Mortal Kombat
It felt like a fighting nonsense to me. I was not expecting Shakespeare, obviously, because this is Mortal Kombat, but even accepting that the film exists to deliver punches, famous lines and fatalities, it left me feeling that it takes itself too seriously when it needed more cheek, more humor and more sense of spectacle.
The opening with Hanzo Hasashi and Bi-Han is probably the best part. There you do get some emotion, a clear image of revenge and a visual weight that promises a stronger film than the one that follows. Whenever Scorpion and Sub-Zero appear, everything improves, because they are the characters with real mythic presence. Their rivalry works much better than almost everything else.
The problem is that the film chooses Cole Young as a new protagonist, and that weakens it. I understand the idea of creating an entry point for the audience, but in a saga full of recognizable fighters, choosing such a bland guy to organize the story is a mistake. He is not unbearable, but he brings no charisma. He is there, gets hit, discovers things and little more.
The plot is a jumble of training, marks, chosen ones, realms, threats and preparation for a tournament that does not even really happen as such. And that is quite frustrating. The film spends a lot of time announcing Mortal Kombat, explaining Mortal Kombat, preparing Mortal Kombat, but what we actually want to see is the tournament, the fights and the game turned into cinema without so much solemnity.
The fights are what most justify watching it. Some are fine, there are bloody moments with a certain fun, and the fatalities, when they arrive, at least remind you that the film knows where it comes from. It is not elegant or memorable action, but it does have blows, broken limbs, ice, fire and enough explicit violence for fans to recognize something of the video game's spirit.
Kano is by far the character with the most life. He is vulgar, loud, stupid and annoying, but that is exactly why he wakes the film up whenever he appears. While others speak as if they were inside a cardboard prophecy, he seems to understand that this should also be trashy fun. The pity is that the film does not catch more of that energy.
Liu Kang, Kung Lao, Sonya Blade, Jax, Raiden and the rest appear more like franchise pieces than actual characters. You recognize them, they have their powers, their poses and their moments, but many remain flat. The film seems more concerned with placing names and abilities than with making you care.
The tone also weighs heavily on me. Mortal Kombat should be able to be brutal and fun at the same time, but this version lands in a strange place: too serious to be joyful nonsense and too silly to work as solemn dark fantasy. That is where I understand the criticism saying it lacks wit, charisma and a script that does not feel like an excuse between fight scenes.
Visually, it has some effective things, especially with Sub-Zero, the ice and certain combat shots. But overall it did not seem especially imaginative to me. There is production value, there is blood and there are creatures, but not a strong personality. Sometimes it feels like an expensive B-movie that does not dare to fully embrace being a B-movie.
The comparison with the 1995 film is inevitable. That one was cheesy, yes, but it had a song, an arcade rhythm and a likeable silliness that made it more enjoyable. This one wants to be more adult, bloodier and more serious, but it does not always understand that the pleasure of Mortal Kombat lies precisely in the cheesy, the exaggerated and the openly absurd.
I did not hate it because there are fights, a few entertaining moments and Scorpion versus Sub-Zero works. But it left me rather cold. As an adaptation it has more blood and more surface fidelity than other versions, but as a film it limps: too much origin story, too much preparation, little spark and a very weak protagonist.
In the end, for me it remains a passable but poor product, a fighting nonsense that can be watched with nostalgia or a desire for fatalities, but that never fully exploits what it has in its hands. It entertains at times, bores at times and is quickly forgotten. It needed less solemnity, more tournament, more imagination and much more fun nastiness.
The opening with Hanzo Hasashi and Bi-Han is probably the best part. There you do get some emotion, a clear image of revenge and a visual weight that promises a stronger film than the one that follows. Whenever Scorpion and Sub-Zero appear, everything improves, because they are the characters with real mythic presence. Their rivalry works much better than almost everything else.
The problem is that the film chooses Cole Young as a new protagonist, and that weakens it. I understand the idea of creating an entry point for the audience, but in a saga full of recognizable fighters, choosing such a bland guy to organize the story is a mistake. He is not unbearable, but he brings no charisma. He is there, gets hit, discovers things and little more.
The plot is a jumble of training, marks, chosen ones, realms, threats and preparation for a tournament that does not even really happen as such. And that is quite frustrating. The film spends a lot of time announcing Mortal Kombat, explaining Mortal Kombat, preparing Mortal Kombat, but what we actually want to see is the tournament, the fights and the game turned into cinema without so much solemnity.
The fights are what most justify watching it. Some are fine, there are bloody moments with a certain fun, and the fatalities, when they arrive, at least remind you that the film knows where it comes from. It is not elegant or memorable action, but it does have blows, broken limbs, ice, fire and enough explicit violence for fans to recognize something of the video game's spirit.
Kano is by far the character with the most life. He is vulgar, loud, stupid and annoying, but that is exactly why he wakes the film up whenever he appears. While others speak as if they were inside a cardboard prophecy, he seems to understand that this should also be trashy fun. The pity is that the film does not catch more of that energy.
Liu Kang, Kung Lao, Sonya Blade, Jax, Raiden and the rest appear more like franchise pieces than actual characters. You recognize them, they have their powers, their poses and their moments, but many remain flat. The film seems more concerned with placing names and abilities than with making you care.
The tone also weighs heavily on me. Mortal Kombat should be able to be brutal and fun at the same time, but this version lands in a strange place: too serious to be joyful nonsense and too silly to work as solemn dark fantasy. That is where I understand the criticism saying it lacks wit, charisma and a script that does not feel like an excuse between fight scenes.
Visually, it has some effective things, especially with Sub-Zero, the ice and certain combat shots. But overall it did not seem especially imaginative to me. There is production value, there is blood and there are creatures, but not a strong personality. Sometimes it feels like an expensive B-movie that does not dare to fully embrace being a B-movie.
The comparison with the 1995 film is inevitable. That one was cheesy, yes, but it had a song, an arcade rhythm and a likeable silliness that made it more enjoyable. This one wants to be more adult, bloodier and more serious, but it does not always understand that the pleasure of Mortal Kombat lies precisely in the cheesy, the exaggerated and the openly absurd.
I did not hate it because there are fights, a few entertaining moments and Scorpion versus Sub-Zero works. But it left me rather cold. As an adaptation it has more blood and more surface fidelity than other versions, but as a film it limps: too much origin story, too much preparation, little spark and a very weak protagonist.
In the end, for me it remains a passable but poor product, a fighting nonsense that can be watched with nostalgia or a desire for fatalities, but that never fully exploits what it has in its hands. It entertains at times, bores at times and is quickly forgotten. It needed less solemnity, more tournament, more imagination and much more fun nastiness.
Mini Review: It felt like a fighting nonsense to me. I was not expecting Shakespeare, obviously, because this is Mortal Kombat, but even accepting that the film exists to deliver punches, famous lines and fatalities, it left me feeling that it takes itself too seriously when it needed more cheek, more humor and more sense of spectacle. The opening with Hanzo Hasashi and Bi-Han is probably the best part. There you do get some emotion, a clear image of revenge...
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