Mortal Kombat 2021

[Madam-Shogun]

Scorpion and Sub-Zero are from modern times, they should have just stuck with that.

 

[terry78]

Scorpion and Sub-Zero are from modern times, they should have just stuck with that.

Ninja clans are a thing in present day?

 

[Punisher_MAX]

Just watched The Raid 2 and Man of Tai Chi.

Can't believe they were made for peanuts and had amazing fight choreography.

 

[Madam-Shogun]

Ninja clans are a thing in present day?

In the MK verse yeah

 

[Lencho01]

I did enjoy this 2021 Mortal Kombat for what it was but as someone that saw the original 1995 MK when I was 8, this scene had more intensity and heart than all of this reboot.

Everything about this scene trumps the new film. The atmosphere, the stakes, the drama, the music, even the overselling of emotions.

It definitely helps that the main character had a real connection/relationship with the main villain (who he actually battles at the end). We didn’t get that with this film. Just the guy fighting a henchman who happened to try to kill his ancestors (that he just learned about) centuries ago.

 

[JtheDreamer]

After re-watching a bunch of clips from the original - it really reinforces what an energy-less slog this new one is, especially the score. Seriously, just no soul or personality whatsoever and usually it's the director leaving that kind of imprint.

 

[chintai80]

everybody owe paul ws anderson an apology.

 

[Joe Von Zombie]

 

[KaijuDude1992]

I know a lot people enjoyed the new Kano and I liked him to a degree, but honestly I still prefer Trevor Goddard's version of the character that we got in MK 95 which is highly underappreciated IMO.

He wasn't even in the movie that much, but I still found him more memorable because of the perfect balance of tough guy persona and comedic wit that he had and I actually wanted him to stick around longer.

Sure it was funny at first, but I just got annoyed after a while with Josh Lawson's Kano saying one raunchy, vulgar joke after another and felt like it was never going to end.

The original MK didn't have any of that and I'm glad it didn't because it didn't need to rely on cheap gags like that to have likable characters due solely to the actors either having plenty of personality or presence already.

 

[TheVileOne]

The Demon Slayer movie has better martial arts fights

 

[Deck Rickard]

3 Ninjas had better fights than MK.

 

[kguillou]

I mean, this was far from some of the worst shot action I've ever seen. That award goes to Resident Evil: The Final Chapter--the most incoherently edited movie I've ever seen. There's a lot of "action" movies out there that do way worse than this. This movie had some good action sequences and action beats but the problem is for a movie that is about fighting and martial arts, it should have been much much better. This should have been shot like Man of Tai Chi or The Protector or IP Man or The Raid.

 

[DarthSkywalker]

Yeah, I think the general mediocre action stands out because that was what the movie was suppose to have going for it. Without it being top notch it was kind of like, what's the point?

 

[Deck Rickard]

Yeah, I think the general mediocre action stands out because that was what the movie was suppose to have going for it. Without it being top notch it was kind of like, what's the point?

Yeah it failed on all the stuff that a good MK movie should deliver on. Amazing fight sequences? Nope. Crazy amounts of gore? Not really. Great special effects? Ummm no. Amazing sets? LOL.

The only thing this movie did well was some of the costumes. But as cool as Sub-Zero and Scorpion looked, those bulky suits limited their movements.

 

[Ninjablade]

I tried watching this again and forced myself to pay more attention this time, but I couldn't sit through the whole thing without skipping around. This movie truly is a boring slog for a majority of the runtime. I can't even think of anything that really stood out to see that I hadn't seen in a trailer.

I like some general ideas and bits of the Scorpion and Sub-Zero's skirmish at the end, but it feels like it's out of a completely different movie.

 

[Deck Rickard]

Speaking of that final battle. Cole can’t even punch ice well. Daniel in Karate Kid 2 did a better job of that lol.

 

[Stark Bauer]

View attachment 45389
Those of you who actually like the film should avoid this place and go to the MK subreddit instead. In all fairness,there should be a Mortal Kombat 2021 Positive Reviews thread here like other forums/movies get.

We are getting a sequel to this movie. I for one cant wait to see who they cast as Johnny Cage and hopefully an actual tournament.

MK 2021 in retrospect isnt a perfect movie, yes i think the main issues, even for a lot of people that liked the movie, was that Goro was offed unceremoniously and the Cole should have just been Johnny Cage or make Liu Kang the main protoganist. Besides that, this forum shares a minority opinion that this movie was not good. The RT audience score shows an overwhelmingly positive rating of 86%. I pay no mind to professional critics since they are not in tune with what the general audience appreciate. Especially people who God forbid, lean to conservative values or are religious.

Off topic
I dont understand why I have to be only one of MCU/DCEU. I have been pro MCU since Iron Man, but recognize TDK is a masterpiece. The SNyderverse has been very disappointing but the JL Snyder cut was actually entertaining. I respect people's opinions so all i ask is you respect mine. The Star Wars Sequel Trilogy was garbage, it made the prequels look like masterpieces, and Captain Marvel was ok but subpar. Doctor Strange was much better.

 

[Asr]

Yeah, I think the general mediocre action stands out because that was what the movie was suppose to have going for it. Without it being top notch it was kind of like, what's the point?

