Based on a fighting game, action is simply a given, and this movie delivers. "Street Fighter Alpha" cameos many of the fighters from the video games and it's fun to try and spot them all. While derivative and cliché in places, there are a few twists to this movie.

The patchy subplots in the film pull this rating downward. With a continuity check and the exclusion of Sakura this rating could have been an 8.5.

It's an action film, so the capacity for development is limited by the classic good guy/bad guy roles the characters must assume. Nothing rises above that, even for Ryu who has ample opportunity for character growth since the film focuses on his inner struggle.

Detailed background scene art, expressive facial features, interesting settings and terrifyingly drawn bad guys, the art and animation are simply beyond reproach.

A good translation job here, due to the absence of anachronous English usage that marks many translations of Japanese anime.

This isn't Shakespeare, but it isn't the grade school play, either.

Although the anime features several fight scenes, actual bloodshed is kept to a minimum.

During a scene set on a beach, every time Chun Li talks the camera zooms in on her crotch … or her butt if someone else's face is included in the shot. It would be embarrassing if it weren't so egregiously funny.

If everyone could make noises like this when they hit someone, there would be a LOT more street fighters.

Love it? Hate it? Buy it.