The film starts off in the past with a serious fight
between Bi-Han or Sub-Zero (Joe Taslim) and Hanzo Hasashi or Scorpion (Hiroyuki Sanada). There is a
prophecy that says Hanzo’s bloodline will give birth to an offspring who has the
ability to win Mortal Kombat and defeat Shang-Tsung’s (Chin Han) opportunity of
getting control over Earthrealm.
This prophecy is the main factor for the entire film,
and the rivalry between Bi-Han and Hanzo Hasashi brings us to Cole Young,
played by Lewis Tan. What he doesn’t know is that he is Hanzo’s decedent, born
with a birthmark in the shape of a dragon, and is prophesized to fight in Mortal
Kombat.
At that part, the movie introduces every single protagonist.
It does the right thing in giving each character a proper introduction, along
with carrying their story throughout the almost two-hour runtime. Every
protagonist (and some of the villains) are given time to develop their own
story arc while the world is fighting around them.
For his part, Cole Young is our look into this universe.
He is an original character created for the film, but by the end of the movie,
you could think that he could have been included into the video game and fight with
any of the popular characters.
We then meet Jax (Mehcad Brooks), whose biceps look
like he could really punch a man, and Sonya Blade (Jessica McNamee), who’s even
better than the previous actresses who played the role. They make a good team,
but each one stands on their own. Karen Rought said in her review, “I was happy
to see Sonya have a front seat to the action throughout most of the movie.”
Now we have come to Kano, played with complete
brilliant perfection by Josh Lawson. He is a sarcastic, randy, cruel man who
will make you laugh one minute and turn against you the next. He’s the
definition of a character you love to hate.
He is hands down one of the biggest highlights of the
film, and most of the movie’s humor comes from his reactions and one-liners.
Another surprising highlight was Kung Lao, played by
Max Huang. Looking at his special ability (known as his arcana) is a flying hat;
he could’ve been completely ridiculous. In actuality, he was one of the most
well-done characters in the film, and his presence uplifted the entire story.
A lot of this movie really felt like the video game,
from the scenes to the fatalities to the careful way they played out
interactions with each of the characters.
Rought admitted, “My one major criticism of the film
(that we didn’t technically see a Mortal Kombat tournament) was offset by the
way they threw two characters together in an arena that felt like it was right
out of the game. And then we got to watch them fight to the death.”
At those moments, the film was allowed to party with
what has made Mortal Kombat so memorable over the years – the bloody
and horrible deaths that, at least one point in the film, probably startled you
completely.
Rought is right when she said, “As I said before,
video game adaptations are notoriously tricky to get right, but Mortal Kombat
(2021) managed to get as close as it could. If nothing else, it’s an
improvement over the 1995 film of the same name.”
One part where this “Mortal Kombat” adaptation really
highlights is, obviously, the CGI. If you remember what Outworld looked like in
the original movie, you’ll be happy to know the new Outworld is greatly
improved. Actually, you could say the same about CGI-created characters like
Goro (Angus Sampson) and Reptile, who both get their parts.
This “Mortal Kombat” review would be negligent not to
mention the many other character who live in this realm and were brought to
life with great care for the film.
Mileena (Sisi Stringer) is completely scary, and a
real standout amongst Shang-Tsung’s other fighters, which include General Reiko
(Nathan Jones), Nitara (Mel Jarnson), and Kabal (Daniel Nelson). Rought
admitted, “Though he doesn’t get too much time to shine, Kabal was an instant
favorite and his effects and fighting style are truly to be commended.”
With the heroes, we also have Liu Kang (Ludi Lin) and
Lord Raiden (Tadanobu Asano), both who are powerful and patient leaders. Rought
said, “Even Cole’s family, Allison (Laura Brent) and Emily (Matildo Kimber),
pulled their weight in the movie, and while I would love to see more female
fighters on the roster moving forward, I’m happy with how they treated the ones
we got.”
At the end of the day, “Mortal Kombat” did what it
promised of being loyal to the characters we love and gave some bone-breaking
fight scenes in the process. Rought said, “I’m excited for this to be a fresh
start to a new franchise, led by a diverse Asian cast ready to keep putting
their blood, sweat, and tears into making these characters come alive.”
If we’re lucky, there’ll be a lot more where this came
from. Joe Taslim told Variety that he’s signed on for four “Mortal Kombat”
sequels if the first one is successful.
Even though there is no guarantee that will happen (it
depends on fan reactions and profit margins, obviously), the movie has set up a
lot of possibilities in the next films. Rought said, “I’d love to see more of
Bi-Han and Hanzo Hasahi in the past, as well as some other Mortal Kombat
moments prior to the one that’s looming during this movie.”
However, what’s really important is what’s next for
the main characters. If you pay attention to background images, you’ll see a
couple champions who haven’t been introduced yet. Also, there’s a moment at the
end of the film that will really get everyone excited.
Rought said, “Whatever happens next, I’m glad a Mortal
Kombat movie adaptation got a second chance at life.” It deserves that and so
much more.
Honestly, I had a problem with having Cole as the main
character when he was never in any of the games and the casting choice for
Mileena. Her character was always masked and we never know what she looked like
until she did her Fatality. Also, the story of Sub-Zero and Scorpion is not completely
there, and Johnny Cage is not in this movie (spoilers). However, the fight
scenes were just perfect. We have all the famous catchphrases, the famous
moves, even the Fatalities. Even the updated theme song was actually nice to
hear during the credits. The actors casted in these roles are just perfect. This
adaptation makes up for the 90s movies by a long run and I think this is “way”
better than those. If anyone were to ask if I wanted to see this movie again, I
wouldn’t mind because I was satisfied with it, despite it not being a “great”
video game adaptation. However, I will say it is one of the best. I think video
game adaptations now are being given the right treatment and care that it
deserved compared to when they first came out. See this if you have an HBO Max
and don’t want to go to the theater.
Thank you for joining in on my review tonight, look
out this Friday for the continuation of “Quentin Tarantino Month.”
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