The latest Mortal Kombat movie kicks off the second attempt for a live-action film
series adaptation of the iconic fighting game.
Serving as a reboot, it features Mortal
Kombat characters Sonya Blade (Jessica McNamee), Scorpion (Hiroyuki Sanada),
Liu Kang (Ludi Lin), Jax (Mehcad Brooks), Kung Lao (Max Huang), Raiden (Tadanobu
Asano), Kano (Josh Lawson), Sub-Zero (Joe Taslim), Shang Tsung (Chin Han), Mileena
(Sisi Stringer), Kabal (Daniel Nelson and Damon Herriman), Goro (Angus Sampson),
Reiko (Nathan Jones), and Nitara (Mel Jarnson).
It also has an original character named Cole Young (Lewis Tan), who
actually serves as main protagonist. The
plot doesn’t depict the titular tournament yet (it’s obviously reserved for
future sequels), but instead involves Shang Tsung sending out his warriors to
assassinate the champions of Earthrealm before the next tournament starts.
Though I experienced playing the
earlier incarnations of the video game a few times, I never really got into Mortal Kombat as a game. The 1995 Mortal
Kombat film, however, is probably one of my most favorite movies of all
time, if the amount of re-watch is the indication for that. I saw it on cable when it premiered at
HBO. I was in Grade 3 at that time, and
back then, I thought it was the greatest thing to have ever happened on
TV. Afterward, I made sure I knew its
complete schedule, so that I could re-watch it every time it was airing (same
thing I did with Space Jam, which was
also running in HBO at that time). Now,
as an adult, I’m under no illusion that it’s an excellent movie. It’s definitely pretty dated, and is arguably
bad. Nonetheless, like many who’ve seen
it back then, I still enjoy it whenever I watch it. It’s camp, but it’s entertaining camp (on the
other hand, the sequel, Annihilation,
is another story. It was simply an awful movie, though hilarious in its awfulness).
And you know what? After watching the 2021 reboot, I would still
say that I like the original 1995 movie more.
Heck, I think I even like last year’s direct-to-video animated movie Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion's Revenge
more than this reboot.
To be clear, I don’t hate the reboot. But I’ve found it a bit of a letdown. One of the reasons is already revealed by my title for this review. Johnny Cage is my most favorite MK character, so I am understandably greatly disappointed that he isn’t here.
While the movie was undergoing
production, the reports constantly gave me cause for worry, because nothing was
ever announced about Johnny Cage’s casting.
The only hope I held was the idea that Johnny Cage’s appearance in the
movie was being kept a secret, since it was being intended to be a big surprise
for the movie, and that a big name Hollywood A-lister, such as Chris Pratt,
was secretly cast to play the character.
Unfortunately, that turned out being just wishful thinking in my part.
I know that he’s being reserved for
the sequel, but even so, it would have been better if he at least got a cameo. Imagine this: a surprise appearance of Chris
Pratt or Ryan Reynolds (or any other fitting big-name casting) as Johnny Cage during
a post-credits scene, similar to how Samuel L. Jackson’s Nick Fury showed up unexpectedly
at the end of Iron Man, teasing a
future Avengers movie. Pretty epic, right? That would have blown the minds of everyone.
Another important reason why I feel this reboot is kind of a bummer is because it’s simply just lackluster. By that, I don’t mean
that it’s awful – it’s not – but it’s just not as spectacular and ambitious as
it was expected to be, considering that it was obviously going for that special
“big event, big cinematic franchise” identity, like the MCU and the DCEU. In the end, it was only able to deliver a decent
“B movie” experience – meaning, it entertains, but it doesn’t fill you up with
a big “what I just watched was special” feeling. Heck, it’s even unable to at least replicate
the amount of hype that the original movie’s theme song can immediately incite (to
be fair, that theme song is an all-time great).
In addition, its tone feels uneven – as if it’s conflicted of whether it’s
going for gritty or camp, or it wants to have the best of both worlds, but it
doesn’t have the cleverness to mesh them well.
Overall, the reboot’s filmmaking and
production value are actually objectively superior to the original’s. But for something that benefits from better budget,
technology, and insight (i.e. lessons from what the original movie and its
sequel did right and wrong, historical data, and superior video games for
inspiration), you expect more coming from it as an updated version. In contrast, the original 1995 movie may be thoroughly
cheesy and evidently lacking in the technical aspects, but it’s unpretentious
and it makes the best out of what it has on hand, that it ends up being notably
satisfying for what it is.
The reboot’s action is especially underwhelming. Now, the fights per se are actually
well-executed. As a martial arts action
film, it’s pretty solid. But as a modern
Mortal Kombat film? Again, you expect something more. The video games are known for their highly imaginative,
over-the-top violence, but the movie only has some of that, and that would have
been okay, if those few instances were at least more notably exhilarating.
