'Mortal Kombat' Review: A Stylish Action Adaptation Achieves Glorious Victory
Off the wall action and well rounded, relatable characters allow the latest ‘Mortal Kombat’ to make its case as the best video game film adaptation ever made.
It is no secret that video games have never successfully translated to the big screen. Whether it’s the story, the acting, a messy production, or just no general interest in the project, many studios who have dared to make one have been met with disaster. With that being said, there had to eventually come a film that would change the exhausting trend of terrible, uninspired video game movies, bringing us something worth watching over and over again. With the release of “Mortal Kombat”, that day has come, making the new action film, by default, the best video game adaption ever put on the big screen.
The film starts in the past, setting up an old rivalry between two ninja assassins. When Bin-Han (Joe Taslim) kills Hanzo Hasashi (Hiroyuki Sanada), along with Hanzo’s wife and son, it sends his spirit to Netherrealm and leaves behind his infant daughter, the last of his bloodline and the key to an ancient prophecy tied to both the Outworld and the Earthrealm. Flash forward to the present day, where the Earthrealm is on the verge of being taken over by Shang Tsung (Chin Han) and his champions from the Outworld. They have won nine out of the last ten Mortal Kombats, and with one more win, they will seek full control of everything. With this, Lord Raiden (Tadanobu Asano) must summon the champions of the Earthrealm in order to train and unite them for one last stand in the ultimate fight of good versus evil. The core of this new band of champions is Cole Young (Lewis Tan), a young MMA fighter who is discovered to be the last living heir of Hanzo, and who could make the prophecy a reality.
Heavy on lore, Mortal Kombat does what its previous iterations couldn’t do: build a world and characters that are just as memorable as the action sequences. Though he is not based on any character from the video game or previous movies, Cole Young is a perfect vessel for an audience to be introduced to the insane rules of this universe, as well as the wild team members he will partner with and the enemies he will fight. Cole is something of a lost soul, fighting in small MMA gigs to make enough for his wife and daughter to live. What he needs is a sense of not just purpose, but genuine belief in himself. Audiences will relate to this guy who just wants to know his own place in the world. Alongside classic characters from the game like Sonya Blade (Jessica McNamee), Jax (Mehcad Brooks), and Liu Kang (Ludi Lin), we see Cole become one of them, as well as see him find the potential in himself that we all long for in our own lives on a day-to-day basis.
Through all of this, violence and gore are at an all-time high. First time director Simon McQuoid spares no expense, with buckets of blood and guts sprayed all over the screen, thus matching the cartoonish level of carnage displayed throughout the franchise in console form. There are moments where arms, heads, and whole bodies are cut up, and it’s all done with a gleeful understanding of those moments from when we were all children in the arcade playing as these characters. The film avoids being a boring iteration of the game it is based on, due to a fast pace that makes you excited to see each new fight as it unfolds. It’s a vast improvement from the poor style, effects, and story of the original 1995 Paul W. S. Anderson film.
McQuoid, whose directing credits mostly include commercials, was a risky choice for this project, but he shows the confidence of a hungry young talent willing to not only make something stylishly appealing, but also play to the market he is aiming for. Each set piece is built on the back of great choreography and camera placement, which makes every sequence stand out and elevate the larger film. Together with his cast and crew, McQuoid shines in the director's chair, and proves he can be trusted with monumental blockbusters in the future.
While there is a lot of praise that can be given to the overall production of Mortal Kombat, there are some issues with the humor found in the script by Greg Russo and Dave Callaham. Their writing of the character Kano (Josh Lawson) is flat out cringeworthy. Nothing that character does on the page and in the performance seems to work, almost as if he is just an R-rated version of a character from the 1995 film. It’s a shame considering how well the rest of the ensemble works. Kano’s presence is so abysmal, he almost ruins every scene he is a part of. Luckily for the audience - and the writers - there is more to this story than just one man, thus the story can move past this flaw and still entertain.
Mortal Kombat isn’t going to go on to win Best Picture, but it’s a genuine surprise to see this much passion in a movie created by a collection of unknowns, put together by a big studio seemingly as nothing more than a cash grab. It’s a unique thing to see in today’s landscape of blockbuster filmmaking and, hopefully, a movie like this can show that you don’t need big superstar actors or directors to make something fun. In the end, this movie is a smooth two-hour thrill ride with so many WTF moments, you’ll be constantly begging for the next fight to commence, thus setting up a potential film franchise that fans of the video game series can be proud of.