Everything I Wanted And More – MORTAL KOMBAT (2021) Movie Review

The BEST Video Game Movie Ever Made? YES.

For those who are arriving to this blog for the first time, I am a huge fanatic when it comes to Mortal Kombat. It’s been an important franchise to me since I was born and I have exposed myself to every form of Mortal Kombat media that has ever existed. I even did a retrospective on my time with Mortal Kombat just recently and I did a review for Mortal Kombat 11: Aftermath.

Growing up and still to this day, the Mortal Kombat movie from 1995 is a nostalgic gem that I will likely always enjoy. However, I am someone who was begging for a reboot and I could not wait to see what director Simon McQuoid had in store for us. As the title suggests, I had a blast watching Mortal Kombat.

KAST IS PERFECT

The characters are what make the games so iconic and if the movie failed on bringing these people to life, then the movie would have failed as a whole. Fortunately, the filmmakers and actors clearly are fans of this franchise and care about how they should be done. There was not a single character from the games that I disliked here.

Let’s get this out of the way: Scorpion and Sub-Zero are perfect. Joe Taslim plays Bi-Han AKA Sub-Zero and he is one of the most menacing yet awe inspiring villains I have seen in a long time. He was cold (pun definitely intended), dark, twisted, and brought justice to this character after the 1995 movie completely wasted him.

The same goes for Scorpion: Hiroyuki Sanada was absolutely captivating as Hanzo Hasashi. While I would have preferred a larger role for Scorpion, whenever he does appear, it earned my applause and fangirl giggles of joy.

For those worried that Liu Kang was going to be sidelined? Don’t be. Yes, he is not the main protagonist of the movie like one would expect but he is given enough time to shine as a badass Shaolin Monk. Ludi Lin nailed the mild-mannered monk vibe that Liu Kang always has in the games but showed off that he’s not afraid to perform fatalities. While I will always applaud the wonderful Robin Shou and what he brought to Liu Kang, Ludi Lin was as perfect to Liu Kang as Robert Downey Jr. to Iron Man. And his comradery with his cousin Kung Lao was absolutely adorable.

Speaking of: I could not get enough of Kung Lao in this movie. Max Huang nailed that cocky yet likable attitude the character is famous for. I loved the way he acted, his fighting style was straight out of the games, and his special moves featuring the hat are a sight to behold. Combine his performance, gorgeous looks, and the fact that he just released a single called Flawless Victory? Max Huang might be my new Hollywood crush and I am not afraid to admit that. We need a Shaolin Monks spin-off on HBO Max, I’m just saying. These two were great together.

Another one who stole the show for me personally is the one everyone says is great. He’s funny, vulgar, and one hell of a villain that starts with “K.” And that would be: KABAL….you all thought I was going to say Kano, didn’t you?

Yes, everyone is going off on how Kano was great and I’ll get to him in a bit but I could not get enough of Kabal in this movie. He’s a small role but every time he was on screen, he was pure gold. I loved how they did his speed, I loved his design in everyway to the point that I NEED his skin to be added to Mortal Kombat 11, and I was shocked by how much dialogue he had. The marketing set him up like he was going to be some silent and nameless jobber but he was actually the Outworld fighter with the most personality and standout fights.

Now I guess I should talk about Josh Lawson as good ol’ Kano. Yes, I will agree with everyone else: he was perfect in every way. The marketing made it seem like Kano was going to be a good guy in this first movie. Without spoiling too much, I can confirm that is not really the case. The man is a complete scumbag, he’s greedy, sleazy, and has a mouth that never closes for more than five minutes. As much as he is a disreputable cretin, every scene featuring him had me in tears of laughter because Josh Lawson’s comedic adlibbing and improvisation was so on point. Some of the best scenes are just Kano roasting Liu Kang and Kung Lao.

Can’t have Kano without his nemesis: Sonya Blade played by Jessica McNamee and I thought she was great. I liked the angle they took Sonya where she’s less of the mean-spirited version depicted a lot in recent games but she just takes no nonsense from anybody and still captures the spirit of Sonya. I see her as a perfect mix of all versions of Sonya in the past plus her own flavor added to it all.

