Review: ‘I Got Next’

Finally a Street Fighter movie worth watching! Only this Street Fighter movie is about the real world and the people who play it. I Got Next is a free documentary by student film maker Ian Cofino. It stars many of the professional Street Fighter IV on the scene and gives you a small glimpse into their lives. But with a running time of only 43 minutes, this version of the film needs a bit of work, and if you’re not a fan of the game, you might not have a clue what anyone is talking about.

The two main subjects of the film are professional gamers Ryan “Gootecks” Gutierrez (who you can follow on twitter HERE) and Justin “Marvelous” Wong. The two players represent the best Street Fighter IV players on their respective coasts. Wong is from the east coast and the film shows us where he came up from and how he got his start in gaming, while Gootecks is from southern California and we don’t really get his side of it. Along with Wong is Joe Ciaramelli who gets quite a bit of screen time as well, being one of the better players on the east coast. The two of them got their start together. Mike Ross is another big west coaster who’s featured in the movie, but mostly at one or two specific tournaments.

A lot of the movie is the players talking about what drives them, what makes them the best, and then watching them play against each other in a few different tournaments. I’ll be honest, if you’re not into video games you will not know what theses guys are talking about. They each get cool little fight brackets introducing them and telling you who their favorite players are, but without a real point of reference or a real introduction to each person you’re kind of lost.

Games are talked about without any explanation as to what they are and they’re spoken about in acronyms. “Super Street Fighter II Turbo” is just called “Super Turbo” and at one point Wong is described as being like “the computer in Super Turbo at eight stars.” Without an introduction into the world of Street Figther the series and how it got it’s start, this is a little out of place.

The only other complaint I have with the film is that the audio during interviews cuts in and out at different times. I don’t know if this is a technical thing, or just the mix that they’re distributing at this time, but it can be jarring and you’ll be turning the movie up, and then dropping the volume down rapidly as the levels go back to normal.

There is a longer cut of the film due out at the end of the year, and hopefully many of these issues will be addressed and the film will be more watchable by the street fighter lay-person. But if you’re already into the game, want to see some of the best players in the world talk about the game and how they hone their craft then by all means go check out the film at IGotNextMovie.com

The Movie will be premiering on Livestream with a special intro and a Q&A session on June 26th 8pm EST at UFRAG.TV

Bonus Trailer: