Warner Bros. Pictures
The fatalities. The characters. The blood. This is everything I loved about Mortal Kombat growing up. My grandmother let me play the Super Nintendo games when I was younger. Looking back on it, she probably shouldn’t have, but I loved her for it. I adored the 1995 and 1997 Mortal Kombat movies despite how terrible they are. When Warner Brothers announced that all 2021 WB movies would hit theaters and HBO Max on the same day, one stood out from all the rest: Mortal Kombat. I’ve been dying to see a new Mortal Kombat movie for ages. I will take any form of movie I can get when it comes to exploring the lore behind Mortal Kombat. The 2020 animated film centered around Scorpion was perfect enough for me.
The film set up a conflict that is huge to the Mortal Kombat universe but is rarely touched upon in the movies. In the 17th century, Bi-Han, later known as Sub-Zero, kills members of the rival Shirai Ryu ninja clan and Hanzo Hasashi’s wife and son. Hanzo later becomes Scorpion in the film. The only surviving member of Hanzo’s clan is an infant daughter that Raiden, the god of thunder, takes away safely. In the present, the realm of Outworld has defeated Earthrealm nine of ten times in a tournament called ‘Mortal Kombat’. There is a prophecy that ‘the blood of Hanzo Hasashi’ will unite a new team of contenders and defeat Shang Tsung and his warriors in the tenth round. Classic characters like Kung Lao, Liu Kang, Sonya Blade, Jaxx, and Kano join forces to stop Shang Tsung from winning the tenth round of the tournament.
The Mortal Kombat universe has plenty of characters to choose from. The main group of characters in the video games and movies are Sonya Blade, Johnny Cage, Liu Kang, Jax, Kano, Sub Zero, Scorpio, and Raiden. Honestly, a few more names could have been added to that list. The movie spends a lot of time introducing the characters for everyone to know. Whenever a new character enters the movie, the film slows down and the character says their name in a cinematic fashion. Fans of the series will likely geek out whenever their favorite Mortal Kombat contestant enters the fold but it is also helpful for viewers who may have never played a game or seen a movie to know who the characters are. A HUGE standout for me was Kano (Josh Lawson). He is a character that you are supposed to hate. He is filthy, loud-mouthed, and often is regarded as a villain in the Mortal Kombat universe. In this new movie, I absolutely loved him. He was hilarious and added a lot of humor to the film that would otherwise be serious. He provided the lighter touch to the movie, even if he is ripping the heart out of a giant lizard.
The weakest character for me was the newly created Cole Young. Young serves as the main character in the film and there wasn’t enough I cared about when it came to his backstory. Lewis Tan’s bland performance left me wanting more from the character. Maybe I didn’t connect with the character since I was ecstatic to see all the classic Mortal Kombat characters that it took away from me understanding him. With a sequel set up at the end of the film, there will be a chance to dive deeper into the character.
Mortal Kombat is known for its blood and brutal fatalities. The 90s films didn’t even touch the surface of the potential for their action scenes. Many fans, like myself, were excited with the simple fact that this film was rated R. There were plenty of bloody moments in the film that fit the characters and their unique fighting style from the game. Director Simon McQuoid didn’t hold back when it came to the violent scenes. One scene involving Kung Lao feels like it came straight out of a Saw film.
Mortal Kombat wasn’t perfect but I wasn’t expecting it to be. There is room for growth when it comes to the main characters, especially Cole Young. Also, since the film didn’t give us the actual Mortal Kombat tournament, but instead focused on gathering the characters together, the sequel should be an intense action-packed experience. The other films aren’t perfect but I still enjoy watching them. This will be a film that I will want to watch over and over again mostly for the bloody action scenes and the large amount of characters introduced. I was impressed with the $22 million the film made at the box office, which should justify a sequel within the next couple of years. In the meantime, I will enjoy this movie with a large bucket of popcorn at home with a big smile on my face.
Planning to see Mortal Kombat? Click on the image below to see the movie, and be sure to come back and tell us what you thought!
Mortal Kombat has a run time of 1 hour 50 minutes and is rated R for strong bloody violence and language throughout, and some crude references.
Share this post