Moreover, by casting guys like Joe
Taslim and Hiroyuki Sanada, high expectations were set for its action. For this gave off the impression that the movie
would deliver the same kind of relentless, crisp, visceral, high-octane,
balls-to-the-wall fight scenes that movies like The Raid and The Night Comes for Us had. Unsurprisingly, the best
fight scenes in the movie involved Taslim and Sanada. However, even with those, the action is far
from The Raid-like at all. Yes, the fight scenes look okay, but they come
off as very Hollywood-ized, and thus, basic.
None of them are truly unforgettable, innovative, and extraordinary.
At the very least, if the movie only opted for more long-take shots, and minimized the quick-cut edits, the fight scenes would have easily been ten times more aesthetic and stimulating to watch.
As for the characters, well, with
the exception of Kano (more on him later), I still enjoyed the original movie’s
versions of the characters more, especially Raiden and Shang Tsung. The reboot’s Raiden and Shang Tsung may be
more faithful to the video game characterizations, but the original movie’s hammy
versions absolutely have more appealing personalities. Christopher Lambert and Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa,
respectively, absolutely made those characters their own. On the other hand, I really have no strong
opinion about either version of Liu Kang.
They are equally okay. But if I
need to choose, I would still give the edge to the original (played by Robin
Shou), since he was the main protagonist of that movie, while reboot Liu Kang is
just a side character. Also, I would pick
the original Sonya Blade (played by Bridgette Wilson) over the reboot as
well. I grew up crushing on the original
Sonya Blade, so I was already set on preferring her regardless. To be fair, though, reboot Sonya Blade is
also attractive, and has a more substantial character arc.
Meanwhile, I don’t understand why there’s
a need for a Cole Young. Not only is he
a completely new character, the filmmakers also had to make him the main
protagonist. And the plot just didn’t
give enough to justify this decision. It
was like making a Justice League
movie, but instead of telling a story where Superman or Batman is at the
forefront, it makes you follow a new superhero called the Captain Amazing, and
the rest of the Justice League simply serve as his supporting characters. Now, Cole Young could have been redeemed as a
character if he was given a compelling character arc or at least an amazing
superpower. But, as it happens, his arc
is pretty generic. Being a descendant of
Hanzo Hasashi a.k.a. Scorpion is a cool (but predictable) reveal about the
character, but it does nothing exciting for him. This detail simply serves as another excuse as
to why the story revolves around him and a choice of plot device for bringing Scorpion
into the picture (which is something that could have easily been alternatively done in
multiple other ways). On top of that,
Cole’s superpower is utterly anti-climactic – an ugly, stupid-looking body
armor that copies the function of MCU Black Panther’s suit, but looks like a knockoff
of DCEU Aquaman’s costume, and a pair of bladed tonfas for good measure.
Nevertheless, the reboot also has a
couple of good things going for it. The
most noteworthy one is, of course, Kano.
He easily has the most charismatic characterization in the movie. One of the reasons mentioned why Johnny Cage
isn’t in the movie is that Kano already served the role of the wise-cracking dickhead. I don’t agree that this is a
valid reason for Johnny’s absence, but I do appreciate the choice of giving Kano
some hilarious and non-PC material to gab about.
Another one is introducing the
concepts of “arcana” and the dragon mark of an Earthrealm champion. Actually,
if you take time to think about it, there can be some dumb implications coming
out from this. But Mortal Kombat is just the kind of movie that you would expect would
have some intrinsic dumbness, so I don’t really hold this against it. On the positive side, this gives this cinematic
franchise a more coherent power system moving forward. In addition, the idea that the mark (and thus,
the power of arcana) can be transferred to another person if he or she kills a
champion adds a layer of interesting dynamic (as seen with Sonya Blade and
Kano).
And lastly, whatever flaws the
storytelling has, foreshadowing is not one of them. This movie does a slick job with setting
certain details up and calling them back later on. I really like how Cole came up with what
tactic they should employ for that final throwdown, and how a garden gnome
plays a part in Sonya’s duel with Kano (I guess I like everything related to
Sonya and Kano in this movie).
All things considered, Mortal Kombat does enough to be a fun
watch. Still, I was left disappointed by
it. If you are already satisfied by how
it is, then good for you. But for me, I
believe it can still be – should have been – better. While it has made commendable steps toward
the right direction, it still hasn’t completely achieve the best Mortal Kombat live-action adaptation
that can reasonably be for the 21st century. At the very least, its action sequences should
have been as well-executed, gripping, and eye-popping as those in The Raid movies. Thus, in the end, this
2021 reboot won’t be as beloved as the original 1995 movie.
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