Mortal Kombat

Finish him! In preparation for the release of Sonic the Hedgehog 2 in April, I will be writing some video game movie reviews this month. Starting with Mortal Kombat, based on the video game franchise of the same name, released on April 8, 2021, reboot of the 1995 movie. Starring Lewis Tan, Jessica McNamee, and Josh Lawson, it is rated R and takes place in primarily Japan and occasionally America.

Fighter Cole Young discovers that he was chosen to fight in a magical tournament that will determine the fate of Earth. Training with others like him, he must unlock the powers inside him if we are all to be saved. The bad guys are plotting some sneaky tricks to win the tournament. Can Young become the hero he was born to be? Or will it be “game over”?

After my faith in live-action video game movies was restored by Pokémon Detective Pikachu and Sonic the Hedgehog, I still wanted to see one that was more adult themed. My wishes were answered when this movie came out last year. I wasn’t in the right state of mind to be writing movie reviews then, but with this big plan this month, it seems like the perfect time to finally express my thoughts.

While I am not a Mortal Kombat player by nature, I am familiar with the source material. I feel that this movie was a well thought out adaptation of the games. They nailed the rivalries between both Scorpion and Sub-Zero & Sonya Blade and Kano. The worlds were accurately represented in this film, putting the viewer in the game’s various locations, visualized with attention to detail. I feel that any big fan of these games had to have been very proud of the result. Let’s talk about this movie’s elements further.

The action in the movie is just pure awesome! Very faithfully representing the gory but fun fatalities from the games, we wait in anticipation but enjoyment for how the battles will end. The battles themselves are engaging too as we get to see the characters use their special abilities to enact some serious damage on their enemies. Now on to the performances.

The biggest problem with this movie is the main character Cole Young, played by Lewis Tan. He is a bland character, and the performance is mediocre. This seems to come from the fact that he was a completely original character not in the games at all. Despite having the lead role, Tan’s performance feels like an aside in our memory, he never makes us care about Cole. But having said that, the other characters are portrayed so well. Sonya Blade, Kano, Jax, Liu Kang, Kung Lao, Raiden, and Shang Tsung are all unique in their own ways. What I want to give particular focus to is Sub-Zero and Scorpion. These two are the soul of the movie. Being extremely memorable whenever on screen, they steal the show, making any scene with them intense and thrilling.

The story of the movie is not going to win any greatest-stories-ever awards, but it’s clear that they’re setting up for bigger things. It does its job well and leaves you wanting more in the sequel.

Overall, I was impressed with this movie. Despite the poor handling of the Cole Young character, it is a solid video game movie. If you like this genre, it is heavily recommended and cool to watch. Enjoy it as you root for your favorite character.