Combat oriented reboot populated by flat characters

Mortal Kombat

Reviewed by Tharishi Hewavithanagamage

Directed by Simon McQuoid in his feature directorial debut, ‘Mortal Kombat’ serves as the latest reboot to the previously failed film series. The series is based on the video game franchise of the same name, created by Ed Boon and John Tobias. The live action franchise began in 1995 and the sequel ‘Mortal Kombat: Annihilation’ was released in 1997. The third installment was stuck in development hell for over two decades before plans for a reboot came along. The reboot features a brand new set of characters and cast with the likes of Lewis Tan, Jessica McNamee, Josh Lawson, Tadanobu Asano, Mehcad Brooks, Ludi Lin, Chin Han, Joe Taslim, and Hiroyuki Sanada.

The film follows series rookie MMA fighter Cole Young (Lewis Tan) who unaware of his ancestry, is being hunted by Sub-Zero (Joe Taslim). Cole is informed that he is one of the chosen fighters that will represent Earth, in a tournament known as Mortal Kombat. The attacks force him to team up with other chosen fighters, Jax (Mehcad Brooks), Sonya Blade (Jessica McNamee) and Kano (Josh Lawson). They find refuge with the help of Lord Raiden (Tadanobu Asano) and train under Liu Kang (Ludi Lin) and Kung Lao (Max Huang) before they stand against and battle enemies of the Outworld led by the sorcerer Shang Tsung (Chin Han).

In comparison to the previous films in the franchise, the narrative of the reboot is focused more on translating the violent and enthralling nature of the video game into the film. The latest installment takes a different tone as it sets out to tell a brand new story with new and old characters, with added thrilling moments from the much-loved game. The film depicts some of the game’s notoriously famous characters: Sonya Blade, Kano, Raiden, Jax, Liu Kang, Shang Tsung, Sub-Zero, Scorpion, Kung Lao, Mileena, Kabal and Nitara. Almost all the characters that appear in the film are very similar to their video game counterparts. The creators were clearly not aiming for a wide audience as the film amplifies the essence of the video game – bloodshed and vulgarity – which resonates with audiences who enjoyed the beloved the R-rated game. It’s Mortal Kombat and everyone is here for the ‘kombat’. The main attractions are the well-developed fight scenes, particularly the very graphic fatalities which earned it an R-rating, and the all too familiar one-liners. In addition, the fun and exciting team-ups coupled with great CGI and camera work keeps audiences hyped up and wanting more. It’s definitely an upgrade in terms of the CGI and fight choreography in comparison to the previous movies.

Looking deeper however, one can’t expect a deeply insightful narrative or well-rounded character development from the film. The first section of the movie is dedicated to establishing the universe and allowing the new heroes to discover their individual destinies. The film prologue gives audiences a look at the origins of the blood feud between the iconic characters, Sub-Zero and Scorpion (who are not even featured much in the latter half), before switching to the events of the modern-day. One would think that the mystic nature of the prologue would set the gears turning the right way for the rest of the movie, but unfortunately it doesn’t. The film doesn’t take its time to explain intricate details of the situations and the characters. This proves disadvantageous for audiences looking to understand and familiarize themselves with Mortal Kombat for the first time.

Furthermore, the plot is underwhelmed by the lack of characterization and the abundance of monotonous dialogue, which makes it frustrating to watch. Unlike the previous movies where characters seemed more human, the new set of characters are more generic and unrealistic. The lack of room for any character development makes it dreadfully serious. Even the bad guys look like a group of one-dimensional characters put together out of haste. The closest anyone gets to truly knowing a character inside and out is when their bodies are ripped apart. Josh Lawson who plays the foul-mouthed and obnoxious character Kano, is briefly the highlight of the film, but his wisecracks are hampered by racist remarks towards the Asian characters. Everyone else in the cast does their best despite being underwritten.

In a bid to create a more realistic film, the creators went too far with bringing in the dramatic atmosphere. The film is a winner in terms of the ‘Kombat’ aspect but has the potential to tap into the lore and fully utilize its characters in the future. The reboot isn’t quite the game-changer audiences and die-hard fans have been waiting for, but it’s a step in the right direction to kick off a brand new era for the beloved franchise.