Fighting Games Friday: A Well Done Mortal Kombat Film

The new Mortal Kombat movie had an ostensibly easy itinerary compared to almost every other movie releasing in this day and age: Provide an enjoyable and entertaining experience for viewers, fans or otherwise. Movies based off video games have improved in recent years, and more promising works are forthcoming, but expectations for them are still low enough that the audience doesn’t expect much from them. This goes double for a movie based off a fighting game, and one in a franchise with previous movies that garnered mixed receptions from critics and fans, though “mixed” is putting it lightly when it comes to the terrible-though-hilarious Mortal Kombat Annihilation.

But note the words “ostensibly easy.” This wasn’t as easy for the producers as I might have made you think from reading that lede. Pressure was still on them to create an experience different from the previous well-regarded 1995 film. Furthermore, this Mortal Kombat adaptation was made from a series in which the recent installments from Mortal Kombat (2011) on have contained entertaining stories by fighting game standards. The goal was to make a fun film that didn’t retread familiar ground from the previous films and games, while keeping in mind that familiarity is still what the audience wants. The movie mostly succeeds in this regard.

The twist in retelling the original Mortal Kombat’s story yet again involves following a new character created for this movie named Cole Young. He’s a family man and MMA fighter chosen to participate in the tournament between the Earthrealm and the NetherRealm, like other fighters from the former, all of whom are branded with a dragon emblem that just happens to resemble the MK logo. He runs into a number of familiar characters along the way, including Sonya, Jax, Liu Kang, Kung Lao, and Kano, all of whom are also selected to be trained with Raiden’s help to prepare for the tournament. They’re to fight other familiar characters like Sub-Zero (far more evil here compared to other adaptations), Kabal, Milenna, and more, all led by Shang Tsung.

It’s a fun story for anyone whose expectations were adjusted accordingly, but it can’t quite escape the shadow of its predecessors. Poor Cole comes off as a generic martial arts film protagonist, and is frequently upstaged by far more interesting characters. I understand why they didn’t want to make Liu Kang and Scorpion from the 1995 film and the animated Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion’s Revenge, respectively, the main characters again, but the movie doesn’t justify Cole’s existence. He even gets upstaged by his wife in one battle in terms of memorability, who is not a combatant kombatant despite her qualities.

There’s also an unwelcome twist in the story that makes this adaptation very different from previous stories depicting the earlier MK characters, in a bad way. I won’t delve into spoilers, but it wasn’t a good sign when the characters only started training for the tournament about halfway through the film’s runtime. The overall journey isn’t as fun as the 1995 film, particularly given the level of scenery porn it added along the way. The end result of the story’s progression ends up feeling like the start of a TV series’ first season.

The acting isn’t the best, and no one should have expected it to be. But credit to the casting team for assembling a bunch of Asian talent, especially for ninja roles that have been curiously played by white dudes despite being canonically Asian since their creation. Select characters like Kano (Josh Lawson) and Kabal (Daniel Nelson) also turned in fun performances.

More important for an MK film are good, well-choreographed fights, which it delivers on. The producers knew what fans came to this film for, and the movie moves from one battle to another at a fine-enough pace. The big advantage this adaptation has over previous films is an R rating, which makes for battles and fatalities that bear more resemblance to the games. It’s not as over-the-top violent as the newer games or even Scorpion’s Revenge, choosing instead to keep the violence gory but realistic. But it works when accompanied by solidly-directed fights. The number of well-choreographed fights isn’t on par with the 1995 film, outside the first and final battles that involve two extremely popular Mortal Kombat characters in particular (you probably already know who they are), but they remembered to make them all fun to watch.

I’m making plenty of comparisons to the 1995 film here, partly due to nostalgia for it. It was a special moment seeing all the fan-favorite MK characters on the big screen as a kid. Yet, 2021 film isn’t as memorable as that one in terms of fight choreography, geography, character development, and the soundtrack. I remember every battle vividly from the original film along with several music tracks all these years later, but won’t be saying the same for this film for its fights outside the two I mentioned above or a single part of its largely-generic soundtrack.

The good news is that this movie appears to have been successful enough for Warner Bros., the production team, and the acting talent that at least one sequel will be coming. The movie blatantly leaves itself open for a follow-up considering who lives and dies, and how the much-teased big event ends up not happening. Sub-Zero actor Joe Taslim said he’s signed on to four — four! — more films, an indication of how big their plans are for this series.

I also wouldn’t be against Cole returning in the protagonist role. He’s far from the best main character, but he didn’t detract from the movie to an irredeemable point. Just please, please make the man more interesting next time. And bring his family back too.