Mortal Kombat

Movie Name: Mortal Kombat
Year of Release: 2021
Director: Simon McQuoid
Starring: Lewis Tan, Jessica McNamee, Josh Lawson, Joe Taslim, Mehcad Brooks, Matilda Kimber, Laura Brent, Tadanobu Asano, Hiroyuki Sanada, Chin Han, Ludi Lin, Max Huang, Sisi Stringer, Mel Jarnson, Nathan Jones
Genre: Action, Adventure
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 3
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Synopsis and Review:

"Mortal Kombat" is the newest film adaptation of the video game which was originally created in 1992 by Ed Boon and John Tobias. The game has spun a franchise of titles, and has also been adapted to the big screen previously. Its first incarnation occurred in 1995 through the hands of Paul W. S. Anderson who would later go on to tackle and create the successful "Resident Evil" series, another video game adaptation. This current adaptation follows the story of Cole Young, an MMA fighter, who is accustomed to losing his matches typically for a hefty monetary compensation. Though he's unaware of it, he's actually a descendant of a powerful ninja by the name of Hanzo Hasashi. He soon finds himself trying to escape a powerful entity by the name of Sub-zero, who is intent on killing him, and a series of other fighters who have been chosen be part of a Mortal Kombat. This match is suppose to pitch Earth's greatest champions versus a bath of warriors from the Outworld. Cole soon finds himself in the company of a few other selected individuals, all of whom possess special skills, and all of them have to go through an arduous training cycle to discover what their special powers are. As they're trained by Lord Raiden, their enemies are closing in, threatening not only their lives, but Earth itself.

This newest incarnation of "Mortal Kombat" is directed by first time feature director Simon McQuoid, who has previously directed a short and various commercials. The film is produced, among others, by the wonderful and prolific James Wan, who is not only shepherding the "Conjuring" and "Insidious" franchises, but also tackling his bigger budget projects with the "Aquaman" series. The film in itself, much like many video game adaptations in the past, fails to establish and add much dimension to its leading characters. They're essentially characterized by the situations they find themselves in, never really allowing for relationships to be fully developed between them, aside from some banter and snarky remarks they exchange. The film also lacks some humor, taking itself at times too seriously. The cast for the most part fairly illustrates the action taking place, with the exception of Hiroyuki Sanada, who always brings edge, intensity and dimension to the characters he plays. It would have been interesting to see what this property in the hands of the ingenious Leigh Whannell could have turned out to be (much like he did with "Updated" and "The Invisible Man"). The visual effects are impeccable, as is the cinematography from Germain McMicking and the score from Benjamin Wallfisch. Unmemorable.