Mortal Kombat
Starring Lewis Tan, Jessica McNamee, Josh Lawson, Tadanobu Asano
Directed by Simon McQuoid
Films based off video games have, shall we say, not had a great track record. Or even a decent track record. Or even a good track record. Basically if it was a runner, the video game films would just be sitting at the start of the track and never move forward. Even those who say they're good will admit that, in the grand pantheon of cinema, they're really not that good, and two films that most people cite as the worst are the 90s "Mortal Kombat" films. The video game has been a worldwide success for thirty years now, and has received scrutiny by grown ups who feel that it's way too violent for little kids, with the idea of "fatalities" resulting in characters literally getting their spines pulled out of their backs, among other things. The 90s "Mortal Kombat" films threw away the game's most legendary concept and resorted to a family-friendly PG-13 rating, forever placing them in the annals of the worst video game movies ever made. For years fans of "MK" have been pining for a film that relishes in the blood lust that the games employ, and finally in 2021 that movie finally came out - and while the fatalities were bloody gruesome in all the right ways, it falls under the generic trope of the trade, culminating in a lackluster conclusion that's going to spin off some other films as long as the first one makes enough dough.
Decades ago, Bi-Han (Joe Taslim) tracked down Hanzo Hasashi (Hiroyuki Sanada), and murdered his family and clan, while Hanzo vowed revenge. Decades later, MMA fighter Cole Young (Lewis Tan) is trying to understand his dragon birthmark he was born with, when he's confronted by another fighter with the same birthmark named Jax (Mehcad Brooks) who warns him that he's in danger, before Bi-Han - who now goes by Sub-Zero - arrives and almost kills Cole and his family before they escape. Cole heads to Sonya Blade (Jessica McNamee), who tells him that his birthmark means he was chosen as a fighter in Mortal Kombat's Earthrealm, and the Outworld has defeated nine out of ten Kombats, and if they win the last, they will control the world. Together they train at an old temple in order to find their hidden arcana in order to beat the impending enemies, but as it is with bad guys, they don't always play fair.
It's very hard to try to explain the plot of the film because, in all honesty, there isn't one. It's just a fan service film, where those who've played the game for decades (or days) will see their beloved characters on the big screen embarking on exciting, thrilling fights with the fatalities that they've come to know and love. That is the main selling point of the film, and first-time director Simon McQuoid really knows how to use all the modern day technology to make it look as realistic as possible (with a few exceptions *cough* Goro *cough*) and uses moves from the actual game to full, glorious, gory effect.
Even though this is the selling point of the film, the fights are surprisingly few and far between, and intermixed is your typical hero origin story, with the most bland main character put to screen in a long time. Lewis Tan plays Cole Young (a character completely new to the franchise, makes total sense that he would be the main character in a film that's supposed to be a full fan service *cough* sarcasm), a MMA fighter who's just alright at fighting, but he's chosen to be a fighter in Mortal Kombat in a strange way that's supposed to be a twist in the film but really isn't. He has no real story except he loves his family and will do anything to protect them, and that's basically it.
The film gets dragged down immensely when Cole, Sonya, and the others arrive at Raiden's temple, where they must go through the traditional "Rocky" style training montage to prove themselves capable fighters, and to also unlock their "arcana" (basically their special move if you're in the video game mentality), as those who are already seasoned fighters at the temple relay the typical speeches that "this is the best we got?" and "you're not worthy to be fighters" - you know, uplifting speeches. It's like you become an accomplished fighter and halfway through the game they make you go through the tutorial that really halts the action and momentum to a standstill, as characters wax on and on about destiny, duty, and self-righteous accolades. This drags the film longer than it should've been, and about five minutes into the overly long training I wanted to yell "finish it!" but decided against it - they don't hear me anyway. This makes the movie feel like one of those cheesy 90s action films, and wholly takes away from the momentum.
After the film slows, it picks right back up again with one-on-one fights, fatalities, arcanas all around, and a highly satisfying final showdown between Sub-Zero and his arch-nemesis which is the true highlight of the film. Then, of course, it leaves itself open-ended for the inevitable sequel (or sequels, as they plan on making four more) as you notice certain fan favorite characters aren't in the film at all.
Setting itself up for a long-gestating franchise, "Moral Kombat" needed more fatalities and less training, but still manages to provide fun, gory, exciting fighting sequences that were way too few and far between.
The Score: C+
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