MORTAL KOMBAT!!!

Score: 2.5/5

Did you see the trailer up there? Yeah, that trailer is a better experience than the actual 2021 film adaptation of the gruesome fighting video game series, by a whole lot. That’s not to say there isn’t fun to be had, but it’s really important that if you have an expectation of an epic film, dial that back by 90% and then recalibrate because this Mortal Kombat is a lot like the ones made in the ’90s. It’s a cheese fest with extra cheese, but prettier fights, and bloodier fatalities.

What makes this a more difficult pill to swallow, though, is the opening to this movie, which is good. It’s excellent stuff. It perfectly introduces two of the most recognizable fighters in the video games. Yet as soon as the title card plays, the idea of making an interesting film in the world of Mortal Kombat crumples to the ground like a body that just lost its head. Instead what is left is a bland building a team-together movie with very loose threads to the establishing scene of the film. The skeleton of a better movie is here, but that is all. The cheese is in heavy form, from so many lines of dialogue to just very confusing moments for characters in the film world. There were several moments of “Oh come on” running through my mind before I had to laugh and just take it as it was.

While the movie fell flat on being interesting, does it work as just a ridiculously entertaining movie? Sometimes. Some fights and fatalities were fun, but the ratio was not in their favor. The best moments of the film are the ones with Sub-Zero and Scorpion, which unfortunately this movie does not directly have either of those characters as the main character. So instead, you are left with well-supped-up versions of the 90s movies. If those older movies never existed I could have given this one a pass, but they do so it makes it much more confusing why they didn’t try to write a different take on this story.

Sadly, This video game adaptation falls into the same pitfalls as many others. They want to try and check boxes for fans. They may have done so but it makes for a weaker movie and begs the question why make it at all if it’s only going to be a lesser version of the games. It stings even more when a good idea is buried in the nearly two-hour movie. The movie’s first ten minutes or so could have made for something much more compelling. Instead, the ambition was left at the door for something that falls short of being truly worth your time. If you are a fan of the games, you may get a kick or two out of this, but for anyone else go into this expecting something terrible and cheesy. It may help you like it more.