Mortal Kombat (2021)

"Get over here!"

     Another year, and another Hollywood remake to grace us with its unnecessary, yet accepted presence. With 2021 comes the newest rendition of Mortal Kombat, the classic martial art beat-'em-up videogame franchise known for its over the top depictions of hand to hand combat. While the original movies from the 90s have been taken to the halls of nostalgia, this modern installment/reboot still carries that sense of reminiscing with a fresh coat of paint, whilst still feeling goofy and a bit thin in its nicely paced runtime.

Source: Screenrant

     The film smartly opens by establishing the rivalry between the franchises two fan favorites: Sub-Zero (Joe Taslim of The Raid and Netflix's excellent The Night comes for Us) and Scorpion (Hiroyuki Sanada). What starts as a feud between clans soon expands into the films main plot, focusing on disgraced MMA fighter Cole Young (Lewis Tan). Born with a mysterious dragon birthmark (the franchise logo, no less), he soon is wrapped up in the business of Operatives Jax (Mehcad Brooks) and normie Sonya Blade (Jessica McNamee). Gathered by Elder God Raiden (Tadanobu Asano), they've been chosen to compete in the mystical martial arts tournament against the sinister forces of Outworld, led by Shang Tsung (Ng Chin Han), who is attempting to exterminate the team of Earthrealm before the tournament even begins.

Source: Entertainment Weekly

     Other fan favorites include Liu Kang (Ludi Lin), Kung Lao (Max Huang), Mileena (Sisi Stringer) and Goro. However some are used to better effect than others. Mileena and Goro aren't anything more than peripheral minions who are sort of just thrown into the mix, while masked outlander Kabal (Daniel Nelson) is reduced to a profane-laden steampunk caricature. Liu Kang and Kung Lao instill a good amount of action and cheeky references to the games trademark "fatality" and "flawless victory" quips. It's the other merch with a mouth Kano (Josh Lawson) who steals the movie, carrying with him a crass sense of comedy that really keeps things moving. Our lead Cole falls a little short, with lines coming off a bit stiff. I was also a bit confused as to who he was supposed to be from the games, if anybody. If not, he's an original character with very little weight.

     In the end it all comes down to Sub-Zero, who is the flagship character here. Ruthless and, well...cold, Taslim does enough physicality wise to sell Sub-Zeros menace. And while the fights including Sub-Zero and everyone else are engaging, I was expecting things to be a bit more fast paced and gritty. Especially knowing Joe Taslims history (seriously, stop reading this and go watch The Night comes for Us if you don't know what it is) I was surprised to see things so calculatedly depicted. Going in expecting the full contact, no holds barred brutality of the recent Indonesian martial art films such as The Raid or Ong-Bak, what was portrayed felt rather tame. With the tease of the films depiction of violence, I found everything to be a bit conventional, with only one characters fatality really matching the games over the top tone. 

Source: Pluggedin

     Grievances aside none of these things effect the integrity of the film. The bare bones plot works to its advantage, not having to worry about too much exposition, and it moves along nicely because of this. The minimal roster of characters keeps things cohesive and doesn't have to worry about explaining too much about whoever. Even the explanation of how the characters gain their signature magical (magikal?) abilities is enough to fit within the films world.

     This is a movie to either have on in the background or can casually watch and will still have the same effect. Its chosen characters do a good job of introducing us to the world of Kombat, and while not as raw with its violence as I was hoping, it's still enough to wet our whistles. With Joe Taslim signed on for four more installments, and plenty of characters left in the roster, hopefully we'll see this new world rightfully expanded upon.

7 bicycle kicks out of 10.

But that's just my opinion. What do you think? Comment below and be a part of the conversation!