Mehcad Brooks was a great Jax, so much so that I wish he had more screen time in the movie. What they do with Jax is great in every scene but I feel like he could have used another five to ten minutes to really showcase the character, especially in one scene that I will talk about later. Overall though, Jax was great and I can’t wait to see more of him in future films.

The rest of the Outworld fighters were serviceable enough for what this movie was going for. Sisi Stringer as Mileena was scary good but she does not appear in the movie for very long. Goro impressed me a lot more than I thought he would. I really liked the obscure characters like Reiko and Nitara: they were essentially there because we need fatalities and best not to kill iconic villains in the first movie. So while they were fodder, I did like their execution. Shang Tsung was more akin to the sinister and wicked version of the character from Mortal Kombat 9 and I think Chin Han nailed that. I know many might have been hoping for him to be just like Cary Hiroyuki-Tagawa’s portrayal but I’m glad he didn’t: he went closer to the games while still providing a unique performance for the character. However, he does say a certain line that will make Tagawa’s fans happy.

Finally, that brings us to the big one. The one that everyone was either curious or terrified of: the new character known as Cole Young. Does this character work for me? Without any hesitation, I say YES! I ended up really liking Cole Young and how he was interwoven into the lore of Mortal Kombat.

Understandably, many were worried that Cole Young would be this movie’s equivalent to Alice from the Resident Evil movies. A character created for the movies that made the movie as distant as possible from the games. The difference between Cole and Alice is that Alice was shoehorned in and executed to overshadow what were already bastardized characters from the games. With Cole, he is new but he is only another part of a great cast that brings all the characters to life beautifully. Cole Young is not some overpowered god who makes all the other characters look like nothing, he is actually the one who is overshadowed by other characters for most of the movie.

On top of that, Lewis Tan delivers both as an actor and a fighter: I really enjoyed what he brought to this role. It’s clear how much passion he has for Mortal Kombat and his character which helps in making Cole Young even more engaging. I can see this character evolving and becoming a fan-favorite for the Mortal Kombat lore. Hell, I would love to see Lewis Tan do the voice and motion capture for a Cole Young DLC character in Mortal Kombat 11.

KANDY FOR THE EYES

This movie is gorgeous as hell: for a movie with such a low budget, I was surprised by how beautiful the sets, cinematography, and locations were. There is a surprising amount of practical locations used for both Outworld and Earthrealm, all places that look like perfect stages for a fighting game. My personal favorite location was Raiden’s temple: it had a very unique look to it with tons of easter eggs and details that made me smile.

The special effects for all the characters powers and abilities were surprisingly polished. Kano’s lasers, Liu Kang’s fireballs, Kung Lao’s hat tricks, and Sub-Zero’s cryomancy were all awesome to witness with many of the different abilities coming straight out of the games. Speaking of which, there is a new explanation given to how all these humans have these superhero-esque abilities and I actually really liked it. It kept the movie from having too much exposition and made more sense of it all.

The fight scenes are on another level: every fight was choreographed and performed so well that they make the original movie look like nothing. Nearly every actor is doing the stunt work and fighting on screen with little to no cuts: it makes the fighting feel real and impactful. My only gripe with the fights is that the climax montages the fights all at once (in an effective way, I will say) when I feel like each fight should have been shown off one by one instead of all at once.

KOMPLETE KARNAGE

Remember that one complaint everyone had about the 1995 movie? The one thing even fans of that movie like myself don’t like? The complete lack of gore? Yeah, well, that is not something to worry about here. This one goes all out with an R-rating. Every character (especially Kano and Kabal) drops some F-bombs, the fights are brutal on their own, and then there are the FATALITIES.

By the Elder Gods, there are some beautifully done fatalities in this one. I won’t spoil a single one but there is one fatality that actually shocked me by how gory and twisted it was but because it was directly inspired by the games. It was easily the best one and I could watch the scene on loop because of how well-done it was. So if you are hoping for blood, gore, and horrifically executed deaths: you are going to love this movie just for that.

