Mortal Kombat (dir. Simon McQuoid): Film review

It’s never easy to adapt a video game to film, mostly because the fun of a game is typically not the plot, so much as it is the mechanics of actually playing the game. This is doubly true for fighting games, the plots of which serve only to create a thin explanation for why two fighters are engaged in three rounds of button-mashing combat. 

Sorry, Kombat

Of all the fighting games, however, Mortal Kombat has the densest mythology, so it’s no wonder that over the years, many attempts have been made to turn it into cinema — be it on the big screen, television, or even through animation. Its comparatively tame sister game, Street Fighter, has no such lore, leading to a classic piece of ‘90s cheese cinema that begs the question “why aren’t they fighting in the streets?”

When Mortal Kombat first hit the arcades, it was the target of ire for many a concerned parent, who would cite the extreme violence on display as being responsible for the corruption of America’s youth. Looking back, these charges are patently silly (as all accusations of the corruptive power of media ultimately prove to be), largely because when you look at the offending images from the present day, they’re about as cartoonish as one can imagine without being a literal cartoon. Still, the accusations stuck, and since younger teens were the primary gamers of the time, any attempt at making a Mortal Kombat movie simply had to be PG-13. A sensible choice, but an odd one considering that the big selling point of Mortal Kombat is that it was transgressive (shut up, Mom!). Still, the movie was enough of a success (and remains a cult fav to this day) that a sequel was granted. The sequel was very much not a success, and the IP henceforth remained in a state of almost-a-movie for quite some time. The game series continued alongside a handful of TV projects, animated films, and even a stage show. Yes, a stage show.

And while all of this occurred, the target audience slowly grew into adulthood, where finally a proper Mortal Kombat movie could be made, complete with all the R-rated material expected of the brand. 

Deep, growly voice: EXCELLENT

This third live-action stab at the material is easily the best so far, and while it remains too much of a mythos movie and not enough of a martial arts flick, it was still a total blast. 

In it we follow cage fighter Cole Young (Lewis Tan) whose fighting days are long behind him. He can still trade punches with the best of them, but he no longer has what it takes to be a champion. What he doesn’t know is that he’s been selected by otherworldly forces to compete in a tournament in which our entire world is at stake. You see, every generation there is a competition where a team of humans selected by Lord Raiden (the lightning guy, played here by Tadanobu Asano) are pitted against a team of monsters from Outworld, led by Shang Tsung (Chin Han). It’s basically Space Jam but with more death and better acting. 

The beasts of Outworld have amassed nine consecutive victories. If they win one more tournament, they will be able to cross over into “Earth realm” and control all of existence. This is a bad thing. 

Cole soon teams up with many of the characters we all know and love from the game (or from the famous EDM song that lists their names), in an effort to shut down Shang Tsung before the tournament begins. Liu Kang (Ludi Lin), Kung Lao (Max Huang), Sonya Blade (Jessica McNamee), Jax (Mehcad Brooks), and Kano (Josh Lawson) are there, to name a few. And of course there is a generations-long beef brewing between the icons of the series: Sub-Zero (Joe Taslim) and Scorpion (Hiroyuki Sanada). 

The film zips along quite nicely, handling the monumental task of introducing so many characters without bogging things down too heavily, but even so, it remains a bit plot-heavy for my taste. One would think that a movie about a potentially apocalyptic tournament would, at some point, reach said tournament. It does not. I can’t fault the movie for not being the magical Bloodsport riff it doesn’t want to be, but the heavy sequel-baiting at the end hints that such a thing could be coming in the relatively near future. As it is, it’s a prototypical “hero’s journey” complete with alternate universes and a wealth of super cool special effects. 

For the most part the fight sequences are handled quite well. First-time feature director Simon McQuoid shoots everything with clarity and a complete absence of shaky-cam — THANK GOD — but there are a few occasions where the fast editing can be a bit of a distraction. Regardless, the choreography is fantastic, smoothly blending fisticuffs with the magical abilities possessed by our heroes and villains. There are nods to the video game left and right, with the requisite combos and fatalities performed by the characters in gleeful R-rated fashion. Fight sequences are stacked on top of more fight sequences, bouncing between multiple battles in real-time. On the one hand, this means that the micro-narratives that make martial arts movies so fun on a moment-to-moment basis are lost. On the other, it means that once the action starts, it never stops. 

In total, Mortal Kombat is a ton of fun, completely delivering on its promises, while maintaining enough of a self-aware air to own its inherent dumbness. This is a movie that knows what it needs to be and comes through exactly as it should — no more, no less. As a stand-alone actioner set within a popular IP, it’s as fun a distraction as anyone could reasonably expect. As a slick, colorful promise of a film franchise to come, it’s exciting as hell. Bring me more, please! 

I wouldn’t call Mortal Kombat a flawless victory, but it’s a victory all the same. 

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