I saw the movie last night and have to agree the fight scenes weren't very good. Cobra Kai has better fighting scenes than this movie and that's a low-budget TV series! MK 2021 had pretty much no excuse to have lackluster fighting scenes - it's based on a fighting video game, and starred a bunch of martial artists who could actually fight. I was totally expecting something in the vein of IP Man but didn't get it and was really disappointed.

To its credit MK 2021 had some cool parts and ideas. Scorpion and Sub-Zero were the obvious character standouts, and some of the video game easter eggs had me geeking out (like "Kano wins" and Liu Kang's bicycle kick among others). The directing & writing were terrible though like others have already said. The only thing that really peeved me in terms of the characters was.....whatever that thing was that passed for Reptile, and not getting a human ninja-style form for him. SMH.

 

[OutOfBoose]

@Stark Bauer, you're asking for respecting your opinion and at the same time trying to dismiss opinions of people in this thread like they're irrelevant.

 

[Silvermoth]

Everyone you can’t fight in this thread, this is the mortal kombat thread!

 

[Gieferg]

We’ve yet to really get our “Batman ‘89” of video game movies. .

Disagree.
Mortal Kombat '95 was exactly that. It even got its Batman & Robin sequel.

 

[Prison Mike]

I enjoyed this movie, though, it seems like it helps to not be a hardcore MK fan. If you don’t have any expectations or background knowledge of the characters going in then the movie is dumb fun.

 

[SameOG86]

I really hope they go with a more experienced director and writer for the sequel. There’s even a article with the director and he’s giving his opinion on a sequel as if he really accomplished something with this film. That in itself worries me that WB will keep him attached.

 

[Joe Von Zombie]

everybody owe paul ws anderson an apology.

Paul Anderson can suck my fat dick. There's your ****ing apology.

 

[Batmannerism]

Saw the film last night, here's my take.

Compared to the 95 film, it's worse. Mk 95 was an enjoyable, super cheesy B movie, with terrible special effects, but didn't take itself seriously. Christopher Lambert was hilarious as Raiden, the guys who played Cage and Liu Kang were fun, the chick who played Sonya was hot and had a bit more acting talent/charisma. Overall the writing was better, with generally greater setup and payoff for most the characters, although Liu Kang is the central character here. While Shang Tsung is much, much better developed in 95, Sub Zero is a much nastier villain in 2021, although his motives are pretty murky. All in all I thought MK 95 the better film , although some parts of it are arguably worse.

Enough about the original, on to MK 2021:

The Good:

Kano, played straight up for laughs, and pretty successfully so. Much more fleshed out than in 95, but he's still pretty thin - still he gives us a lot of laughs. He gets to do his finishing move though, nice !

Cole. Has just enough presence and charisma to be interesting.

Sub Zero, really menacing - a good performance by Joe Taslim although why he hates Hanzo is a bit murky.

Scorpion, Hiroyuki Sanada did a stint with the royal Shakespeare company, and has the martial arts chops to carry off a role like this. He's simply awesome as Hanzo.

Fight sequences. Well they didn't shy away from the gore and generally the fight scenes were good - with some ott ridiculous moments, like Lao Kung's hat slicing bird chick in half.

Hanzo and Sub Zero's first fight is great , a real highlight.

The final battle is convincingly brutal and prolonged although it could have benefitted from a greater sense of narrative.

Goro: probably ate up most of the cgi budget, but worth it because he had some personality and serious menace ( could have used a few more lines). One of the few improvements from 95.



The bad:

Sonya starts out being incredibly OTT and unconvincing at the same time. She delivers the explanation about her back story and the tournament is terrible, and done with all the conviction of a fart joke. She does get a bit better, but she's not a good enough actress to do an American accent and sound believable when delivering ridiculous lines.

Shang Tsung. Absolutely terrible, other than wanting to win he's a cardboard cut out - especially compared to MK 95, in which he was fearsome and dangerous adversary.

The Outworld plot angle - most folks know a bit about the tournament set up, but here the writers and director take zero effort in setting the scene - unlike MK 95. The film just lurches into the fight sequences because the bad guys decide it's time?

They should have either dropped the Outworld story angle or done a decent job, but we got a far superior job in 95, with far worse effects.

Outworld itself is almost the same exterior location as just before the temple - just with a different color filter. It was ****ing lazy, by any standards.

The superpowers. Because we're given very little build up or explanation, they make no sense. Some of them are psychic ( pyrokinesis), some are magical weapons ( Cole's armour, Jax's arms) and some are....eye laser beams ? Wtf ? They just don't make any sense. MK 95 does a much better job by not really bothering with these much at all.

Lord Raiden.....he's just kind of there.

So, all in all not a terrible movie, not a good one and not as good as 95, but with a few real stand out moments - especially the opening fight !



The meh:

The villain fighters. Only Kabal had a tiny spark of personality, otherwise they were pretty bland, generic bad guys.

Liu Kang, also felt very generic. The actor delivers all his lines totally deadpan with very little expression, as if he doesn't give a **** - so neither do we.

Lao Kung, looks cool for about 2 minutes and does a really deadly trick with his hat.....and then dies because.....the story needs him to ?
If the writers were trying to set up a self sacrifice, they needed to do a better job.

Cole's family....they're just there.