Mother of Movies is just like most people and back in the day loved playing the Mortal Kombat video game. Not the Playstation version, the proper one, arcade-style. Do we need more movies centered on the nostalgia of characters like Sub-Zero, Radian, and Scorpion? Probably not. However when James Wan puts his hand up to be involved in an action and fantasy film, you could bet money, I will watch it. Even if Wan is just in production, alongside other heavy hitters in the filmmaking crew, Mortal Kombat had fans in droves getting their bums-in-seats at theatres.
What I loved about the film was that it was brutal, included plenty of catchcry for those that played the Mortal Kombat video game and the story was entertaining. The prologue, beginning in Japan somewhere in the 17th century was great in terms of hinging the backbone of the MK universe. Also on the plus side, the choreography had me excited to see what the remaining film had to offer.
“Get Over Here!”
Training sequences in the middle section of the action movie were slow, to say the least. Much more could have been added here or simply taken out giving audiences a shorter run-time. What I would have personally liked to have seen was more tournaments added instead of this, but perhaps they are saving this for the other films. I certainly wasn’t bored watching this first installment of the Mortal Kombat trilogy and fight scenes are a highlight throughout. Outerworld characters haven’t been officially introduced with backstories yet so I’m super keen on seeing what’s in store.
Of course, a massive source of contention is the introduction of Cole Young. Brought into the story via his lack of understanding surrounding his family history and, prophetic dragon birthmark he is a brand new character. What’s more, I have to agree that Cole was not as memorable as he could have been. You have to admit though, the scene where Sub-Zero makes it snow while they are all at a street store was really cool (pun intended.) I liked that cole brings the story into the future of Mortal Kombat and allows the Outerworld baddies to have a way to kill the Earthrealm champions before they even know they’re in a fight. I enjoy cheering for the underdogs though so I loved the rise of Cole and other people in the story like Jax and Sonya Blade.
“Kano wins! You f*c#ing beauty!”
My favorite Mortal Kombat movie character had to be Kano. The comedic element he brought to the mix alongside his mongrel position made you unsure which side he would end up on. Kano just worked for me.
Uh, you got a pen? You want to write this down? Get fu@k#d. ‘Cause I’m not gonna help you. You kidnapped me, you tied me up. You threw a knife through my fucking leg, on purpose. And then that lizard thing took off half my face. Lucky for me, you can hardly notice it.
Kano quote from Mortal Kombat 2021
Overall, the Mortal Kombat film is enjoyable even if you aren’t an official storyline scholar. Perhaps being less than enthusiastic about the traditional character arcs makes it even more so.
The Mortal Kombat 2021 movie is rated
4 foot massages out of 5
Mortal Kombat Watch The Movie Trailer
- Best movies with fight scenes: Chick Fight / Hunting Emma / The Night Comes for Us
- Directed by Simon McQuoid
- Writers: Greg Russo & Dave Callaham (screenplay), Oren Uziel & Greg Russo (Storyline), (Video Game writing credits: Ed Boon, John Tobias)
- The Mortal Kombat 2021 movie cast includes Lewis Tan, Jessica McNamee, Josh Lawson, Joe Taslim, Mehcad Brooks, Tadanobu Asano, Hiroyuki Sanada.
- Produced by New Line Cinema and Broken Road Productions + distributed by Warner Bros. Home Entertainment.
How to Watch Mortal Kombat Streaming
Mortal Kombat 2021 Now streaming on:
Mortal Kombat 2021 Characters:
- Cole Young
- Sonya Blade
- Kano
- Bi-Han aka Sub-Zero
- Jax
- Lord Raiden
- Hanzo Hasashi aka Scorpion
- Shang Tsung
- Lui Kang
- Kung Lao
- Mileena
- Nitara
- Reiko
- Kabal
- Goro
- Kabal