Mom's Minute

Introduction to the Mortal Kombat Movie

 

 

I recall watching the first Mortal Kombat movie at the theater years ago and was quite impressed with not only the characters, but the background and soundtrack of the movie. In fact, one of the highlights of the first movie was periodically hearing the Mortal Kombat signature song throughout the film which was popular during that time.

 

 

I expected to also be impressed with the latest version of the Mortal Kombat movie which I watched on HBO Max. Was this latest movie version of the video game Mortal Kombat comparable to the first one?  In other words, did the Mortal Kombat 2021 movie deliver? Check out my movie review here to find out.

 

 

By the way -- Mortal Kombat is rated R and should not be watched by anyone under the age of 17 without parents or adult guardians.

 

 

Plot of the Mortal Kombat Movie

 

 

The plot of the Mortal Kombat movie centers around avenging the destruction of a family, even though there are other subplots as well. Prevalent were monsters and men with super-human powers, battling against certain people who were selected based upon a dragon tattoo they had. The presence of a tattoo was not universal criteria since there was a character who was a part of this group who did not have one -- namely Sonya Blade.

 

 

 

Action Scenes in the Mortal Kombat Movie

 

 

You would think that the Mortal Kombat movie would be packed with lots of action, explosions, fights, etc. However this was not the case, Instead there is quite a bit of supernatural type actions going on. 

 

 

In fact, when you watch the Mortal Kombat movie, just when you think that some characters have been totally defeated, they prove you wrong. You will know what I’m referring to if you watch the Mortal Kombat movie.

 

 

Omissions in the Mortal Kombat Movie

 

 

Maybe to shorten the length of the Mortal Kombat movie, several explanations were not clearly shown as to who some of the characters were or how they evolved to become superhumans. Spoiler Alert: For example, regarding Mehcad Brooks as the Jax character -- in one scene you will notice he has scrawny-like metal arms; however, toward the end of the movie, his artificial machine arms changed dramatically in appearance. 

 

 

 

The same goes for the character who appears to be the lead actor in the Mortal Kombat movie --  Lewis Tan who plays the character of Cole Young. Spoiler Alert: During the movie, suddenly he gained not only superpowers via fire and probably strength, but he also automatically changes into a superhero costume that seemed to come out of nowhere. 

 

 

Additionally, instead of spelling it out to you -- You will have to make assumptions regarding the correlation between the infant (Cole Young -- Lewis Tan’s character) shown at the beginning of the movie and events shown years later when he now has a wife and daughter. Brief scenes in the movie of him growing up and maybe meeting his wife would have been helpful to connect the two characters.

 

Pros of the Mortal Kombat Movie

 

 

--Computer-Generated Images (CGI) and Graphics

The CGI and graphics of the Mortal Kombat movie will probably grab your attention. I think the art department or staff did their job in bringing the characters including the various monsters to life in the movie, Mortal Kombat.

 

 

--Time Length of the Mortal Kombat Movie.  

The events and scenes in the Mortal Kombat movie did not drag on and appeared to be the correct length and ended when they should have.

 

 

--Diversity in the Mortal Kombat Movie

The Mortal Kombat movie showed various characters with different backgrounds which is also similar to the video game itself. To me -- this was a plus.

 

 

--The Ending Mortal Kombat Remix Song

Spoiler Alert:  If you are a fan of the original Mortal Kombat song like I am, then you will be happy to know a remix version finally plays at the end of the movie during the credits. In the original movie -- the Mortal Kombat played constantly -- which I enjoyed. However, there is not an abundance of Mortal Kombat music in this movie -- except at the end.

  

Cons of the Mortal Kombat Movie

 

 

--One Word -- Violence

This Mortal Kombat movie, in my opinion, had too much gruesome violence, even though I know it could have been worse than shown. I guess the writers-director had to stay true to the Mortal Kombat video game, but I was not a fan.

 

 

Destruction of a mother and child was included in this movie which was a huge turn-off for me. 

 

 

--Unnecessary Character in the Mortal Kombat Movie

The character who seemed to be added for comic relief who first appeared to be chained to a chair was not humorous. Not only was he an unnecessary character in the movie, in my opinion, but his lines that were supposed to be funny did not quite hit the mark. Spoiler Alert: Relative to him being in the movie to destroy the monster, one of the other members of the team could have done that -- maybe the Jax character.

 

--Limited Female Character Action Scenes

As I watched the movie, I wondered why Sonya Blade was a part of the movie, since she did not have the mark and was not targeted by the enemy.  Maybe she was supporting the other characters who were marked with the tattoo. Also she is probably in the movie because she is also a character in the video game, Mortal Kombat. That being said, I expected that she would have more action scenes in the Mortal Kombat movie -- which did not happen.

 

 

--Use of Superhuman Powers

Since the villains as well as some of the other characters had superpowers, this movie could have been over before it started.  Sub-zero could have just blanketed the city with freezing weather to end this movie -- if he was all out to destroy his victim.

 

 

Along the above lines -- I’m not clear why the Jax character was not completely destroyed (his arms were grossly damaged-detached which were reconstructed as robot arms) when the innocent mother and child were. If he could have been saved -- so too could the mother and child.

 

 

 

Assessment of the Mortal Kombat Movie

 

 

I think the Mortal Kombat movie would have fared better if there were less magical -- superhuman powers-occurrences, a reduced number of gruesome scenes and more regular karate type fighting matches.  

 

 

Also, explanations should have been given as to why the characters all seemed to gain superpowers towards the middle or end of the movie.

 

 

Last but not least -- the mother and child could have been spared.

 

That being said, the Mortal Kombat movie is after all a movie and in movies, it's permissible for writers to use their imagination extensively, even though I may not agree with them.

 

 

As I alluded to earlier -- the writers were probably trying to stay true to the Mortal Kombat video games and chose to show all of the gruesome, violent scenes in gross details. However, I think more prudence and restraint should have been exercised relative to the violence in the Mortal Kombat movie.

 

 

 

In a nutshell -- though the graphics and CGI were great (except for the gruesome scenes and images)  -- in my opinion, the Mortal Kombat movie did not deliver. 

 

 

 

Rating of the Mortal Kombat Movie

 

 

 

Based on a rating of 1 star to 5 stars with 5 stars being the highest, I rate the Mortal Kombat movie 2 ½ stars.