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Mortal Kombat (2021)

Posted: Fri Apr 23, 2021 8:56 pm
by Flack
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.

Re: Mortal Kombat (2021)

Posted: Sat Apr 24, 2021 5:24 am
by Tdarcos
Flack wrote: 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,
So I guess you could say it wasn't a flawless victory.

Re: Mortal Kombat (2021)

Posted: Sat Apr 24, 2021 11:54 am
by Ice Cream Jonsey
Tdarcos wrote: Sat Apr 24, 2021 5:24 am
Flack wrote: 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,
So I guess you could say it wasn't a flawless victory.
I don't get it

Re: Mortal Kombat (2021)

Posted: Sat Apr 24, 2021 1:03 pm
by RealNC
Ice Cream Jonsey wrote: Sat Apr 24, 2021 11:54 am I don't get it
Image

Re: Mortal Kombat (2021)

Posted: Mon Apr 26, 2021 5:12 am
by Tdarcos
Ice Cream Jonsey wrote: Sat Apr 24, 2021 11:54 am
Tdarcos wrote: Sat Apr 24, 2021 5:24 am
Flack wrote: 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,
So I guess you could say it wasn't a flawless victory.
I don't get it
"Flawless victory" is one of the phrases used during the game for really high success, probably like when you rip the other guy's (or girl's) heart out of their chest, Terminator-style. Or pull their spine out the way Ahnohld promised to do to Richard Dawson in The Running Man.

Re: Mortal Kombat (2021)

Posted: Mon Apr 26, 2021 5:47 am
by Flack
I try not to read other people's reviews of movies prior to writing my own, but after posting this I read a review from someone that perfectly summed up this movie. "It wasn't good, but it wasn't bad."

Having chewed on the film for a couple of days, the thing that bothers me the most of that the restructured narrative is hung on the shoulders of Cole Young, a new character in the Mortal Kombat universe. This is like releasing a rebooted Super Mario movie starring a new plumber named Antonio who eventually teams up with Mario and Luigi. It's like the writers spent ten seconds coming up with a new character and his back story (MMA fighter).

The other bummer about this film is that they introduce arguably the most interesting character in the first 5-10 minutes, kill him, and bring him back for the final battle. That guy's story would have made a much more interesting film.

Re: Mortal Kombat (2021)

Posted: Tue Apr 27, 2021 7:09 pm
by Ice Cream Jonsey
Tdarcos wrote: Mon Apr 26, 2021 5:12 am
Ice Cream Jonsey wrote: Sat Apr 24, 2021 11:54 am
Tdarcos wrote: Sat Apr 24, 2021 5:24 am
So I guess you could say it wasn't a flawless victory.
I don't get it
"Flawless victory" is one of the phrases used during the game for really high success, probably like when you rip the other guy's (or girl's) heart out of their chest, Terminator-style. Or pull their spine out the way Ahnohld promised to do to Richard Dawson in The Running Man.
are you confusing this with street fighter? or golden axe?

Re: Mortal Kombat (2021)

Posted: Tue Apr 27, 2021 7:12 pm
by Ice Cream Jonsey
Flack wrote: Mon Apr 26, 2021 5:47 am I try not to read other people's reviews of movies prior to writing my own, but after posting this I read a review from someone that perfectly summed up this movie. "It wasn't good, but it wasn't bad."

Having chewed on the film for a couple of days, the thing that bothers me the most of that the restructured narrative is hung on the shoulders of Cole Young, a new character in the Mortal Kombat universe. This is like releasing a rebooted Super Mario movie starring a new plumber named Antonio who eventually teams up with Mario and Luigi. It's like the writers spent ten seconds coming up with a new character and his back story (MMA fighter).

The other bummer about this film is that they introduce arguably the most interesting character in the first 5-10 minutes, kill him, and bring him back for the final battle. That guy's story would have made a much more interesting film.
I think "Cole" has to be Johnny Cage, just they are trying to make Johnny Cage a stage name? Maybe not. You're right, it's weird. At least the 1986 Transformers movie had the decency to show the real --

Oh wait, literally as I was typing that they showed a Johnny Cage poster to end the movie. Weird. WEIRD. So he does exist, he just wasn't around for this movie.

This movie is fine, but I saw the original Mortal Kombat in the theater with former dial-up JC BBS poster IM HUGE, and while we both enjoyed it at the time, the clips I watched of the 1990s version are bizarre. It does not seem to hold up well, so I hesitate to give this 2021 version anything more than two stars.

Re: Mortal Kombat (2021)

Posted: Tue Apr 27, 2021 8:58 pm
by Jizaboz
Tdarcos wrote: Mon Apr 26, 2021 5:12 am Or pull their spine out the way Ahnohld promised to do to Richard Dawson in The Running Man.
That would actually be a "FATALITY" (letters ooze blood)

Re: Mortal Kombat (2021)

Posted: Thu Apr 29, 2021 5:46 am
by Flack
Ice Cream Jonsey wrote: Tue Apr 27, 2021 7:12 pm I think "Cole" has to be Johnny Cage, just they are trying to make Johnny Cage a stage name? Maybe not. You're right, it's weird. At least the 1986 Transformers movie had the decency to show the real --

Oh wait, literally as I was typing that they showed a Johnny Cage poster to end the movie. Weird. WEIRD. So he does exist, he just wasn't around for this movie.

This movie is fine, but I saw the original Mortal Kombat in the theater with former dial-up JC BBS poster IM HUGE, and while we both enjoyed it at the time, the clips I watched of the 1990s version are bizarre. It does not seem to hold up well, so I hesitate to give this 2021 version anything more than two stars.
There's something that hasn't sat right with me after watching the film, and I finally figured out what it is. In the original film (and the game), each of the combatants were invited to compete in Mortal Kombat because they were the best of the best. In the new film, each person is chosen because they have a magical birthmark in the shape of the MK logo. It changes the whole scope of the universe, from "these are the best of the best" to "these are the chosen ones."

I also didn't care for the fact that everyone's special moves was some sort of magical skill. If you get mad enough and have the mark, your eye will suddenly start shooting lasers? It's just weird.

Re: Mortal Kombat (2021)

Posted: Thu Apr 29, 2021 5:48 am
by Flack
Ice Cream Jonsey wrote: Tue Apr 27, 2021 7:12 pm Oh wait, literally as I was typing that they showed a Johnny Cage poster to end the movie. Weird. WEIRD. So he does exist, he just wasn't around for this movie.
A bunch of the actors have been signed to a three movie deal. And since "Mortal Kombat" (the tournament) didn't even take place in the first film, it makes sense that they're still recruiting people... although why they didn't recruit everyone with the mark in the first place doesn't make a lot of sense. Or the fact that they killed off a bunch of characters from MK2 and MK3 before the tournament from MK1 has taken place.

Weird.