285.
Mortal Combat
5/10
The cinema is back! The overpriced hot dog with cheese and large orange drink is a purchase being made and I wouldn't have it any other way. I didn't expect my first visit back to be Mortal Combat but at the same time, I didn't expect my local cinema to open back up. Surprises everywhere. It has been years since I have seen the original movie adaptations of the famous Mortal Kombat games and I can wager they would be movies that wouldn't hold up with time. Therefore someone else is going to have a crack at success. This time it's Simon McQuoid making his directorial debut. I expect a darker concept with this movie but there is only one way to find out.
So if you are totally unaware of what the storyline is regarding, I'll give you a quick bit of background. The movie usually focuses on fighters from Earth or Earthrealm who have unknowingly been chosen to fight for the safety of Earth in a tournament against fighters from Outworld. Now usually they are transported and a fighting tournament takes place and we get a winner from Earth. Everyone is happy, people kiss and we all go home. This storyline takes a different approach, starting in the 17th century Japan as two characters, who will later become Sub-Zero and Scorpion, battle it out in the woods. Scorpian is killed whilst defending his family and Sub-Zero vanishes, thinking the job is done. This isn't the truth though as Scorpian's daughter is hidden below the house's floorboards and the God of Thunder Raiden retrieves the little one and take the bloodline to safety. To the present day, the Outworld has defeated Earthrealm in 9 out of the last 10 tournaments, with one more meaning they can conquer Earth. Shang Tsung has led these wins and isn't planning on losing the next, instead, he wants to cheat to ensure victory and that the path this movie then leads. It isn't much much going to centre around this fighting tournament but this hatched up plan taking place. He plans on killing the Earth's fighters before they even get a chance at defending themselves.
We are then introduced to a new character named Cole Young. A former professional fighter, he has a dragon mark, which is stamped onto all fighters for the Mortal Kombat.
As he and his family are set upon by Sub-zero, they are saved by Jax and told to track down Sonya Blade. Jax stays behind for the fight and loses his arms in the process. Now, these are two recognisable names. With Sonya Blade is Kano, another guy with the mark, which Sonya doesn't actually have and Kano is the highlight of this movie. A smart-arsed Australian with absolutely no filter, he quickly adds a comedic aspect to the movie. We are soon on the move again as the gang tracks down Raiden's hideout in the desert and their training begins. Jax has also been saved and attached to some metal arms, which anyone who knows Mortal Kombat, knew was coming. Two current Earthrealm champions will be training Cole, Kano and eventually Jax. They are looking down on Sonya as she is not a chosen fighter. Shang Tsung carries on with his plan and attacks the hidden temple but is stopped just in time by a massive force field.
It is now time for the newcomers to step up. They must unlock a hidden potential called the arcana, which is unique to each of them and could be seen as a superpower. Kano finds his first, shooting lasers through his eye. Cole is the only one really struggling, he is sent back home to his family by a disappointed Raiden. Not long later, Shang Tsung has gathered his forces for an attack again but this time, they succeed. They do this by swaying Kano to join them, which wasn't too hard and now the team is being dismantled from within. As Cole is at home, Goru is sent to attack and seeing his family in trouble awakens his arcana, a suit of armour and some martial art weapons. He takes down Goru before and heads back to the temple to help the others. Shang and Sun-Zero find out about Cole's bloodline before Raiden teleports them to the safety of a place called the void. Cole plans on offering out Sub-Zero to try and start the tournament that they were preventing. Cole is given his ancestor's blade, which still has Scorpion's blood on the tip. Scorpion will be there fighting beside him in spirit. Elsewhere, Sonya has headed home to face Kano, killing him and taking his dragon stamp, releasing her own arcana and now becoming a protector of the Earthrealm. Sub-Zero finally abducts Cole's family to lure him into his own area, freezing them in the corner of a fighting cage. As Cole begins to lose the fight, he uses the blade and releases Scorpion as a vengeful spirit, killing Sub-Zero alongside his descendant and helping to free the family.
Thanking Cole for freeing him and asking that he takes care of the bloodline, he disappears before anyone else arrives. Shang Tsung obviously vows revenge as Raiden banishes him and Raiden promises to train more champions as Cole heads to Hollywood to find Johnny Cage, another name that is known from the games.
I have to admit that the main enjoyment of this movie was the fact that the cinema was back open. Being back to watch the big screen after the last year is an experience and the excitement about it was always going to add to the occasion, no matter the movie. As per movies based on games, it was always going to be a struggle to get a storyline across when it was of the fighting genre and this one can just be grouped with the rest for me. It was interesting that the storyline didn't go down the route of the actual tournament and maybe, just as the movie, it almost got there. The movie tried to tell a lot over the short space of time that it was on and got a little rushed in places, a little predictable and ultimately a little boring. The story didn't contain enough of certain characters and too much of others. If you want to bring in the nostalgia for fans then surely you contain more of the first game's characters. I would have at least liked more off world setting and tournament feel that what I got.
Leading me nicely into the cast, it's been a few weeks since I saw the movie and I honestly can't remember many faces. There was one stand out for me and that was Kano played by Josh Lawson. The bloke actually gave some laugh out loud moment for the audience which left a few of us still quoting the lines days later. Everyone else was forgettable in every way, even those considered the main characters. They were all ultra-impressive with the fight scenes but as these were not containing dialogue or did actually contain stunt doubles, you may not be able to classify that as their acting roles.
I have no idea whether this movie will have a sequel but signs may point to yes due to the mention of Johnny Cage as a character right at the end. If it does come out, I won't be scrambling to go and watch it. Due to restrictions, there have been much better movies that I haven't been able to see in the cinema this year so far. It's a popcorn movie in a way that you don't need to concentrate, just munch away and go along for the ride. If you enjoy the game and enjoyed the older movies then by all means, get this one under your belt but don't expect it to be a contender for anything else.
