REVIEW: MORTAL KOMBAT (2021) First released in 1992

By Midway Games, Mortal Kombat immediately gained popularity among connoisseurs of fighting-themed video games – especially thanks to its graphic display that did not hesitate to spit out so many elements of blood and violence that it had sparked controversy from a number of parties. Its popularity was able to bring Mortal Kombat into one of the fighting-themed video games with the best sales figures in history which was then tried to be adapted and developed into various other media forms, ranging from films, television series, comics, novels, card games, to online gambling competitions. online. The first feature film adaptation of Mortal Kombatitself was released in 1995. Despite getting a less warm reception from world film critics, Mortal Kombat was able to achieve great commercial success as well as launch the career of director Paul WS Anderson in Hollywood. Unfortunately, John R. Leonetti's sequel Mortal Kombat: Annihilation (1997) failed to achieve similar success and closed the door to the opportunity for a feature film adaptation of the next Mortal Kombat .

Although New Line Cinema and Warner Bros. Pictures has announced that a second Mortal Kombat sequel was in development in 2010, efforts to produce a new Mortal Kombat film only really got underway in 2015 when James Wan joined as producer. At the same time, Simon McQuoid was appointed to direct the film which will not be a sequel to the previous two Mortal Kombat films but will be made as a reboot for the entire Mortal Kombat film series.. Therefore, do not be surprised by a number of changes presented by McQuoid and scriptwriters Greg Russo and Dave Callaham ( Wonder Woman 1984 , 2020). The old favorite characters of Mortal Kombat video game fans are still being presented. Even so, a new character will hold the focus of the film's storytelling. The latest Mortal Kombat also leaves a story element about a competition between fighters from two different worlds. So what will this film offer?

The storyline of Mortal Kombat focuses on the character of Cole Young ( Lewis Tan ), a mixed martial arts fighter who, one night, is suddenly attacked by a stranger who later becomes known as Sub-Zero ( Joe Taslim ). Luckily, Cole Young is rescued by Major Jackson "Jax" Briggs ( Mehcad Brooks ) who then tells him to seek refuge with his partner, Sonya Blade ( Jessica McNamee ). By Sonya Blade, who is interrogating a mercenary known as Kano ( Josh Lawson), Cole Young is informed of the existence of a number of dimensions whose rulers send their fighters to fight and win a competition known as Mortal Kombat so that they can take control of the dimension that was defeated. Cole Young turns out to have historical ties to an event from the past as well as making him a key figure in Mortal Kombat battles in the future.

This latest version of Mortal Kombat , unfortunately, is likely to cause some confusion for viewers who are not fans or are not familiar with anything related to the Mortal Kombat video game . Netherrealm? Earth Realm? Outworld? As a film that is intended to be the starting point for a story journey, the script by Russo and Callaham actually seems to rely too much on the memory and memories of the audience for knowledge about various mythologies that have been described in the video game Mortal Kombat.. Indeed, through the lines of dialogue spoken by a number of characters in the storyline of this film, the mythology of the existence of Mortal Kombat gets some clarity. However, the limited and often stuttering delivery makes not many stories really able to be explored properly in the 110 minutes of storytelling in this film.

Mortal Kombat also faces its biggest problem with Cole Young's character. Compared to the line-up of characters that appear on the film's storyline, Cole Young's character, which was specially created and only introduced through the latest Mortal Kombat film , almost appears without a really interesting character dig. The characterization is flat with the depth of the story which is also far from binding. Even when the character of Cole Young is said to have possessed and mastered a special power, his character still failed to appear as a crucial figure for the story of Mortal Kombat.. This problem is compounded by the rigid appearance of Tan in his attempt to bring Cole Young to life. Tan is present without charisma or strong emotional exposure – both from body gestures and dialogue pronunciation – which makes his presence easily rivaled by other characters and actors in the storytelling of this film.

Mortal Kombat is lucky to have Taslim, Lawson – who actually plays a character that is very difficult to like but is successfully brought to life by Lawson, and Hiroyuki Sanada who successfully comes with excellent quality performances. These appearances can at least cover the shortcomings that arise due to the weak appearance of the main character's acting and due to the shallowness of the story and the direction given by McQuoid. Mortal Kombatit is designed to be a presentation that excels the action scenes. McQuoid is able to present this. The action moments – which often come with the impression of brutal violence like the video games always present – ​​are well polished and satisfying. However, when those moments are lost, Mortal Kombat often feels like it's losing its storytelling life. Not a really bad presentation but, overall, Mortal Kombat seems lacking in energy to be the start of a promising story journey.