'Mortal Kombat' Review
R: Strong bloody violence and language throughout, and some crude references
Runtime: 1 Hr and 50 Minutes
Production Companies: New Line Cinema, Atomic Monster Productions, Broken Road Productions
Distributor: Warner Bros. Pictures
Director: Simon McQuoid
Writer: Greg Russo, Dave Callaham
Cast: Lewis Tan, Jessica McNamee, Josh Lawson, Tadanobu Asano, Mehcad Brooks, Ludi Lin, Chin Han, Joe Taslim, Hiroyuki Sanada
Release Date: April 23, 2021
Theaters and HBO MAX
MMA fighter Cole Young, accustomed to taking a beating for money, is unaware of his heritage — or why Outworld's Emperor Shang Tsung has sent his best warrior, Sub-Zero, an otherworldly Cryomancer, to hunt Cole down. Fearing for his family's safety, Cole goes in search of Sonya Blade at the direction of Jax, a Special Forces Major who bears the same strange dragon marking Cole was born with. Soon, he finds himself at the temple of Lord Raiden, an Elder God and the protector of Earthrealm, who grants sanctuary to those who bear the mark. Here, Cole trains with experienced warriors Liu Kang, Kung Lao, and rogue mercenary Kano as he prepares to stand with Earth’s greatest champions against the enemies of Outworld in a high-stakes battle for the universe.
*clears throat* MORTAL KOMBAT! dadadadadada dadadadadada
Mortal Kombat was either your introduction to fighting games or a forbidden fruit for you. It’s one of the most groundbreaking titles in video game history; it was so damn violent that the ESRB created the “M for mature” rating for it. If you grew up in the ‘90s or the ‘00s, this was most likely the game of games that your mama knew about and said, “I better not catch you playing this.” Of course, like the rebel child/teen that you were, you played it anyway (most likely at an arcade, if you remember those). I had a Midway Arcade Treasures 2 game compilation on PlayStation 2 when I was a kid and MKII was one of my favorites in the collection, right next to Rampage. That was my introduction to Mortal Kombat and I’ve followed the franchise ever since. Fans have been eagerly awaiting a film reboot that does the ultraviolent games justice ever since the chaotic yet campy PG-13 films from the ‘90s. MK (2021) delivers on that front.
In terms of violence, Mortal Kombat takes pride in its hard R rating. It finally gives fans of the source material exactly what they've been waiting for by providing action-packed, ultra-bloody violence throughout. Though the fighting sequences vary in quality, you get iconic fatalities done in a cinematic manner. Jax clapping a dude’s head? You got it. Kano ripping a heart out? It’s there. Kung Lao using his razor hat to split someone’s body in half? All of these signature fatalities are present in the film and they are glorious. Hell, you even get stage fatalities, too! ‘90s Mortal Kombat haters can rest easy now. This is a flawless victory that will quench your bloodthirst. The blood and gore aren’t cartoonish like your typical R-rated action flicks that are often cheap CG bloodfests. The film combines practical effects and CGI so that fatalities are brutal, mimicking the dark and savage nature of the recent games. At times it's even difficult to distinguish which elements were practical and which were CG. It’s balanced and seamless.
To see these characters’ move sets come to life in this big spectacle is pretty cool, especially when it comes to the Scorpion and Sub-Zero fights. When you see that epic showdown from the trailer in full context, it’s balls to the walls awesome. Stunt coordinator Jade Amantea deserves his flowers, for he poured so much effort into crafting the action scenes, incorporating as many recognizable move sets from the source material and translating them into film… without the health bars, of course.
The new updated theme song is a fucking bop, though, and I’m here for it.
Video game movies are getting better these days. I’d argue that Mortal Kombat (2021) is a marginal improvement from its live-action predecessors. Despite being faithful to the violence from the source material, Mortal Kombat is a muddled mess that falls short in every other area, especially its story. For a property that’s all about fighting in a tournament, this narrative doesn’t even take place within a tournament. To be fair, the story modes in the games are often a convoluted mess full of crazy lore and exposition that makes little to no sense, but at least they were set within a tournament. A tournament that determines the fate of Earthrealm is the staple identity of Mortal Kombat. While the violence and consistently dark tone are present, this film is essentially a superhero origin/team-up flick… and a very below average one at best.
