Rating of
3/4
Not Quite a Flawless Victory - Still Packs a Punch
Chris Kavan - wrote on 06/03/21
Like video games themselves, movies based on video games are evolving. It seemed for a long, long time so many films based on games completely missed the mark and even the best the of the bunch were merely average. But we seem to have rounded the curve and movies based on video games have improved and "gasp" even given us something memorable. So where does Mortal Kombat stand? This version doesn't pull its punches and is high on violence but still has something new to offer with an original story but a lot of familiar faces.
Some people may complain that Mortal Kombat doesn't officially have a tournament like in the games, but I think it has something better - a compelling origin story featuring an original characters played by Lewis Tan. Tan is part of a club of people with a unique tattoo - one that signifies they are warriors of the highest caliber. One can be born with said tattoo or inherit it by killing someone with said tattoo and essentially transferring it. But before we get to Tan's Cole Young character, we get an opening featuring the esteemed Hiroyuki Sanada and Joe Taslim - who will in short order become iconic characters Scorpion and Sub-Zero. And the film wastes no time in providing plenty of blood. This film is rated R for a reason - if you aren't a fan of dismemberment, just maybe skip this one.
Flash forward and we find Cole as a somewhat reluctant MMA fighter, even though he is encouraged by his wife (Laura Brent) and daughter (Matilda Kimber), he can't quite make the grade. But he is soon going to have much bigger problems as his tattoo draws the attention of Outworld Emperor Shang Tsung (Chin Han) who has won the last several Mortal Kombat tournaments with Earth (not without being a devious bastard, of course) and decides the best course of action to win the final battle to take control of Earth is to take out the champions before they can realize their true potential. Thus, enters Sub-Zero again - and after a hasty escape thanks the Jax (Mehcad Brooks), he tracks down Sonya Blade (Jessica McNamee) to learn more about his supposed heritage.
Blade has also tracked down Kano (Josh Lawson) who is a right jerk, who got his powers after killing a man and wants nothing to do with this lot - but changes his minds when they are attacked by an acid-spewing lizard. Thus the trio head off to find a hidden temple where the warriors are said to train. We are introduced to more characters - Liu Kang (Ludi Lin), Kung Lao (Max Huang) and Lord Raiden (Tadanobu Asano) - the local god of Earth and much more benevolent than the treacherous Shang Tsung. He manages to erect a barrier around the temple in order to give his new warriors a chance to unlock their potential. That tattoo isn't just for show - with time an training, it bestows great power to the user.
While it takes time to build to it, the true strength of Mortal Kombat is in its great fight scenes. Bloody as all get-out, it's still entertaining as hell to watch (once again - not for the squeamish, though). And we get to see some of the more monstrous characters like Mileena (Sisi Stringer) and the massive four-armed Goro. While the film doesn't offer super deep cuts for any of the characters, it's still a plus that we at least get some development from the core group. And it tries a bit too hard to incorporate the iconic lines (Flawless Victory, Fatality and Come Here?) into the dialogue - it comes across as corny rather than intimidating.
Mortal Kombat might not change the face of film - but it's a solid effort and fans of the series (and fans of violent action) should be sated. It's another sign that movies based on video games is not the bane it once was and can only lead to better things to come.
