6 Reasons Street Fighter's Movie Reboot Is Better Than Mortal Kombat

Warning! This post contains SPOILERS for Street Fighter (2026)

It feels impossible to watch the newly released Street Fighter reboot without thinking about Mortal Kombat II, which was released earlier this year, and its predecessor (released in 2021). After all, both movies are based on beloved video game series with impressive rosters of unique characters, fighting styles, and abilities. As such, it's natural to wonder which of the two has done a better job on the big-screen.

Notably, 2026's Street Fighter isn't necessarily trying to be the most serious fighting game adaptation ever made. Instead, it very much leans into the absurdity of its premise and characters while still providing fairly solid character dynamics, impressive action sequences, and an entertaining ride throughout.

Keeping that in mind, here are six key reasons why I found the new Street Fighter reboot to be the ultimate victor over the recent Mortal Kombat movies.

Street Fighter Has A More Unique Style

I feel as though one of the biggest advantages Street Fighter has over Mortal Kombat is a more distinctive visual identity. Set in the 90s, the movie really leans into the time period in several fun ways (like having Ken Masters doing promos on MTV). Every character stands out with game-accurate costumes, styles, and flair. Street Fighter is objectively more vibrant and colorful compared to the recent Mortal Kombat movies (though the sequel does deserve credit for being a step up from the first movie).

On the whole, Street Fighter gives each of its characters a fair amount of room to have their own distinct visual identities, and that includes their range of individual combat styles. Despite having similar characters and unique styles as well, the generally darker aesthetics of the Mortal Kombat movies make things feel a little more uniform by comparison.

Street Fighter Is WAY Funnier Than Mortal Kombat

Sure, Street Fighter is primarily about a major fighting tournament, preventing the threat of Akuma, and attempts by Lord Bison to steal other fighters' power as his own. However, none of that stops the new reboot from being absolutely hilarious throughout, featuring some of the funniest verbal showdowns in between actual fights.

Cody Rhodes' Guile deserves a major shout-out for providing the most consistent laughs every time he shows up on screen, and not just for his looks. Many of these characters are as striking and bold as they are bizarre, and the movie knows it. While the Mortal Kombat movies have some laughs of their own, humor is not nearly as much of a core strength as it clearly is for Street Fighter.

Street Fighter Takes Itself Less Seriously (And That's A Good Thing)

As part of that great comedy, Street Fighter acknowledges that its own premise is inherently ridiculous, derived from a fighting game series that started in the late 80s/early 90s. You've got fighters like Ken and Ryu: martial arts fighters capable of shooting fireballs with their hands, soldiers like Guile with military hand-to-hand combat experience, and massive bruisers like Zangief, not to mention Jason Momoa's feral Blanka with his green skin and electric powers (having been raised by eels).

Street Fighter embraces it all and is fully willing to let all of it be as bold and outlandish as possible. It's all about the spectacle, no matter how crazy. While its plot may not be the most nuanced or complex, it's impossible to say that the new Street Fighter reboot is boring.

While there's nothing wrong with Mortal Kombat's approach, it does put more emphasis on its darker, more serious mythology and brutal fatalities. That's a win in terms of being a solid adaptation of its source material, though I do think the general movie-going audience might enjoy Street Fighter more in comparison, simply by nature of having more energy and "knowing" how crazy it is. It just has a lot more fun, and one could argue the Mortal Kombat movies could have some more fun with their own material.

Street Fighter's Animated Flashbacks Are Next-Level

Overall, one of the most visually striking and unique elements of Street Fighter is its 2D-animated flashback sequences. Exploring the history of Ken and Ryu, these gorgeous sequences feature the death of their master, Ryu's failure to stop Akuma, Ken's insecurities and resentment toward Ryu, as well as Ryu struggling to resist his inner darkness. As such, far less momentum is lost when his past is brought up thanks to these incredible switches to 2D animation. One can only hope for a fully animated spin-off series on Paramount Plus down the line.

In comparison, the Mortal Kombat movies don't have anything like fully switching up its medium away from live-action. It certainly helps Street Fighter stand out with a far more unique visual identity with its multiple aesthetics.

Street Fighter's 90s Needle Drops Are Perfect

A movie set in the 1990s has an obvious opportunity for a truly solid soundtrack, featuring all kinds of solid needle drops throughout the movie. Likewise, 4 Non Blondes' "What's Up?" is a core part of the movie's story and the bond between Ryu and Ken, a song that's certainly having a moment in 2026, seeing as how it was also prominently used earlier this year in Masters of the Universe.

Next to Street Fighter, the Mortal Kombat movies don't have nearly as strong of a musical identity, though they do deserve credit for utilizing the games' theme song in some very cool ways (one of the greatest video game themes of all time).

Street Fighter Entertains Beyond Its Source Material

Another key reason why Street Fighter pulls ahead of the Mortal Kombat movies is that its entertainment value doesn't depend nearly as much on how much (or how little) viewers already know about the games and their respective lore. Of course, longtime fans of the Street Fighter series will no doubt love and appreciate the recognizable characters, distinctive fighting styles with game-accurate moves, and references to the franchise's history, like the first World Warrior tournament taking place in 1987 (the year the first game was released).

That said, the movie still works on its own as a vibrant, high-energy action-comedy for audiences who've perhaps never picked up a controller or moved an arcade cabinet's joystick. There's solid accessibility here, rewarding fans while not taking anything away from those coming into the franchise via this new reboot. While the Mortal Kombat movies do a decent job of this as well (more so with its sequel), I do think that its heavier focus on its mythology and lore makes it less approachable for newcomers.

Ultimately, Street Fighter's large and colorful cast, 90s setting, peak comedy, and brilliant animated sequences all come together to create a truly familiar yet refreshing identity for this new reboot, succeeding far better than I initially thought it would. A big part of that is simply being entertaining beyond its own source material.

Street Fighter (2026) is now playing in theaters from Paramount Pictures.