Mortal Kombat

Quite a buffoonery this was. And the more serious/harsh/fateful it tries to look, the funnier it gets. When those terribly acted characters in funny outfits don’t say anything, it's watchable – so I see three stars as an improvement in a situation where not many great films are still coming out. That said, forget about any fancy fight choreography, I though they were pretty ordinary. If Gareth Evans had taken over, it would have been a different story. (23/04/2021)

The new Mortal Kombat is my biggest guilty-pleasure of the year so far. I cannot say that I have ever been a fan of this game franchise, yet I have always wanted to feel some satisfaction watching it on the big screen, which I certainly did not get from Paul W.S. Anderson's 90s Hollywood crap and that EdWood-esque awful John R. Leonetti sequel. However, it has finally arrived. In fact, I cannot imagine how it could have been done any better – maybe just a little. It has its faults, of course, and I could list them, but I am not going to do that to a movie that I enjoyed so much with its boyish attitude and creative action scenes. A no-brainer action movie with heart cannot hurt once in a while. Give me a sequel as soon as possible! (18/05/2021)

I was really looking forward to this film, expecting a huge amount of fun that would please both fans and those unfamiliar with the series. I’m somewhere in between; I know the game and its characters, but I didn’t grow up with the original installments or Anderson’s original film. For me, the biggest issue is that the film takes itself far too seriously. The 1995 original knew it was just a cheap B-movie and made fun of itself, which really helped the film. This new entry missed that mark. From the performances, I can only highlight Joe Taslim and Hirojuki Sanada; they portrayed Scorpion and Sub-Zero perfectly (only because of them is my rating not worse). The rest were quite forgettable, and the main hero was utterly irritating. Kano occasionally had a decent line, but most of the time it was clear that his dialogue was forced. The story and script were downright terrible. Sure, it’s inspired by the game, and I shouldn’t expect much in this regard, but the dialogues and overall plot often lacked even the most basic logic (I would almost believe a small child wrote the script). The music was also uninspired; I expected a much better final result from Benjamin Wallfisch. I’d fire the editor because they effectively threw the well-choreographed fight scenes straight into the trash. The fatalities were pretty good; Kung Lao with his hat was a highlight. Otherwise, there were too few practical effects and an overuse of digital blood, which made the CGI quite glaring. I debated between two and three stars, but ultimately settled on two. It’s an incredible disappointment for me. I give it a slightly below-average 4.5/10. (25/04/2021)

So I think the filmmakers really like Anderson's 1995 film, and they didn't make the new Mortal Kombat with the need to make amends to the mother of bloody video games, but to make it the way Paul W.S. Anderson would probably make it today. So expect another B-movie with not-so-interesting characters that takes itself deadly seriously, regardless of what is happening in it, pretty decent (but far from perfect) effects, and a number of scenes that are downright reminiscent of, if not quotes from, the original film. No more, no less. (05/12/2021)

I haven't seen the original Mortal Kombat (yet) and I haven't played the game, so I approached Simon McQuoid's film with a clean slate and I preferred not to have very high expectations, as movies based on PC games are not very good. The film pretty much visibly tries to milk the R-rating dry in terms of its depiction of violence, and it certainly doesn't skimp on (digital) blood and cuts through limbs or entire bodies. For the most part, the film consists of action-packed confrontations between the fighters, interspersed with some exposition here and there and (slightly) pathetic character entrances, so it's impossible to look for any "real" story here. Yet the abundance of action scenes makes it mostly brisk and not significantly boring. Visually, the film doesn't offend and offers some nice locations. The characters are portrayed in a very shallow way, but you can't ask for anything deeper from a film like this. A weaker three stars! (25/04/2021)