Mortal Kombat

It's funny to think that in the current mainstream cinema world, comic book movies have become some of the more consistently entertaining when it comes to blockbusters, yet Hollywood still has not seemed to have figured out the code for a successful video game adaptation.  This new take on Mortal Kombat (a franchise that has been dormant in terms of movies since 1997's abysmal Mortal Kombat: Annihilation) will satisfy the fans who are looking for buckets of fake blood, and want to see some of the famous "Fatalities" from the video games brought to life.  Everyone else will see it for what it is - A giant tease for a possible franchise that doesn't do enough to draw in those not already in the fanbase.

It's also funny to think that even though the Mortal Kombat video games have been around for nearly 30 years now, and have routinely been famous for their explicit and over the top gore, this is the first time that an adaptation has been given a Hard-R rating.  The previous two film adaptations from the 90s were cheesy PG-13 special effects spectacles, and there have even been kid-friendly cartoons made off of it.  First-time director Steven McQuoid has decided to change all that, and give us a movie that emphasizes the incredibly brutal martial arts fights, as well as the bloody carnage that made the games famous.  Limbs are torn off, people are gutted mercilessly, and there's more fake blood flying around than an all night slasher movie marathon.  All well and good for the fans, but those not in the know will find the plot thin, the characters even thinner, and the script stupid and juvenile. (The dialogue uses "F-Bombs" the same way a 13-year-old might in order to sound cool.)

After an extended prologue set in 17th Century Japan, where the last surviving member of a martial arts clan (Hiroyuki Sanada) is murdered along with most of his family by a mysterious assassin with the ability to manipulate ice to turn it into a deadly weapon (Joe Taslim), we are dropped into the main plot of the movie, which is disappointing, as this opening sequence and battle are the most memorable in the film.  Flash forward to the present, and we are introduced to our hero, a cage fighter named Cole Young (blandly played by Lewis Tan), whose fighting career has seen better days, and was born with a birthmark in the shape of a dragon's head upon his skin.  If you don't think that mysterious birthmark is going to be the key to Cole's destiny, and lead to him being the "Chosen One", then you don't know your hack screenwriting!  

Cole is tracked down by a pair of military vets, Sonya Blade (Jessica McNamee) and Jax (Mehcad Brooks), who are on the hunt for any fighter that bears a similar mark as Cole.  They have come to learn that there has been a battle between Earth and an alternate dimension known as the Outworld for centuries known as Mortal Kombat.  Those branded with the mark are fated to fight for Earth against the Outworld forces, which seek to control it.  Outworld has won the past nine Kombat tournaments, and if they win one more, the evil ruler Shang Tsung (Chin Han) will be free to conquer Earth.  Teaming up with Sonya and a wise-cracking mercenary named Kano (Josh Lawson), Cole and the others must find the temple of the Thunder God Raiden (Tadanobu Asano), who can help the fighters learn mystical powers and abilities that will help them fight for Earth.

The movie does throw some more plot into the mix, such as giving Cole a wife and teen daughter that he is fighting to protect, but it really doesn't matter much, and instead devotes the majority of the action to the heroes fighting off the bizarre creatures of the Outworld that Shang Tsung sends to destroy them.  These might have been fun if the special effects were better realized. (A multi-armed monster named Goro is especially sketchy looking.) It also would have helped if the dialogue was a lot better, and not comprised solely of a lot of "find your destiny" cliches, and poorly-used obscenities.  A bit of self-aware wit might have helped add to the fun, also.  Instead, it tries to pretend that this is serious business, and not a moronic B-Movie dressed up with a Hollywood budget.

And like a lot of recent blockbusters, Mortal Kombat exists solely to tease future sequels, not even bothering to give us a proper ending or closure.  When all is said and done, where have we gotten with these characters?  I'm sure those in the know are already familiar with the backstories and eventual fates of these fighters, but for those of us who did not pump dozens of quarters into a Mortal Kombat machine back in the day (I was a Street Fighter kid, myself.) will not find the time spent with these characters fulfilling.  For all the brutal fights they do, and for all the gory special effects, they have surprisingly little impact.  The movie really boils down to a nearly two hour long tease about movies that may or may not get made.

I'm finding myself increasingly frustrated by films that do this.  When Marvel hinted at a wider Cinematic Universe to come with 2008's Iron Man, they waited until after the end credits.  The movie itself was self-contained enough that we could be satisfied.  Nowadays, it seems every blockbuster needs to just be a lot of set up, and Mortal Kombat is content to continue that trend.

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