This movie has some fun moments, but it could be argued that it failed as an adaptation of its source material.
The newest Mortal Kombat film introduces a centuries long feud between two warring clans, the Lin Kuei and the Shirai Ryu. After a gruesome opening which sees one of the combatants lose their entire family, the film skips forward to one of their descendants, who is a MMA practitioner. Long story short, this descendant is chosen to participate in a fighting tournament to the death for the sake of the Earth’s freedom.
Now that the premise has been established, we can get down to the dirty details of this film. Let’s begin with the positives. The opening scene of this film is very exceptional and has great choreography. As a casual viewer and not a fan of the original material, one may be able to enjoy this film as a stand alone. The special effects are great and some of the costume choices are pleasing to the eye. There are also several nods to the original material such as the bicycle kick from Liu Kang and the saw blade hat from Kung Loa. However, this movie is not without its flaws.
From the standpoint of a viewer who is not familiar with the source material, this film dumps a lot of lore and exposition in bursts. As a viewer who is familiar with the source material, there are major story beats that are either missing or glossed over in favor of progressing the plot forward. One of the major flaws of this film can be seen in the over abundance of characters and a lack of character development.
The introduction of new characters has a negative effect on the already shoddy main cast. Not to mention the character that was created for this film alone and is the main protagonist barely gets any development. For example, the main protagonist Cole Young decides to leave his family behind in order to protect them while also training to become strong enough to fight this new threat. However, after a short training montage he willingly goes back to his family and puts them in danger.
Overall, this film isn’t terrible, but it could have had a greater execution. For instance, by focusing on the characters that are already semi established, the film could strengthen the cast and giving the audience more investment into them. The main protagonist Cole comes across as a shell that has no substance as he moves to where the plot takes him.
He is reactive instead of proactive. It seems as though this film is so desperate to push for a sequel that it failed to lay a foundation for one with this outing. Not to mention that as a Mortal Kombat adaptation, there is a real lack of blood and action. Sure there is some, but Mortal Kombat is notorious for its action and gore.
Comments