Mortal Kombat

Let’s get this out of the way right away: Mortal Kombat is not a movie meant for families. I’m saying that right off the jump because some parent somewhere will, inevitably, be talked into taking their child to see it because said-child plays the games or has watched someone play the games. The film is bloody, violent, and there is casual swearing galore. It earns its R rating, so if you’re the sort of parent who doesn’t want their child exposed to that sort of thing…first of all, pay closer attention to their media consumption, and second of all, sit this one out. Go see Godzilla vs. Kong instead.

In fact, go see Godzilla vs. Kong anyway. That movie’s awesome.

If you simply MUST go see Mortal Kombat though (yes, that’s how it’s spelled. I didn’t mess up), be ready to sit through a movie that’s fun…and not a whole lot else. This is not a deep story, you probably won’t learn any life lessons, and it doesn’t take much brain power to follow the plot. Suspend your disbelief the same way you would a fantasy film and you’ll be fine. Mortal Kombat is a junk food movie.

And I loved pretty much every second of it!

Before I kick off the love fest, I’m going to tackle what didn’t work. It’s a short list. First of all, the character of Goro bothers me; from his lackluster personality to his design, which feels like a ripoff of the orcs from the movie Warcraft. He’s too much CGI at once. I never felt like the main character Cole was fighting something corporeal. I saw a mess of pixels.

I wouldn’t complain so much, if we didn’t have a much better counterpart to compare him to: the Goro from the 1995 film. That one, the product of several different techniques combined to make one monstrosity, was more intimidating because he was really there. The actors were interacting with a something physical. Goro had presence, personality, and therefore he was more exciting to watch. Goro in the 2021 film feels more like the minotaur from Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief; hollow and fake.

And then, there’s Sonja.

What…happened? Just, I really want to know, what happened?

She’s easily one of the top ladies in Mortal Kombat. Heck, she and Johnny Cage even have a daughter who becomes the protagonist of Mortal Kombat X. She’s a soldier, she’s tough as nails, she doesn’t take guff.

In this movie, she’s treated the way women were treated in films in the Eighties! Who’s the one fighter who isn’t a Chosen One? Who’s the one fighter who isn’t allowed to train in the arena with the other champions? Who’s the only character who has to prove herself multiple times throughout the narrative?! We don’t even really get to see her discover her power! Everyone else gets a dramatic moment of discovery, and she gets nothing! She fights Kano, wins, and shows up to the next battle already rocking her new abilities.

For the sake of not crying sexism right away, I’ll offer this explanation: one of the biggest criticisms of female characters lately has been that they’re too skilled too quickly. They’re fast learners, messiahs, perfect human beings. Mary Sues. Now, I disagree with this criticism, as male characters have been allowed to be flawless for decades without reproach (most of them just get the king Arthur treatment i.e finding a magic whatever which instantly makes them good at everything), but that’s an article for another time.

I think these writers course-corrected too far. They didn’t want to make Sonja a Mary Sue, so they made her the weakest character in the film and then rewarded her with fast-tracked character development in Act Three. Okay, fine.

Next question: why are her powers hot pink? Someone who’s played the games, please tell me if her powers are hot pink in the games, because they are in this film; and if that’s not a detail taken from the games…really, guys? You gave the only female lead pink powers? I thought we were done with that garbage.

There! Now that the complaining is done, let’s get to what works, starting with the music. Fans of the franchise might be disappointed to hear that the techno version of the iconic theme isn’t present here. It’s been given a 2020s facelift in the form of orchestration, and it’s quite beautiful! The crescendos hit and just the right time, and the introduction of more instruments serves to convey the weight of the story. For example, when Goro is fighting one of the main characters, the music kicks in early, telling the audience to pay attention because this won’t be just another knuckle-buster. Likewise, during the final battle, the music picks up just when audience excitement would be at its highest; telling viewers “yes, we know how cool that was! Let’s take a moment to celebrate!”

I also believe that the visuals of the game are represented very well. I applaud the character design, especially, for not cutting corners. Raiden looks a lot better than he did in 1995. No offense to Christopher Lambert, but Tadanobu Asano just brings more of a godlike presence to the role; and the choice to have his eyes perpetually glow really sells the concept that Raiden is an otherworldly force. He doesn’t read as a concerned grandparent the way Lambert’s Raiden did.

I’ve already mentioned Goro being a let-down, but Mileena’s design definitely makes up for that shortcoming. Her lower jaw is always covered in scars and gore, and when we do see her in all her toothy glory, she looks UNBELIEVABLE! The filmmakers could have easily just made her pretty and clean, avoiding any chance that she wouldn’t be found attractive, so I applaud that they took the road less traveled. She’s still stunning gorgeous, with piercing eyes and the graceful movements of a trained dancer, but she’s obviously incredibly dangerous. In an age where women are still given high heels and exaggerated chest plates to fight in, it’s refreshing to see sex appeal take a back seat in Mileena’s case.

“But if Kitana’s not in it—!” I will get to that. I promise. Review’s not over yet.

The human characters all look good as well, but none of them stand out. Kano’s design is definitely muted, and Lui Kang looks as good as ever. Kung Lao has his trademark hat. Basically, the costume budget wasn’t spent on them. It was mostly focused on characters like Scorpion, Subzero, Raiden, and Shang Tsung. If you liked how they looked in the games, you’ll be happy here.

“But are the performances good?” Yeah, they’re fine! Nobody is phoning it in.

It’s a video game movie. Don’t look for it during awards season in any other category besides set design, visual effects, or sound. The strongest performances are definitely in the first seven minutes, when we get the backstory of Scorpion’s rivalry with Subzero. Joe Taslim as Subzero and Hiroyuki Sanada as Scorpion are both pitch-perfect in their roles. They take every second of their screen time together very seriously, and Sanada especially NAILS Scorpion’s emotional range. I’d say that opening scene, and how it pays off at the end of the film, is worth the price of admission.

Wrap-up: was Mortal Kombat good? Yes! Compared to the other video games movies we’ve gotten in the past few years, it’s solid! Go see it in theaters.

Performances? Range from good to great.

Sonja’s character arc? The worst part of the film.

Technicals? Excellent, but please, no more CGI Goro!

What’s next? I want a Kitana prequel! I want to see Shao Khan take over, I want Sindel there, and at some point, we NEED a Mileena origin scene! The lore is all there in the games, just piece it together and make a screenplay!

The ball is in your court, filmmakers! You made a solid film, now make an even better sequel!