The story is primarily focused on a newcomer named Cole Young, an MMA fighter with a mysterious past and a milquetoast personality. He meets with U.S. Special Forces soldier Jax who bears the same dragon marking as him. With aid from his comrade Sonya Blade and her hostage Kano, they venture to Outworld to meet with Lord Raiden so they can… train for Mortal Kombat. Meanwhile, they have to evade the evil Shang Tsung and his warriors Mileena, Kabal, Sub-Zero, and other notable fighters who attempt to hunt down and assassinate those with the marking so they won’t participate in the tournament. Seriously, this is the first video game movie I’ve seen that spends so much time in training mode. Mortal Kombat but they gotta unite to avenge… I mean, defend the earth.
Props to the casting director for assembling talented people who physically embody the look of the memorable fighters they portray, making the representation as diverse as the games are. But under the direction of newcomer Simon McQuoid, a majority of the ensemble performances vary from decent to over-the-top to straight-up bad. What’s up with Mortal Kombat nabbing directors who have never directed before? This is McQuoid’s directorial debut and honestly, that wasn’t the way to go for this film. I’m not saying this is some high-caliber franchise that should nab big talent for the helm, but they should’ve hired someone with prior experience in action who can also direct actors.
Josh Lawson shines as Kano, for he had a blast playing the short-tempered comedic relief who’s full of charisma, ad-libbing a ton of movie references in a sea of underwhelming mediocrity. Joe Taslim is good as Sub-Zero because he’s Joe Taslim. He kicks ass. The same can be said for Hiroyuki Sanada as Scorpion/Hanzo. However, they all lack an overall presence in the film. A majority of the cast is there to do cool stunts and look like the fighters, but when it’s time to deliver dialogue… OOF! So much of the narrative is told through Cole Young’s perspective, but because he’s blandly written as a simple audience avatar/point of reference, there’s not much of him to explore. His arc is simply about him finding his MK superpower within, and that’s about it.
Everyone (excluding Lawson) feels wooden because the screenplay is so basic and the film is directed by someone who lacks the experience to balance things out. I kept thinking of how other filmmakers, such as Gareth Evans or David Leitch would’ve handled something like this. Considering they hold enough background experience as directors who can deliver brutal, bloody combat while pulling good performances from the talent, they would’ve been a perfect fit. This is McQuoid’s first time at bat and there’s enough to show that he’s decent at directing action, but not at directing his actors.
A recent trend I’ve grown exhausted of, especially during this era of reboots, is how a ton of them are written with the mindset that it’s gonna magically get a sequel. A reboot doesn’t get to be its own movie but instead serves as a major extensive set-up to tease a sequel, if not its own little cinematic universe. This movie has the same “reboot autopilot of chaos” mode as Batman v Superman and The Mummy (2017) where it's hardly a movie and more of a rushed mess to get a universe going. That’s exactly what this Mortal Kombat movie is: a flimsy first installment that throws you into the world with little to no introduction to the universe it’s set in. They have all these recognizable characters who are written like cardboard with little to no development unite against notable adversaries as they spout expositional dialogue. Don’t worry, there are enough action set pieces to compensate for the thin screenplay, but it might be underwhelming since most of them are choppily spliced together with the annoying one-quick-cut-per-move style. So, you can’t even enjoy a fight scene because the editing is all over the place.
Outside of the opening and climax action sequences, the lack of style and fast-cut action undercut the fun and gravity out of the gleeful bloody violence. You never get a sense of fluidity with any of the fights as they keep cutting from one to another, emphasizing more on constant chaos than one-on-one combat. This movie is just a basic studio reboot with no personality outside of finally being faithful to the violence in its source material.
Unless you’re an MK fan looking for some kind of vindication or a basic moviegoer who can turn your brain off on a whim, Mortal Kombat is a fast food-type reboot that doesn’t do enough to stand on its own outside of the violence. Despite being entertaining, its paper-thin narrative is both chaotic and exposition-heavy with the obnoxious notion that it will obtain a sequel without feeling earned enough to leave you wanting more. At the end of the day, this reboot is far from being a winner.
