Some fans of the “Mortal Kombat” video game said they were looking for something more faithful to the source material of a movie.
Congratulations. They received exactly that in the latest “Mortal Kombat” movie. They have blood and extreme violence (think bitten heads).
Unfortunately, it comes with less than compelling actors, poor writing, many plot holes and incongruities, and characters with the appeal of wood.
However, fans of the video game are the least likely to care because while the original film was constrained by its PG-13 rating in 1995, in this digital age where violence proves to be a mainstay of most video games and tweens regularly play titles such as ‘Grand Theft Auto’, the creative team behind this film at least understands them. The more violence – dramatically and bloodily displayed – the better.
No plot necessary in ‘Mortal Kombat’
Plot? Useless. We already got it in the video game. Just give them life and we’re ready to rock ‘n’ roll in the name of pure fan service.
“Mortal Kombat” provides the context of an age-old tournament where the prize is Earthrealm or our existence as we know it.
Cole Young (Lewis Tan), a mixed martial arts fighter at the end of his career, learns what the mysterious dragon birthmark on his chest means from Jax (Mehcad Brooks), a former major. of the Army.
Jax, just before stopping an attack on Young, sends him in the direction of Sonya Blade (Jessica McNamee), a tournament contender, and Kano (Josh Lawson). The unlikely trio arrive at the temple of Lord Raiden (Tadanobu Asano) where he reveals their destiny is to defend Earthrealm from Shang Tsung (Chin Han) and his crew of malevolent fighters. Lots of blood, dismemberment and the like ensue.
Violence serves, corrupts ‘Kombat’
If that’s your thing, enjoy it. At this point, it’s hard to find much enjoyment in a movie where the violence comes across as overdone, even understanding that’s the world we live in right now when it comes to media and media consumption.
What’s harder to accept is how much this overfidelity corrupts the whole film. The fights, which at the level of martial arts represent the best elements, constitute the story.
And whatever plot elements exist, it’s just a cliché (a family in peril, for example). Will this public that invested over $65 billion in the video game industry last year care? Not likely. They will be able to see their small-screen heroes doing their work on screen.
With it arriving in currently open theaters and HBO Max simultaneously this week, the rest of us have the option to skip it entirely.
George M. Thomas does film and television for The Beacon Journal. Contact him at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @ByGeorgeThomas
Details
Cast: Lewis Tan, Jessica McNamee, Josh Lawson, Joe Taslim
Rated: R for strong bloody violence and language throughout, and some crude references
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