Mortal Kombat is some nice fighting mixed with the world building of the game and more grounded than the fantasy aspects! It is of course based on the video game from 1992 by Ed Boon and John Tobias. Of course, there is the 1995 Mortal Kombat film which had the best soundtrack by George S. Clinton and EDM songs. Then, there was animated films before this movie with first time director, Simon McQuoid. The story is co-written by Oren Uziel, writer of an episode of Mortal Kombat: Legacy tv series, and Greg Russo, also his first movie. Russo co-wrote the screenplay with Dave Callaham, he co-wrote the horror sequel, Zombieland: Double Tap (2019). The music here is by Benjamin Wallfish, who also worked on the tense score for The Invisible Man (2020). It still needs some EDM, maybe not the same songs, but something EDM in the soundtrack. The film is currently in theaters and streaming on HBO Max. It opens with a woman, Harumi, tending to her garden as her husband, Hanzo Hasashi (Hiroyuki Sanada), walks up. Sanada had a stunning performance as Ujio in The Last Samurai (2003) and he was Musashi in the sci fi series, Westworld. He is there with his son, Jubei (Ren Miyagawa).
The boy hears a baby crying, his sister, in the house and goes to check on her. There are guards that wander the area around the house. Hanzo says some words of endearment to Harumi before taking a bucket to fill it with water. Harumi returns to her gardening using a dagger, kunai, as a tool. She goes in to help with the crying baby. There is a scream and a sword cutting through the paper and wood wall. The killer (Joe Talsim) enters speaking Chinese, then asks Harumi in Japanese about Hanzo. Talsim was in the action movie, The Raid: Redemption (2011), which gives him instant fighting cred and he was also Li Yong in the action show, Warrior The killer sees ice form on his hand and turns the ice into shards. Hanzo has filled up the bucket, but hears his wife scream! Hanzo returns to his home only to find his wife holding his son covered in ice with an icicle piercing her back. He doesn’t have time to mourn as swordsmen approach. Hanzo makes violent work with his sword and throws it end an invader to his house. Then, he takes his wife’s kunai and ties a rope to it to make a deadly weapon! Hanzo calls out to his family’s murderer, Bi-Han, and finds him quietly sitting on a stone.
Bi-Han wants to destroy Hanzo’s clan, the Shirai Ryu, Lin Kuei. He says to Bi-Han to remember his face. The two opponents fight and Bi-Han ends up stabbing Hanzo with the kunai. Hanzo revives hearing the cries of his daughter and tries to pull himself over to the house. He is not able to reach her and dies, his body becomes covered in flames, and turns to ashes. It starts to rain and then there is lightning bolt striking the ground. Fans of Mortal Kombat know that this is Lord Raiden Tadanobu Asano. Hogun in Thor: Ragnarok (2017) this year, action comedy sequel, Detective Chinatown 3. He has the hat, robes, and glowing eyes. Raiden finds the child in the hiding place under the house floor and takes her away summoning a lightning bolt. There is some explaination of the Mortal Kombat tournaments and Outworlds, but this repeated later and not too helpful here. It does say the champions will be united by “Hanzo Hasashi’s blood.” Then, we see the fists of a fighter, Cole Young (Lewis Tan). The actors is Lu Xin Lee in Wu Assassins and he played Kung Jin in a 2015 episode of Mortal Kombat X: Generations. Cole is a new character for Mortal Kombat. He is a fighter, but hasn't mastered his fighting technique, a classic martial arts character.
Cole’s wife, Allison (Laura Brent) helps wrap his hands. Brent played Ruby Price in Winchester (2018) and Dahlia in Legend of the Seeker. He has a fight set up and points out his corner man, his daughter, Emily (Matilda Kimber). This is Kimber’s first movie. Allison doesn’t want to watch the fight. The crowds roar as Cole fights his rival, Ramirez (Ian Streetz), in the MMA ring. Emily tells Cole to use his uppercut. Walking into to watch the fight is Jax (Mehcad Brooks), he was James Olden in Supergirl and starred in the thriller, A Fall from Grace (2020). It is a bloody fight and ends in Cole’s defeat. This is bold to have a Mortal Kombat who doesn’t start out as a champion. This shifts to the desert world of Outworld, not the garish, hell scape of the 1995 movie, a masked warrior walks a rocky outcropping. Then, reaches the stone throne of Shang Tsung (Chin Han). The actor was in the action movie, Skyscraper (2018) and also was in the superhero show, Arrow. The ruler of Outworld is not a perfectly over-the-top villain, more restrained here. Shang sends out the warrior, Bi-Han, to defeat Earth’s champions and he says his name now is Sub Zero! After the fight, Cole sees a red-tinged flash of a vision, and then meets with his daughter.
Emily has made a strength bracelet for him, a very personal moment for this fight movie, it really gives the right touch for me. Jax introduces himself and then brings up Cole’s dragon tatoo. The family meets for dinner with Jax watching over them. Some snow starts to fall. The table starts to freeze and we have the arrival of Sub-Zero! Jax drives up in his truck while Sub-Zero brings the ice slamming down. He informs his contact, Sonya, about saving the family and shows Cole his dragon tatoo. Jax turns the truck into alley, but evil Elsa is facing them. He tells Cole to take his family and drive away in his truck. Jax tells Cole to find Sonya Blade in Gary, Indiana. He takes a rifle to hunt Sub-Zero. There is also the scene where Sub-Zero slows the blast of Jax’s rifle and they fight. Sub-Zero freezes Jax’s arms and shatters them before dropping him to the next level of a warehouse. Cole leaves his family at a motel for their safety. At Outworld, the warrior Mileena (Sisi Stringer) meets with Shang Tsung. Stringer was in the horror remake, Children of the Corn (2020) and a cameo in the movie, Bloody Hell (2020). She reports Sub-Zero has defeated a champion, but wonders about Lord Raiden, Shang tells her to send the reptilian Syzoth.
Cole reaches a junkyard of boats and he is knocked down by Sonya Blade (Jessica McNamee). She was in the horror films, The Meg (2018) and Black Water: Abyss (2020). Sonya brings Cole into her trailer park home. Cole notices her pictures with Jax when they were in the military. She shows him her wall of the dragon markings. Jax had defeated a champion and the marking moved to him. All of this exposition basically explains everything in the opening so it’s just a repeat. Sonya does not have a dragon tattoo. They are interrupted by Kano (Josh Lawson) tied down in a chair. Lawson was in the comedy show, Superstore, and also Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues (2013). Kano is a rough around the edges mercenary who is quick with some off color comments. Of course this unlikely trio is confronted by another of Outworld’s champions and they have to find Lord Raiden and his champions; Liu Kang (Ludi Lin) and Kung Lao (Max Huang). Lin was Zack, The Black Ranger, in Power Rangers (2017) and also Captain Murk in Aquaman (2018). Huang was in the action fantasy movie, Time Raiders (2016) and performed stunts for Kinsman: The Secret Service (2014). Kung goes all Master of the Flying Guillotine (1976) with his metal hat. Cole has to find his power to take on Outworld and the past is revealed. Mortal Kombat has some bloody fatalities with some energetic fights, video game touches, but is ultimately a story about family! "Test your might!"
Four Kunais out of Five!
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