is PERFECT, when Ken loses his cool and flings himself at Ryu. Enjoy the cheap laughs from Ryu putting Ken “in his place.” You see what they did there? Ken is getting “put in his place” in his own apartment…I think. Aahh…didn’t see that one, either, did ya? Did I just HADOKEN! your mind?]
18. We see what looks like a tornado at the center of a grim-looking city. [And, not one of the “reaction” videos I watched seemed to identify this. Didn’t ANYONE play Street Fighter Alpha 3?…or maybe even one of the earlier Alphas?] I only know this scene from my recent play of the Game Boy version of Street Fighter Alpha 3; it’s the “storm” the heroes stop when they defeat Bison’s team (which includes one of the other characters in this movie, the young woman who resembles Cammy, known as Juli—spoiler alert—the one Chun Li clobbers before giving her new Legendary line. [See what I just did there? Legendary line? Haw-haw-haw!]
19. The next few bits are just little teases for who and what’s coming. We get our first glimpse of the actual M. Bison (rear view); no big deal. Ken gets a little more vain and silly. Ryu gives himself a haircut as he gets back into tournament shape (for the next “game”). Chun Li gets undressed…EEERRRUH?! WHY does Chun Li get naked and enter a sauna/shower (possibly a public bath house if they combine the anime movie with Honda’s stage). In the anime movie, there is a Legendary scene in which Chun Li thinks she is safe at home to take a shower, only to be surprised by a vile and vain Vega who makes a mess of her before she summons the inner strength and rage needed to wash him out of her hair.
20. We see a fire dancer before we get our second good look at Dhalsim flexing. On one hand, it seems like a subtle clue to Dhalsim’s fire power. But, Ming Na Wen dressed up as a masked dancer on a rope/chain to get closer to Bison’s henchmen in the previous live-action film.
21. Guile delivers a fast and budget version of his famous flash kick to Vega shortly before Cammy makes a lame reference to Chun Li’s legs (which you can either take as a confession from the makers of the film for being unable to provide true Chun Li thighs in the film or as a setup for the Chun Li visuals that follow, where she shows off what she can do with those legs).
Now, you may be wondering why Vega seems to be getting quite a bit of punishment in this movie…in this trailer. I have a theory. In the original design of Street Fighter 2, the names of the four bosses were different from what they became in the (SNES) American version. The big bad guy with the red hat was originally named Vega. M. Bison was originally the boxer who became Balrog; M. Bison was a cheap switch for Mike Tyson. The guy with the claws, Vega, was originally Balrog. [And, NO ONE knows why? I watched a bunch of people question the name in YouTube videos. PEOPLE! The name is BALROG. Break that down. BALL-ROGUE. He’s a rogue/ninja who rolls into a ball across the floor! BALL ROGUE…BALROG!] So…it’s my guess that, maybe, everyone attacks (Vega) because, in a way, he’s mistaken for the main villain (because of the name change). HE’S Vega? I thought the other guy was Vega. You see what I mean?
22. Chun Li puts down Juli like a brat who won’t go to bed at the right time. She delivers that great line with all her fatal fury. [Ha.] And then, we see Cammy firing a rocket launcher at a van. That might make little to no sense to the casual viewer. But, if you go back, again, to that live action “flop” from the 1990s, you’ll see Kylie Minogue fire a rocket launcher at the enemy army near the end of the film. And, the van? Could that be Ming Na Wen’s news van, which some thought was a joke occupied by three jokes? The rocket launcher BLOWS Ming Na Wen’s cover. Get it? [Cuz—spoiler alert unless you know the games/anime—Chun Li is supposed to be undercover to get close to Bison.]
23. Next comes my second big question mark in this trailer. Even I am not entirely sure what we are seeing. There’s a brief return to Ken about to face someone in a fight, with Dan at his side. And then…there’s a shot of someone who looks like a young Ryu in Ken’s outfit, stuck in jail cell. Is this…
A) Ryu’s dark half fighting to get out? Dressed in red like everyone’s bad half of their conscience in cartoons.
B) Young Ryu after that karaoke night with Ken goes bad somehow, landing him in prison (which could be yet another throwback to the original live-action film when Guile has Ryu and Ken placed in the same prison as Sagat and Vega to learn the location of Bison’s lair).
….or C) A completely different character in the Street Fighter series, possibly Guy?
