by Flack » Fri Apr 23, 2021 8:56 pm
In the original Mortal Kombat videogame, fighters from earth were forced to participate in a tournament to save the planet from being taken over by bad guys from Outerrealm. It must not have worked, because that game was followed by at least fifteen more, which in turn inspired two films in the 90s, a cartoon series, two live action series, comics, and god know what else. There's even a crossover game where the fighters from Mortal Kombat take on characters from the DC Universe. In every one of these games, books, and movies, characters die, respawn, travel through time, and pop up in different universes. If you're looking for any sort of continuity, you won't find it in this franchise.
The original film, released in 1995, sent Liu Kang, Sonya Blade, and Johnny Cage on a quest to participate in Mortal Kombat. This time around, Sonya Blade, Jax, Kano, and new character Cole Young are the ones sent off to participate in this most important of tournaments. It doesn't matter much; we all know that eventually the good guys will fight the bad guys. Unlike the original, which presented these battles as a literal tournament, in the reboot it's more about people wandering around Outerrealm and exchanging fisticuffs when they encounter one another.
Lest anyone mistake this reboot for a children's film, the opening battle -- with camera swoops that dip, sway, and zoom with the speed of the fighters' fists -- pits two warriors against one another, but not before innocent bystanders and at least 20 foot soldiers are sacrificed to get the ball rolling. Later in the film, multiple fights take place with the action jumping back and forth between the two (or three, or four) making sure that anyone over the age of 30 will walk away with a Mortal Headache.
But damnit if the whole thing isn't enjoyable. I mean, it's a movie based on a videogame franchise; at one point, a dude with robot arms fights a screeching half-demon woman. Kano provides a bit of comic relief, but this is no action-comedy like the first one. Things are serious this time, and the stakes are high because nobody who dies could ever come back in another Mortal Kombat movie or videogame. Yeah, right.
In the original Mortal Kombat videogame, fighters from earth were forced to participate in a tournament to save the planet from being taken over by bad guys from Outerrealm. It must not have worked, because that game was followed by at least fifteen more, which in turn inspired two films in the 90s, a cartoon series, two live action series, comics, and god know what else. There's even a crossover game where the fighters from Mortal Kombat take on characters from the DC Universe. In every one of these games, books, and movies, characters die, respawn, travel through time, and pop up in different universes. If you're looking for any sort of continuity, you won't find it in this franchise.
The original film, released in 1995, sent Liu Kang, Sonya Blade, and Johnny Cage on a quest to participate in Mortal Kombat. This time around, Sonya Blade, Jax, Kano, and new character Cole Young are the ones sent off to participate in this most important of tournaments. It doesn't matter much; we all know that eventually the good guys will fight the bad guys. Unlike the original, which presented these battles as a literal tournament, in the reboot it's more about people wandering around Outerrealm and exchanging fisticuffs when they encounter one another.
Lest anyone mistake this reboot for a children's film, the opening battle -- with camera swoops that dip, sway, and zoom with the speed of the fighters' fists -- pits two warriors against one another, but not before innocent bystanders and at least 20 foot soldiers are sacrificed to get the ball rolling. Later in the film, multiple fights take place with the action jumping back and forth between the two (or three, or four) making sure that anyone over the age of 30 will walk away with a Mortal Headache.
But damnit if the whole thing isn't enjoyable. I mean, it's a movie based on a videogame franchise; at one point, a dude with robot arms fights a screeching half-demon woman. Kano provides a bit of comic relief, but this is no action-comedy like the first one. Things are serious this time, and the stakes are high because nobody who dies could ever come back in another Mortal Kombat movie or videogame. Yeah, right.