Published by Midway in 1992, Mortal Kombat was a smash hit in arcades and home consoles the following year. Seeing the potential, producer Lawrence Kasanoff acquired the rights and produced the first Mortal Kombat movie in 1995. Directed by Paul W.S. Anderson, the film was a big hit, grossing over $120 million against a $20 million budget. Kasanoff fast-tracked a sequel, Mortal Kombat: Annihilation, in 1997, which, unlike its predecessor, was a critical and commercial failure. Any future adaptations languished in development hell for decades before New Line Cinema announced a new movie in production. James Wan signed on as producer in 2015, and newcomer Simon McQuoid came on as director, marking his first time. With a $55 million budget, principal photography took place in South Australia between September and December 2019. After being delayed due to COVID-19, the Mortal Kombat movie hit theaters in April 2021.
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Synopsis
Cole Young (Lewis Tan) is a washed-up MMA fighter working in dive rings, struggling to support his family. They’re attacked by the mysterious warrior Bi-Han, aka Sub-Zero (Joe Taslim), but are rescued by Jackson “Jax” Briggs (Mehcad Brooks). Jax tells Cole to find his partner, Sonya Blade (Jessica McNamee), who’s holding the dangerous mercenary Kano (Josh Lawson) captive. She explains that someone is targeting people with a mysterious dragon-shaped marking, which Cole has. They travel to a hidden temple and meet Liu Kang (Ludi Lin), Kung Lao (Max Huang), and Raiden (Tadanobu Asano). Raiden explains that forces from a dimension called Outworld plan to conquer Earthrealm after winning one more Mortal Kombat tournament. While our heroes train, the evil sorcerer Shang Tsung (Chin Han) sends his warriors to kill them before the tournament commences. The fate of Earthrealm hangs in the balance as Earthrealm’s champions prepare for Mortal Kombat!
Review
While flawed in many ways, the 2021 reboot of Mortal Kombat is a step in the right direction. Though I personally feel that the 1995 adaptation is superior, the reboot does a fine job emulating the source material. For anyone disappointed that the original lacked the series’ trademark violence, this movie revels in the gore and viscera. Right from the opening scene in Feudal Japan, plenty of blood is spilled, and the kills get progressively more graphic. Plenty of signature fatalities are shown, including Kano’s Heart Rip, Jax’s Head Clap, and Kung Lao’s Razor’s Edge. Unfortunately, much like Mortal Kombat: Annihilation, the fights are uninteresting because the characters are dull. Granted, this movie isn’t nearly as bad, but aside from a select few, none of the characters are particularly memorable. The weakest by far is Cole, who has no discernible personality other than “I gotta save my family.”
Honestly, Josh Lawson does all the heavy lifting as Kano, whose constant trash-talking and smug demeanor make him instantly memorable. The always reliable Hiroyuki Sanada does a great job as Hanzo Hasashi/Scorpion, and his fight with Sub-Zero is excellent. Tadanobu Asano and Lewis Tan are serviceable, but they lack the charisma of Christopher Lambert and the late Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa. On a more positive note, Jessica McNamee does a fine job playing the tough-as-nails Sonya Blade. Sadly, none of the characters get enough time to develop into fully realized people we care about. It doesn’t help that the film dumps so much exposition that it gets confusing trying to make sense of it. From explaining their powers are because of marking to talking about family lineage, it all gets so boring. The 1995 film explained enough so audiences wouldn’t be lost, but this movie feels the need to explain everything.
For a first-time director, Simon McQuoid shows plenty of potential, if only he had a better script to work with. There are plenty of sweeping camera shots, and he stages the fight scenes so that you can tell what’s happening. Also, there are some cool practical sets and effects work shown that feel like they’re taken straight from the games. Unfortunately, much of the CGI looks cartoonish, especially Goro, who somehow looks worse than the ’95 version. The score by Benjamin Wallfisch is decent, and he makes great use of The Immortals’ “Techno Syndrome”. At slightly under two hours long, the pacing can feel sluggish, especially in between all the fight scenes. While it has some good ideas that a sequel could explore further, the film doesn’t quite hit the mark. Overall, the 2021 Mortal Kombat reboot isn’t terrible, but I’d recommend the 1995 film any day over this one.
Buy Mortal Kombat from Amazon: https://amzn.to/3OU086V.
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Where to watch Mortal Kombat (2021)
