Test your might.
Quick Movie Reviews are back at Rock 108 after a flippin’ year of not being able to hit the movie theater for the latest and greatest movies, and boy did I sure miss that experience. Nothing beats sitting in the theater, watching the big screen, and gobbling down popcorn by the handful….I’m back yo!
So…to kick it all off? I finally got to capture the latest big movie to return to theaters, and that is Mortal Kombat, based on the super popular video game franchise. Let me first start out that I LOVE MORTAL KOMBAT….the characters, story, fatalities, etc. When I was a kid and saw this game for the first time, it was instantly impressed on me. Then in 1995 a movie was made and I still say it’s one of the better video game based movies out there. It was full of character, fighting, etc…but of course it was missing what made Mortal Kombat….well….Mortal Kombat….blood, guts, fatalities.
So….with that being said….is an R-rated Mortal Kombat movie full with all the blood we love, characters, and fighting worth a trip to the movie theater?
My Quick Review…
It’s the first one.
Let me explain.
First thing…I had fun…I got to see Kano, Sonya, Sub-Zero, and many of my favorite characters on the big screen again! The fights were epic, the gore was pure Mortal Kombat, and it was full of a lot of eye candy. For those that know the Mortal Kombat cues like fatalities, flawless victories, etc…you’ll get that here, even if it is said outloud in odd places. Kano was great, he had the most character of anyone, even though he tossed out F-bombs like it was his job.
However, the story is very lacking. The movie depends on you kinda knowing what Mortal Kombat is, who is who, and what came before. There is a moment where Sonya explains what this whole thing is about, but it seems just so thrown in there, you blink and you’ll miss it. There was no build up…it was just ‘Hey, this is happening, so go do the thing.’ A little more story and understanding of what the hell is going on I felt would make the story pop.
What is with the pacing??? Holy crap man, the beginning of the film is just so damn quick…here is Outworld, here is Earthrealm, here is 6 different characters…it’s like…whoa whoa whoa….what is happening?
The main character Cole or whatever? Was he really needed? I like to think of Cole as the tour guide of the movie. Cole is us, meeting all these Mortal Kombat people, and I just didn’t care for him. He always seemed clueless and just too accepting of what was going on. I hate to do this, but in the 1995 movie, each character had a reason to get into the MK Tournament, they had a motive…Cole just kinda shows up and Jax says he’s one of the Earthrealm warriors cause he has the mark. A better motivation would be if he had to save the world for his family, but instead he kinda just…does….woo hoo.
The best part of the whole film? The last fight scene…that was just epic as all hell. The song, the poster boys of the franchise, the iconic line, just glorious, and really felt like true Mortal Kombat right then and there. The moment I heard that all come together? I got goosebumps cause it was just so good.
I know I wrote a lot of negative stuff, and is not a terrible movie, but nor is it good…it’s just the first one. You can clearly tell they are setting up for a sequel, and that is how this movie felt THE ENTIRE TIME. Here is this guy, this person, here’s a fight, something is coming. If you look at it like that? Then this movie has potential, but as a stand alone movie? It’s mindless eye candy for fans and you’ll have a decent time.
That being said, I am excited to see what COULD become of this possible franchise.
