Mortal Kombat (2021) Review

Mortal Kombat (2021)

Mortal Kombat follows Cole Young descendent of the legendary Scorpion, who is hunted by Scorpion’s killer, Sub-Zero. Cole however, finds refuge at the temple of Lord Raiden, were he trains to unlock his potential in a battle for the universe. 

Alright guys, I won’t beat around the bush—I haven’t played a Mortal Kombat game in well over a decade and a half, so my knowledge on the universe is foggy at best, though I have slightly kept up with them in recent years (because they’re frankly badass games). That said, while you are thrust head-first into the lore of this movie (with not a whole lot of world building), in never really seems confusing. I was worried that a lot wouldn’t make any sense but they did an excellent job of translating the game to screen and capturing the essence of the characters, as well as places like the Netherrealm in a relatable and understandable way. 

My main qualms, aside from the pretty disagreeable story, is that it throws a lot at you quickly and somehow after minimal training, the villains get beat with ease. It seemed way to simple. The inclusion of Cole also felt entirely unnecessary because while Lewis Tan is a skilled fighter and actor, he’s never given much to work with and seems like a generic fill in for Johnny Cage (who did get teased though!). 

What they did right however, overshadowed a lot of the bad because every now and again, you need a mindless action movie with corny as hell dialogue, over exaggerated kill scenes (in all their bloody madness), and healthy roster of characters from the game that translated particularly well to screen, specifically Sonya, Scorpion, Sub-Zero, and Kano. I love that Scorpion and Sub-Zero’s battle was at the centerpiece of the film and here’s hoping Shang Tsung’s speech about death not being absolute is true for Sub-Zero’s sake. 

We get a solid enough cast, featuring Ng Chin Han, Mehcad Brooks, Ludi Lin, Jessica McNamee, Lewis Tan, Josh Lawson, Hiroyuki Sanada, and Joe Taslim. Lawson was magnificent as the foul mouthed Aussie Kano and was certainly a favorite, among Sanada and Taslim, who rounded out a largely Asian cast that was full of fun performances. 

Mortal Kombat, directed by Simon McQuoid, certainly lived up to its’ R rating, not pulling punches, seamlessly translating the game to screen in a way that felt cool and badass, in a John Wick way (don’t think about it too much. Actually, don’t think at all, just enjoy). 

7.7/10