HBO Max’s newest big release is a video game turned movie, “Mortal Kombat.” The movie premiered on the streaming service on April 23.
With films adapted from video games there are certain expectations for fans of the video game going into the movie, but of course just as the movie adaptations of books there are going to be some differences and not every fan will be satisfied.
Then there are clean slates, those who go in not knowing a single thing about the movie’s basis.
Video game fans who hoped the movie would explore the rivalry and bad blood in depth will be very disappointed as, for the most part, the film assumes the audience knows the history between the two characters.
This also leaves the newcomers alone to figure out the history of the “Mortal Kombat” confrontations and the variety of realms and champions.
As I myself went in with no previous knowledge of “Mortal Kombat” and with no background of any of these characters there was a great disadvantage. There were many moments that raised questions such as when the Outworld was introduced and the threats that were there for the champions in the Earth realm.
Viewers are expected to already have knowledge of the Outworld. Leaving viewers with no prior exposure to the video games with unanswered questions as the movie does not provide much background on the other realm and the characters presented within it.
The movie begins at the Hanzo Hasashi compound in Japan in 1617 where the sense of peace is soon disrupted by the first confrontation of the film which introduces the notorious soulless killer that is Sub-Zero.
The introduction of Sub-zero perfectly captures the essence of the character. Clearly a character with no remorse as he does not care who he hurts. He is ruthless, strong, full of hatred and remains this way throughout the movie.
This is where many viewers who have no prior knowledge of “Mortal Kombat” are at a disadvantage as they do not know the history between the characters and which characters were in the original video game.
From the very first confrontation between Sub-Zero and Scorpion it is clear there is a long history between the two and that they know each other well. From the way they speak to one another and the hatred demonstrated as they fought.
From the very beginning viewers are shown that the movie is very graphic in its fighting and death scenes. The viewers can also see that the movie is also very congested; it has so many characters that not all of them get enough screen time to become memorable.
This could also be a disappointing factor for long time fans: they just try to fit in so many characters that many get lost.
The movie focuses on the Earth realm champions even adding new characters — most likely to move the story along and to have a main focus in the movie. The addition is Cole Young (Lewis Tan) an family-oriented amateur MMA fighter.
Cole joins Jax, a fellow Earth realm champion who, along with his previous military partner Sonya, are aware of Jax and Cole’s champion status. Sonya introduces Kano as a mercenary who can easily be described as the worst of the worst. Sonya has him locked up as he has the same dragon marking as Cole and Jax.
In Cole the audience has a strong family oriented character, who struggles to find his place within the “Mortal Kombat,” world. Through Cole the audience is immersed into this world and learns with him.
Sonya is a fighter who for so long has investigated and learned as much as she could about “Mortal Kombat.” Her character is at times pushed aside as she is not a champion and she has to fight to earn her place.
Kano is a very unlikeable character as he is selfish, easy to manipulate, and abuses the power he is given. That is what is great about him, his chaotic nature and deceitfulness . No matter how much of an unlikeable character viewers must admire how well the character was portrayed as he is meant to be unlikeable, loud, and always wanting attention.
The rivalry between Kano and Sonya is arguably one of the movie’s most entertaining story lines.
The movie does not disappoint with all the training, fights, and confrontations. By the final battle scene when we finally see the full opposition instead of just Sub-Zero and all of the champions it has been built up to be this huge battle that will surely not disappoint viewers. The war in the final scenes is fought on multiple fronts; we see each champion facing their own battle and ultimately come together.