i loved the concept of hanzo’s hell being a paradise. ofc his rage and anger will always tie him to the netherrealm. it’s too heavy in him to allow him anywhere else. perhaps he thinks he doesn’t deserve to be anywhere else. but the flowers still bloom around him because the love in him is even greater than the anger. it was all for harumi and satoshi, so of course hell would be nothing but the kindest version for him. he is content in his love and anger and embraces nothing but hellfire and the sweetest peaches and the most beautiful greenery. even in hell the memory of his most beloved ones overpower his anger.
mk2021 and mk2026 exist as perfect examples of branching off original story lines and making something new interesting. if you ignore what happened to cole.
ok. honestly. not that bad. i loved it BUT i didn’t like it.
so first of all, i have to get what they did to cole off my chest. poor cole young. and poor lewis tan. i was never a cole young fan but i thought he was overrated. like yes the reasoning for his character was dumb, but i think his character is the product of poor execution (something mortal kombat is a master in) and sucking up to the fans. for the first like 20 minutes of the film he was a background character and he was perfectly fine like that. like they could have kept like that or just sent him away. them killing off cole after hyping him as the mc is so. lame. i think doing it “for the fans” (which it obviously was with shao kahn lazily sliding his body into the acid) is such a spineless excuse for shitty excuses and a shitty movie. he did die in a way that perfectly suited shao kahn (brutal in the most casual way) but his death was nothing but for shao kahn and for the producers not allowing a better way for cole young to exit that didn’t feel so mean. like yeah. brutal death is in mk fashion. but i can’t help feel bad and is just a prime example of really weird and bad writing choices that no one knows how to end properly.
ok now. the pros:
i think this movie is the best example of the tone mortal kombat should always have: absurdly stupid and brutally dark. mk2 was nonstop of both, with short breaks (kung lao maiming raiden, jax death, kung lao vs liu kang, the opening scene) allowing for a breather and a dip into the angst and story. i didn’t feel sick of the jokes because there was a contrast with how dark mortal kombat is (for example nonstop kano jokes is contrasted with sindel in a fucking cage around her head). plus the concept of characters not from earthrealm knowing earthrealm slang. so funny. it’s like tekken characters just knowing what everyone is saying despite speaking in different languages. the concept of baraka knowing what pussy means and quan chi knowing what dildo means….
the opening scene was amazing, which goes hand in hand with the first film. so angsty and so fitting and so brutal. i loved baby kitana so much, and seeing jerrod in action for the first time (jerrod in mk1 does not count) was amazing. i appreciate how this film focused on kitana, which she deserves. this movie was about the cruel reign of shao kahn and his threat so of course it had to end with kitana ending his reign and regaining her throne and her home. i was so ecstatic whenever she was on screen. adored her so much.
in the opening there is a scene where baby kitana looks so angry when jerrod is killed, and man. i really loved that look. kitana is angry and heartbroken and they nailed those emotions in her.
i do like this version of shao kahn, i thought his actor and acting were really good. i would’ve preferred it if they had him relying on his own brute strength rather than raiden’s god juice, BUT. still really liked him. his voice was gruff and rough, but strangely it would be soft at times (as soft as it could be) and i just loved hearing him speak in that tone.
the fight scenes were amazing. some of the best i’ve seen in a while. they’re super engaging and fun and i really loved the different team ups. like sonya and liu vs shao kahn is a fight you wouldn’t think of including but it was included and it was super fun. kung lao and liu kang’s fight was my favorite, and i think it will be many’s favorite. so emotional and such an intimate fight. i adore liu and kung lao’s actors so much, they are such great picks and did such justice to such a short scene.
i didn’t like raiden in the first film, but i think they improved his character a lot more in this film. i thought he was super boring originally but now he’s not. like, still super serious but very amusing at times and blunt and funny. he felt like he was slowly leaning into a mix of serious game raiden and silly guy white movie raiden, and i would love if it he fully leaned into that in the next film.
and bi-han…. listen. he is no mk2021 bi-han. this is mk2026 bi-han. who is dead. and noob saibot. for what little time he had on screen and what character he became (and obviously, he had to give the screen time to other characters), i still loved him. i will be rewatching this film one billion times to analyze all noob saibot scenes frame by frame but he was sooo fun. edgy but not too edgy. badass and cold. if you caught glimpses of his white eyes, you could still see the taslim-enhanced emotions in those eyes. i’m sure i will be writing one million posts about him but for now, i will just say i love you joe taslim thank you for playing bi-han.
really liked jade, love her character arc (and thank you lesbian jade and kitana at the end). johnny was cool. karl urban did a better job than i thought he would, though i still would prefer a diff actor. but i’m fine with him playing johnny. this johnny wasn’t as insufferable as i usually find him, and i think it has to do with how much i like the tone of the film. liu i love this liu soooo much i love the idea of this film deciding to not make him the chosen one and straying from that path i am so curious what he’s gonna do in the next film. i would have loved this liu to be the main character but i still love this version of liu. also his hair was amazing. i wish there was a scene where he was shirtless.
the cons:
kitana. i said i loved her and i do. but i don’t like versions of kitana where she is automatically good and on earthrealm’s side. it feels like it stunts her growth and makes it less impactful, which it kind felt like it did for me with this film. and this complaint isn’t unique to this film, but also the og movie. but again, i still like this version of kitana a lot, so i can be a lot more lenient with this complaint.
justice for sindel cause MAN she had it rough. she did not do anything. she should have done something instead of just sitting pretty and obedient next to shao kahn. like she is one of the most powerful characters and you just decide to do nothing?? even game shao kahn knows she’s insanely powerful. instead we put a face gaurd on her mask and never see her again after that like ok.
also the concept of revenants in this movie!! i love revenants soooo much, but they kinda sucked in this movie. i’m sure it’s because we saw so little of kung lao and sindel, but they felt more like “i am evil now” versions of revenants rather than being the most darkest expression of their vulnerabilities and hatred and anger. but it’s ok cause they were there for like 5 minutes in this movie.
i hated baraka’a design the moment i saw it. he was funny and silly and i am so happy he did not die. but they made him stupid and i hate it. after mk12 baraka i cannot accept any stupid versions of baraka anymore. he is more than that.
shang tsung was eh. i did not like him in mk21 and did not like him here. i just don’t think he has the pizazz shang tsung should have. he feels very bland and a watered down version of shang tsung. he’s like shang tsung did not have his claws.
quan chi. idk. i just think i need to see more of him. but he’s eh. love his vibes tho. sonya… i do like this version of her. a lot. but i feel like she could have been meaner. i love how supportive she is. but like. it feels like she was only supportive and nothing else. i liked her a lot better in the last film, but i have not lost hope for her character yet. kano deserved justice!!! i loved him in this i really did but he deserved a story that wasn’t just him switching sides!! he could have been more devious in this film but he wasn’t. i’m pretty annoyed jax died solely because i think his character was doing alright in the film and him dying was just. whatever. like ok. it served purpose to johnny’s character ig but did nothing for jax’s character.
overall this makes me yearn for a limited live action series of mortal kombat that has hour long episodes. will be rewatching it again soon. it’s super fun and engaging. like every mortal kombat game, show, movie. etc. it could have been great. but this was still pretty good.
imo if you are adapting something that plays with it’s medium into a new medium (book to film, podcast to tv show) you are obligated to ALSO play with the new medium and do something interesting. I don’t care if it’s not 100% faithful, I care if it WORKS. You cannot take a comic book that pushes the boundaries of what you can do in that space and then make the most boring visually flat screen adaptation you have fundamentally missed the point
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