KOLOSSAL FAN SERVICE

Not going to lie: this movie was definitely made by fans for fans. Nearly every five minutes there are Easter eggs and references that made me jump in my seat and point at the screen going: “OH NO WAY!” “LOOK AT THAT!” “IS THAT?!?” “YOU GUYS DID THAT?!?”

Iconic lines are said, characters’ different outfits are basically skins you’d get in the games, as said fans will recognize certain fatalities, and there are things that will tease future movies that casual viewers might not pick up on. The movie even ends on a teaser that will have any fans cheering and clamoring for the sequel.

KICK-ASS MUSIC

Benjamin Wallfish provides the music for this Mortal Kombat movie and I loved it. I love listening to movie scores all the time and this was one of the best in a long time. It has beautiful and epic orchestral pieces that fit the more modern blockbuster but it also features hints of techno and electronic music to match the games and also tribute the soundtrack of the 1995 movie.

And to answer that question that you might have: yes, THAT song is in the movie…in a way. It’s well implemented into the score and makes for one of the biggest applause-worthy moments of the film.

KAN’T WAIT FOR THE SEQUEL

Let me just say that the marketing for this movie is super deceptive. I personally appreciate that because it made me love what this movie was going for. However, I could understand why this would frustrate others. Without spoiling, I’ll just say that this movie takes things in a different but understandable route. I get why they did it, to help establish these characters but some fans will go in expecting something but end up surprised by that something not happening. It’s definitely setting up for sequels to come and I am personally all for it. Bring it on.

KONS

Is Mortal Kombat (2021) a flawless victory of a reboot? No. I don’t think it’s flawless. I think it is great but I do have a couple of things that I think could have been done better. While I had no problem with Reptile’s more saurian design reminiscent of the PS2 era, the character is literally in the movie for like three minutes at the most. It’s a great scene but I hope the sequels find a way to bring him back.

I had the same problem with Lord Raiden. Tadanobu Asano was great as this tough love mentor figure and I think he nailed it whenever he was on screen but he was barely in the movie. He doesn’t even get a single fight. I would have enjoyed at least ONE fight to really cement Asano’s portrayal but at least he was still a great character that I look forward to seeing more of.

The pacing of this movie was done well. Actually a little too well because the little less than two hours almost feels like one hour. I think that this reboot could have benefitted from at least fifteen minutes of extra runtime. This is where I think the climax should have been separate fights instead of a montage like I said previously.

FINISH IT! (OVERALL THOUGHTS)

If it’s not already obvious from the rest of this review: I loved this movie. After so many years of waiting for a proper reboot, I finally got what I wanted. It met my expectations in every way and even exceeded a few of them.

As someone who has grown up playing the games and obsessing over the lore, characters, and stories that the games and movies bring: I had the biggest smile on my face throughout Mortal Kombat (2021). I loved seeing a diverse cast bring these iconic characters to life, the ninjas were top-tier, the fights were out of this world, it was surprisingly funny, and it just did everything I wanted in a Mortal Kombat movie.

This did what it was supposed to do: get past the difficult hurdles of a first movie just enough so they can go all out with the sequels and spin-offs. If New Line Cinema and Warner Bros. want to turn this into the next cinematic universe? I say TAKE ALL OF MY MONEY! I want to see this MKU span over ten years and become some of the highest grossing movies alongside Avengers: Endgame. Hell, maybe at one point, we’ll get Cole Young VS Kronika and I’ll be there on day one. I’m going to give Mortal Kombat (2021) a 9.5/10. Though not flawless, the health bar was still pretty damn full and it won two action-packed rounds.

To Lewis Tan, Hiroyuki Sanada, Joe Taslim, Mehcad Brooks, Jessica McNamee, Chin Han, Ludi Lin, Max Huang, Josh Lawson, Tadanobu Asano, Nathan Jones, Sisi Stringer, Daniel Nelson, Mel Jarnson, Greg Russo, James Wan, and Simon McQuoid: I say you have won the heart of this Mortal Kombat fangirl.

You’re all SO SWEET for making it this far and I hope you all enjoyed this review! I write about anything geek related, especially comic book related stuff so if you want to stay up to date with all the reviews, news breakdowns, and lists I do, make sure to follow this blog or follow me on Twitter @MelodyMacReady ! Love you all!