24. Zangief delivers one of the moves that will live on in people’s memory as possibly the best use of modern tech to cheat reality. The look on Ken’s face is priceless. Ryu delivers one of his famous hurricane kicks to E. Honda in the bathhouse (which, as I said before, may be linked to Chun Li undressing). There’s a quick—really quick—shot of a prison riot with Ryu fighting in the middle (again, a nod to the first live-action film’s prison scene). Guile delivers the “BOOM” to a not-having-it Ryu at the club where we saw the former kick Vega through a wall. [I think that may be a funny way to avoid using his actual Sonic Boom. It may also be where Guile witnesses what comes at the end of this trailer.] And then, Chun Li pounds Vega into hamburger with her lightning kick (which, again, is linked to her infamous animated movie fight with Vega, who rudely violates her privacy at bedtime).
25. Pay attention to the brief shot of M. Bison making freaky eyes in some girl’s face. Yes. I said some GIRL because that’s young Chun Li, when Bison first visits her family and takes her father away. [For Chun Li, it was the worst day of her life. But, for Bison, it was Tuesday…]
26. We see our first CG fire blast. Balrog Cent injects a line that makes some people chuckle for some reason. Vega snaps his fingers for some reason….notice this is the exact same scene we just left with Bison’s face; the same little girl is on the left. Could this be the switch of roles/names for the big villain? Vega? Bison? Bison? Vega?
27. And, the rest is really mostly eye candy.
You get a quick look at a younger Ken singing karaoke with someone who could pass for Jackie Chan. Oh, that’s young Ryu. This is the karaoke night that leads Ken to his sad solo, singing the same song. But…could Ryu’s resemblance to Jackie Chan be a slight nod to the live-action movie City Hunter, in which Jackie Chan turns into a couple of the Street Fighter characters during a strange fight scene?
Who is Bison throwing across the room/building? It looks like some civilian wearing khaki clothes. But, he’s a desert trooper from the first live-action film. [Just go back to the old film and look for that army.]
Aaand, we finally see Blanka in all of his…eh…silly shake-it-off glory…with a beard…and a necklace. I don’t know. This isn’t the Blanka I used to play. And, the trailer doesn’t even slow down enough to get a clear view, which seems like a way of saying the film makers weren’t confident in their CG results. [I have rather low expectations for Blanka in this film.
Let me pause and jump back to an earlier concept I discussed: Redemption. This film is getting redemption for what many consider a first live-action failure. The bar dropped so low after the previous live-action film that there isn’t much high expectation, allowing this film to be almost as bad as it can be. And, thus, many are calling it out as “cheesy” and “bizarre” and saying crazy stuff like “that’s what Street Fighter always was. [STREET FIGHTER IS NOT CHEESY OR CRAZY! It’s culturally significant.] But, obviously, fans want it to succeed.
28. Guile earns an eye roll for letting us know they are going to fit a HADOKEN into this movie. I could have done without the corny delivery. But, it seems to make some people laugh. And…wait. Who’s that sitting next to Guile? I see a black guy wearing a hat with Bison’s colors and logo. He reminds me of someone who worked for Bison in the first live-action film. Hmm. Who was that? Could it be…Deejay?! [Boom.]
29. Finally, we get Ryu charging his famous fireball attack, the HADOKEN! (wave motion fist), rather slowly. Some complain about this. But, go look at the opening of Super Street Fighter 2. It’s a slow build, unlike what you get in the game. I presume the gameplay made it quicker to avoid Ryu being stuck charging, unlike Samus Aran in Smash Bros, who needs time to charge her blaster for little benefit.
Ken shouts, “Throw it, Ryu!” Why? Why would Ken want Ryu to hit him with the chi fireball? Could it be:
A) Ken is brainwashed, like he was in the anime movie, and needs Ryu to free him.
B) RYU has HIS memory distorted by Bison. Now, Bison, posing as Ken, coaxes Ryu to use his greatest power to achieve the dark force Bison would love to use for world domination.
C) Ken pushes Ryu to knock him (Ken) out after the two have a dispute. Ken knows he can’t win and probably has done something to upset Ryu. So, Ken pushes Ryu until the latter can seal the coffin of fame on the latter. This could be when Ryu finally ends Ken’s chance at a championship title.
And, there you have it. A PERFECT! trailer breakdown for a near-perfect movie trailer.
You see? MANY LAYERS! It’s rather brilliant.
If you like my assessment of this movie trailer, don’t forget to smash those LIKE and SUBSCRIBE buttons and be a patron of my Patreon whatever. I’m just kidding. You don’t need more Siskel or Ebert out of me. But, until my next movie discussion, middle of row J is closed. I mean Tekken. TAKEN! That’s what I meant. Yeah.