Directed by:
Simon McQuoidCinematography:
Germain McMickingComposer:
Benjamin WallfischCast:
Lewis Tan, Jessica McNamee, Ludi Lin, Josh Lawson, Joe Taslim, Hiroyuki Sanada, 浅野忠信, Mehcad Brooks, Chin Han, Max Huang, Matilda Kimber, Laura Brent (more)VOD (6)
Plots(1)
In Mortal Kombat, MMA fighter Cole Young, accustomed to taking a beating for money, is unaware of his heritage – or why Outworld's Emperor Shang Tsung has sent his best warrior, Sub-Zero, an otherworldly Cryomancer, to hunt Cole down. Fearing for his family's safety, Cole goes in search of Sonya Blade at the direction of Jax, a Special Forces Major who bears the same strange dragon marking Cole was born with. Soon, he finds himself at the temple of Lord Raiden, an Elder God and the protector of Earthrealm, who grants sanctuary to those who bear the mark. Here, Cole trains with experienced warriors Liu Kang, Kung Lao and rogue mercenary Kano, as he prepares to stand with Earth's greatest champions against the enemies of Outworld in a high stakes battle for the universe. (Home Box Office)
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Reviews (10)
Quite a buffoonery this was. And the more serious/harsh/fateful it tries to look, the funnier it gets. When those terribly acted characters in funny outfits don’t say anything, it's watchable – so I see three stars as an improvement in a situation where not many great films are still coming out. That said, forget about any fancy fight choreography, I though they were pretty ordinary. If Gareth Evans had taken over, it would have been a different story.
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Some good stuff that primarily involves action scenes, excellent fatalities that directly honour the game and some fantastic visual effects. Then it only gets worse. Of the characters, the most interesting is the duel Sub Zero vs Scorpion, here and there Kano winks at the viewer with a catchphrase and Sonya with a kick, the rest is not worth mentioning. The legendary Liu Kang and Lord Raiden from the original film are just there to for fan service, and Mortal Kombat without a tournament as such it's dull wilderness. If they cut and edit it, maybe.
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I haven't seen the original Mortal Kombat (yet) and I haven't played the game, so I approached Simon McQuoid's film with a clean slate and I preferred not to have very high expectations, as movies based on PC games are not very good. The film pretty much visibly tries to milk the R-rating dry in terms of its depiction of violence, and it certainly doesn't skimp on (digital) blood and cuts through limbs or entire bodies. For the most part, the film consists of action-packed confrontations between the fighters, interspersed with some exposition here and there and (slightly) pathetic character entrances, so it's impossible to look for any "real" story here. Yet the abundance of action scenes makes it mostly brisk and not significantly boring. Visually, the film doesn't offend and offers some nice locations. The characters are portrayed in a very shallow way, but you can't ask for anything deeper from a film like this. A weaker three stars!
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So I think the filmmakers really like Anderson's 1995 film, and they didn't make the new Mortal Kombat with the need to make amends to the mother of bloody video games, but to make it the way Paul W.S. Anderson would probably make it today. So expect another B-movie with not-so-interesting characters that takes itself deadly seriously, regardless of what is happening in it, pretty decent (but far from perfect) effects, and a number of scenes that are downright reminiscent of, if not quotes from, the original film. No more, no less.
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The new Mortal Kombat is my biggest guilty-pleasure of the year so far. I cannot say that I have ever been a fan of this game franchise, yet I have always wanted to feel some satisfaction watching it on the big screen, which I certainly did not get from Paul W.S. Anderson's 90s Hollywood crap and that EdWood-esque awful John R. Leonetti sequel. However, it has finally arrived. In fact, I cannot imagine how it could have been done any better – maybe just a little. It has its faults, of course, and I could list them, but I am not going to do that to a movie that I enjoyed so much with its boyish attitude and creative action scenes. A no-brainer action movie with heart cannot hurt once in a while. Give me a sequel as soon as possible!
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