Mortal Kombat 2021

During the Age of Video one of the movies that they showed in an endless look was the  1995 version or Mortal Kombat. Based on the arcade video game of the same name it was meant to be a throwaway martial arts combat movie with mostly unknown actors playing famous characters from the game.

It was actually the first really successful translation a video game had made to the big screen up to that point. It is a certified cult classic that I spent many hour watching when it showed up AGAIN and AGAIN on early cable television.

The sequel to the 95 classic is not as good but the power of the franchise has always been strong and after 25 years we have another remake I didn't realize that I needed. Like Godzilla Vs Kong I didn't have to do anything but leave my brain in it's jar and just enjoy this for what it was: A fight movie about good vs evil and in that it has succeeded brilliantly.

Right from the beginning we know who the bad guy is and it's the guy who is SUPPOSE to be the bad guy and has always been the bad guy. Hate that guy in the arcade game and still hate him to this day.

I appreciate the backstory that connects Sub-Zero and Scorpion, something we were never given before.

Kano is the asshole he was always meant to be and I enjoyed the new characters they blended with older characters to give the whole adventure some heart and a hero to follow with a super strong enemy to defeat.

The fight choreography combined with the CGI is the real stars of this film and in that department all are top notch. This feels like the best of a 90s B-Movie and Mortal Kombat can wear that nostalgic badge with pride. I must admit I got a tingle when I first saw Lui Kang. He was always my favorite character after Scorpion. 

All the actors are unknowns but more than make up for their lack of experience with their athletic stage fighting skills. The story is nothing fresh but the action scenes are very well done and the movie races through it's run time. We even get a cool final scene that could lead to a sequel if this one does well enough.

It definitely will make it's investment back and then some. It does no shame to the Mortal Kombat franchise.

It takes about an hour to get everyone up to speed and ready for the final battle but the ending rewards all the balloon juice that came before. And succeeding in that respect is not always assured. A high concept movie like this requires a full retard execution and, once it get rolling, really pushes the dial to 11. The fight choreography and wire work are top notch and for a Saturday afternoon you could find worse things to watch. I enjoyed it.