It’s sad that video game movies haven’t had the success that the MCU has had or even the success that Lucasfilm has had with the new Star Wars movies, and people often wonder why that is the case. Even the certain video games that seemed to get to a point where people got on board with them, whether it was last year’s Sonic the Hedgehog or even the Tomb Raider reboot with Alicia Vikander, still didn’t get the level of critical and financial success that the studios had hoped for. But maybe the biggest problem with video game movies is a mixture of it steering away from the video game or making it too much like a video game. The number one job of any movie is to make the best movie possible, especially if you’re adapting a book or in this case a video game. So, if you have to deviate from certain source material in order to make your movie better then you have to do what must be done. But another issue with video game movies is that one could argue is that video games don’t need to be adapted in a feature length motion picture considering not only are the mediums different but attempting to adapt one main story from a video game into a movie needs to be condensed and purged down, which will leave a lot of other aspects out of the movie. The other issue with video game movies is that they tend to only steer to fans of the games instead of finding common ground with fans of the video as well as the new comers. Films like Warcraft, Assassins Creed and even Need for Speed, which might some things are somewhat redeemable, are examples of video game movies that gear towards the people who are only familiar with the IP, which is not what you want with any movie.
Now, some might claim that the original Mortal Kombat from 1995 is held as the greatest video game movie to date, which is not saying much when you consider the lack of competition there is. Instead of talking about it’s atrocious and hilarious sequel Mortal Kombat: Annihilation, Warner Bros. has been trying to rejuvenate the Mortal Kombat franchise and more appeasing and faithful approach to what made the games so successful and popular. Originally slated for a release in January 2021, Mortal Kombat is finally in theaters and on HBO Max simultaneously and it’s pretty much exactly what that first red-band trailer indicated. Mortal Kombat is a glorious and stunning gore fest. The movie is appealing from a visual and stylistic aesthetic, with some of the best and impressive action scenes my eyes have ever beheld. It’s wonderfully faithful to its lore and brightens up the characters in ways that works as an improvement from its predecessors.
Serving as a complete reboot, Mortal Kombat focuses on Cole Young, a brand new character that’s not from the video games, who’s an MMA fighter that is completely unaware of his own family lineage when he realizes that Sub-Zero, an otherworldly Cryomancer, is on a mission to kill Cole. For the sake of himself and his own family, Cole goes on a mission to find Sonya Blade, who informs him the meaning and significance of his dragon marking that he was born with. Along Cole’s journey, he meets Jax, Liu Kang, Kung Lao and rogue mercenary Kano, as he musters these champions against the greater threats that Earth is facing.
Mortal Kombat is not a perfect movie by any stretch of the imagination. It does focus a little bit too much on set up, pacing issues and some wooded dialogue. However, it’s action set pieces, world building and even some of the development to the main narrative was a lot more impressive that you might expect. And the biggest selling point that you want to see in a Mortal Kombat movie is epic hand to hand combat scenes and lots and lots of gore, and it doesn’t disappoint. The violence in this dominates on every single proportion. It doesn’t pull any punches, it’s beautifully reminiscent of the fatalities from the game and it’s really the aspect that drives the spectacle of this movie. It’s full of brutal fashion and even admits the impressive violence, the fight sequences, themselves, are wonderfully constructed.
One aspect of Mortal Kombat that succeeds is the conflict between Sub-Zero and Scorpion. Joe Taslim is not an actor that mainstream audiences will be able to recognize, but cinephiles might be familiar with him from movies like The Raid and The Night Comes for Us. So, seeing him getting a more mainstream role, as Sub-Zero, is great for his career. He has the great sense of command the moment he pops up on screen. He’s lethal, cold-blooded and fierce, especially in the fight sequences. Hiroyuki Sanada is one the best Japanese actors that’s working today. From his roles in The Last Samurai, The Wolverine and even his tiny role in Avengers: Endgame, he brings a great sense of authenticity and cultural appropriation to his roles, and considering how popular the character of Scorpion is, he crushes this role. The clash between these two characters is one of the best aspects of the movie because it builds and build to an epic brawl at the finale that completely delivers.
Benjamin Wallfisch is one of the best film composers in the business and might have created his most powerful and bombastic music ever. It harkens back to that classic Mortal Kombat theme that we all know and love, but changes it up for the good in order for it to feel updated and experimental.
Is Mortal Kombat winning any Oscars? Fat chance. But what this movie succeeds at doing is something a lot of video game movies tend to forget: just make a good movie or deliver on entertainment. This might not be the best video game movie but it’s certainly better than its predecessors. The action is incredible, the stunt work is displayed magnificently and the movie is a complete blast from very beginning to the grand conclusion. It’s bone-crunching, visually pleasing and outrageously entertaining. Fans of the game will eat this up.
My grade for Mortal Kombat: B
Zane's take at the Cinema's 