Mortal Kombat (2021)

Directed by: Simon McQuoid | minutes | action, adventure | Actors: Lewis Tan, Jessica McNamee, Josh Lawson, Joe Taslim, Mehcad Brooks, Matilda Kimber, Laura Brent, Tadanobu Asano, Hiroyuki Sanada, Chin Han, Ludi Lin, Max Huang, Sisi Stringer, Mel Jarnson, Nathan Jones, Daniel Nelson, Ian Streetz, Yukiko Shinohara, Ren Miyagawa, Mia Hall, David Field, Kris McQuade, Angus Sampson, Alice Nassery

The game franchise ‘Mortal Kombat’ saw the light of day in 1992 and immediately became a big hit in the arcades as well as on the game consoles at home. The concept is quite simple: grab some fighters with special powers and let them perform bloody one-on-one battles in tournament form. A showdown in ‘Mortal Kombat’ always ends with the death of one of the two protagonists. The infamous ‘fatalities’, unique moves for each character to give the opponent the last push towards the eternal hunting grounds in an unkind way, were the highlights for the throngs of young people who were massively under the spell of the first games in the nineties. the long series.

In 1995, the first attempt was made to translate the game to the silver screen. That first film is a bit of a ‘mixed bag’. The print stays fairly close to the source material and certainly houses some well-choreographed action scenes. The special effects, on the other hand, aren’t the best (especially if you compare them to more modern standards) and give the film – in combination with the pretty bad techno music – a rather cheesy image. Plus, the violence is quite toned down when you compare it to the games. Nevertheless, Paul WS Anderson’s film now has a modest cult status as an extremely enjoyable ‘guilty pleasure’.

Still, many fans were anxiously waiting for a remake that does more justice to the ruthless and gory nature of the game franchise. They get it more than 25 years after the release of the first ‘Mortal Kombat’. Earth is now trailing 9-0 in an interdimensional martial arts tournament. Wrong stuff. In fact, if it goes 10-0, victory will go to adversary Outworld (the antithesis of the Earth) and the evil wizard Shang Tsung and his fearsome disciples will rule our planet with a hard and cruel hand. That’s why the thunder god Raiden goes in search of warriors who are skilled and strong enough to avert this ominous future scenario.

The opening scene of ‘Mortal Kombat’ already makes clear what you can expect for the rest of the film: hard and uncensored action. This film is not nearly as good and mild as its namesake from 1995. On the contrary, the blood and guts fly all over you from time to time. Director Simon McQuoid delivers on the promise that his performance will be “as violent and over the top as the games.” Most of the action scenes, which contain several recognizable MK moves for the connoisseur, look fine both in terms of choreography and GCI, while the fast tempo means that you don’t feel like you have just finished a film of almost two hours long. Viewed. Also a bit of humor should not be missing. The comic element is mainly due to Josh Lawson, who puts down a nice portrayal of the unscrupulous, foul-mouthed, sarcastic and cynical hit man Kano.

Is ‘Mortal Kombat’ the perfect film adaptation of the legendary game franchise? Despite being a good attempt, the answer to that pressing question is no. The film contains just too many flaws for that. ‘Mortal Kombat’, for example, swings in tone from time to time between deadly serious and kitschy. The soundtrack alternates techno and dubstep with more sophisticated string music and shoots in all directions. Not all characters (almost everyone from the first game and some characters from the sequels pop up) either. For example, a fan favorite like the four-armed giant Goro – here a CGI creation instead of an animatronic as in the first ‘Mortal Kombat’ – is dishonorably dismissed with a very short and rather meaningless performance. The mighty thunder god Lord Raiden also lacks the x-factor that you would expect from a character of his stature. The fans of Sub-Zero, on the other hand, will get their money’s worth. The icy ninja is one of the showstoppers in ‘Mortal Kombat’. In any case, the bitter feud between him and Scorpion is one of the best-developed storylines in the film.

‘Mortal Kombat’ is nothing more or less than an enjoyable popcorn film that, despite some creative liberties, clearly breathes the atmosphere of the source material. There are quite a few things to criticize about the print, but broadly speaking, the makers deliver what the fans of the franchise would like to see. And don’t worry if your favorite MK character can’t be admired in this film: the ending hints quite garishly at a sequel.