Rating: M18
Runtime: 110 minutes
Director: Simon McQuoid
Writers: Greg Russo, Dave Callaham (screenplay, Oren Uziel (story)
Cast: Lewis Tan (Cole Young), Jessica McNamee (Sonya Blade), Josh Lawson (Kano), Joe Taslim (Sub-Zero), Mehcad Brooks (Jax), Tadanobu Asano (Raiden), Hiroyuki Sanada (Scorpion), Ng Chin Han (Shang Tsung), Ludi Lin (Liu Kang), and Max Huang (Kung Lao)
Score: 3.8/5
After the disappointment that was 1997’s Mortal Kombat: Annihilation, it seemed as if we would never get another Mortal Kombat film that would live up to expectations. Anyone who has played the game (or watched the replays on YouTube, for those without fast fingers) will expect certain hallmarks of a Mortal Kombat game to be present in a cinematic adaptation, but those present certain logistical and censorship challenges. Fortunately, this new Mortal Kombat satisfies with gory bits and extreme violence, giving us over the top fantasy battles that have everything that a fan would want – and more.
Mortal Kombat is a martial arts fantasy film that’s based on the fighting game series of the same name. It’s the third film in the Mortal Kombat film franchise but a reboot in terms of continuity, starting what seems to be a new series of movies based on the game. The film’s plot centres around a group of fighters who have been chosen to represent Earth and gain special powers as a result. They battle against an otherworldly evil sorcerer and his minions, all of whom are similarly deadly fighters with special powers too.
It’s gore galore with this Mortal Kombat, with copious amounts of blood spilled everywhere, limbs being severed left, right and centre, and more stabbings than you could shake a stick at. Of course, all this blood is gratuitous – but that’s precisely the point of playing a Mortal Kombat game (and by corollary, watching a Mortal Kombat movie). It’s cathartic to see all that blood spilt, especially if you’re expecting it to see it live up to its M18 rating. In another movie, all this blood would have been so much pretentious nonsense, but in Mortal Kombat, it’s perfectly in line with the tone of the movie and the overall franchise.
In keeping with the spirit of the franchise, you also get to see most of the characters’ signature moves, violent though they may be. And that shows how in tune the producers are with the franchise itself, that they know just what to give audiences (who are presumably fans of the video game) what they want in the series. My only quibble is that we didn’t get to see a particular move where a decapitated head is ripped out of a body, along with the spine of the victim – but perhaps that might have been a little too much, even with an M18 (or even R21) rating. But the other moves were great!
Everyone shows off their flashy moves in battle, but it’s also interspersed with more grounded martial arts moves (the ones without CG). As “realistic” (because these moves wouldn’t be feasible in a real fight) as they may look, it’s evident that hours of choreography went into it. The fact that these fights include both fantasy and more physical moves makes the fighters seem more well-rounded and competent as fighters, giving us a sense that they are highly skilled combatants. That impression, combined with the actual choreography and special effects, make for truly fine fights.
However, as flashy as their moves are, it was a pity to see Liu Kang (played by Ludi Lin) (Liu Kang is arguably the main protagonist of the Mortal Kombat series, unless I am way too old) have almost all of his fireballs dodged. That’s not to say that he doesn’t eventually managed to pull off one of his more evocative moves in the end and win his own fights. But the poor guy gets knocked around so much, even though he’s the one teaching the other characters. It seems like he’s just there so that the story can establish he’s a powerful protagonist, and then signal a villain’s power by having said villain knock a powerful protagonist around. It’s the Superman effect of the first season of Justice League in action (when the writers would have the baddie of the day take out Superman to establish how threatening he/she is), and poor Liu Kang had to suffer for it. To some extent, Cole Young (Lewis Tan) also suffers from that… but he has his own set of issues.
While Cole’s story is a fairly decent one, that of a young man on a journey of self-discovery… it feels completely unconnected from the rest of the film, which is progressing on with its own plot. It’s so egregious that Cole’s scenes are separate from the rest of the cast, and we even have a double climax (the fighters have their own final battles, while Cole gets another final boss battle to finish the film). His story really has no bearing on the rest of the film, and we could have trimmed his portions for a tighter, leaner film. Nevertheless, since his story has been concluded in this film, it means that we’ll probably get a more focused plot for the inevitable sequel.
Mortal Kombat is violent fun, especially if you used to like playing fight games but lack the dexterity and knowhow to pull off super moves in today’s fighting games (although you could go tweak the settings or use some cheats, but where’s the fun in that?). It’s entertaining, gives audiences what they want, and is exactly what you’d expect from a Mortal Kombat film. It’s a worthy popcorn flick indeed.
Mortal Kombat opens in cinemas:
– 8 April, 2021 (Singapore)
This is an original article on marcusgohmarcusgoh.com
Follow Marcus Goh (yes, referring to myself in third person) on Facebook and Instagram for more (presumably) good updates!
I’m an independent scriptwriter who’s written for popular shows like Lion Mums, Crimewatch, Police & Thief, and Incredible Tales. I’m also a Transformers enthusiast and avid pop culture scholar. You can find me on social media as Optimarcus and on my site.
Send me an email if you want to get in touch!
Leave a Reply