1/5
This adaptation of the gory video-game franchise is, by turns, ludicrous and soporific – an insult to the kung-fu classics it’s knocking off
6 May 2021 • 1:00pm
Mortal sinners: the various warriors of Mortal Kombat are locked in an eternally dull battle
Credit: Mark Rogers
Dir: Simon McQuoid. Starring: Lewis Tan, Jessica McNamee, Josh Lawson, Joe Taslim, Hiroyuki Sanada, Ludi Lin, Max Huang, Mehcad Brooks, Tadanobu Asano, Chin Lan. 15 cert, 110 mins
“In Mortal Kombat,” warns Kung Lao (Max Huang), a warrior monk with an Oddjob-ish razor-rimmed hat, “talent will only get you so far.” That’s certainly one way of putting it. The largely unknown cast of this video-game adaptation seem like a nice bunch, but if the next Tom Hardy or Charlize Theron happens to be among them, you would struggle to pick them out on the basis of anything here.
Unless you’ve been banished to the Netherrealm, you’re probably aware that the highly anticipated
Mortal Kombat movie dropped this weekend. Fans have been waiting over 25 years for this live-action adaptation and the numbers speak for themselves. The trailer broke YouTube viewership records when it dropped in February, clocking over 116 millions views in its first week, and despite the pandemic,
Mortal Kombat also led this opening weekend s box office, as well as set HBOMax records. The question remains, though: Was it enough to break the curse of bad video game adaptations? Director Simon McQuoid’s first feature is light on a cohesive script but heavy on action, and at times is a goofball gorefest with more deep cuts than Mileena has teeth.
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The California Times is committed to reviewing theatrical film releases during the COVID-19 pandemic. Because moviegoing carries risks during this time, we remind readers to follow health and safety guidelines as outlined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and local health officials.
In the 1997 franchise-killing flop “Mortal Kombat: Annihilation,” the thunder god Lord Raiden delivers an ominous warning: “What closes can also open again.” He’s talking about the portals that separate Earthrealm (good!) from Outworld (bad!), though in retrospect it’s tempting to interpret his words as a vaguely optimistic prophecy about the state of moviegoing circa 2021. For better or worse, many of the theaters that closed last year are opening again, and starting this Friday they will be playing (what else?) a brand-new “Mortal Kombat” movie a blood-slicked reminder that, in arcade fighter games and Hollywood blockbusters alike, no fatality is ever truly perm
Print
The Times is committed to reviewing theatrical film releases during the COVID-19 pandemic. Because moviegoing carries risks during this time, we remind readers to follow health and safety guidelines as outlined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and local health officials.
In the 1997 franchise-killing flop “Mortal Kombat: Annihilation,” the thunder god Lord Raiden delivers an ominous warning: “What closes can also open again.” He’s talking about the portals that separate Earthrealm (good!) from Outworld (bad!), though in retrospect it’s tempting to interpret his words as a vaguely optimistic prophecy about the state of moviegoing circa 2021. For better or worse, many of the theaters that closed last year are opening again, and starting this Friday they will be playing (what else?) a brand-new “Mortal Kombat” movie a blood-slicked reminder that, in arcade fighter games and Hollywood blockbusters alike, no fatality is ever truly permanent.