Mortal Kombat, the newest film based on a video game came out last month at the end of April,
and is currently the subject of debate among fans of the franchise, whether or not the film should
be revered as its 1995 counterpart with the same name. I grew up in the 90s and was about 5 years
old when the original film came out, and I loved it. Given the track record of video game movies
between now and then, I consider the first film to be one of the better made movies in the genre...
and we don't talk about Annihilation. That being said, I had the chance to watch the newest one and
honestly... I liked it, too. I think it's a breath of fresh air considering the movies we had to deal
with in the 90s and 2000s such as Wing Commander, Tomb Raider, Street Fighter, Resident Evil,
Tekken, House of the Dead... OK, before you guys drown me out with your boos, CAPCOM
literally had no excuse to make Street Fighter deviate so far away from the source material
when they literally co-produced it and approved every decision that went into making the movie,
and while some of the Resident Evil films aren't that bad, it is one of my favorite horror video
game franchises and I really can't see why making a slasher type of thriller set in a mansion was
so hard to make when that was literally what the first game was about. Today in my analysis,
opinion, and theory, we'll be looking at both Mortal Kombat movies to ask "Is either film really
that bad?", looking at the pros and cons of both, and how faithful they are to the lore.
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Before we get into the video, there are spoilers for both films, so you have been warned. I'm not
going to recap either film as we'll get straight to the point and analyze the films in general.
Also, I will be comparing them to the original timeline that compromises of the first Mortal
Kombat game up until Armageddon... I know, I know... but that is the timeline.
If it wasn't for this timeline, there'd be no Mortal Kombat today.
First let's talk about the elephant in the room about the 1995 incarnation:
no gore. Mortal Kombat is known for its brutal fatalities, whether it be in the original
timeline of the games or the current timeline of MK9 through MK11. MK was literally one of
the reasons that the Entertainment Software Rating Board, or better known as the ESRB was established
because of the controversy caused by MK, Night Trap, and Doom. So why was the gore absent? Well,
the original draft of the movie DID have it, along with stronger language that would've
given the film an R rating. However, because of the deal struck with New Line Cinema,
it was forced to be revised to deliver a PG-13 movie to target teenagers. While there are some
minor cases of blood, the closest thing we have to gore are scenes involving Scorpion,
Sub-Zero, and Reptile, notably their defeats and Sub-Zero's fight against a lesser henchman.
That brings us to the next point – how faithful is the story? With movie adaptations whether the
source is a video game or book, liberties are taken typically for creative purposes. Given
the other movies around the time of MK's release such as Super Mario Bros. And Street Fighter,
the storyline is pretty faithful to the first game, as the movie adapts elements from both
Mortal Kombat 1 and II, and is one of the reasons why I like it so much. Kombatants are
invited to the island to participate in Mortal Kombat where if Earthrealm loses one more time,
Shao Kahn will be able to invade and take over. Just like in the game's canon, Liu Kang befriends
Johnny Cage and Sonya Blade. Goro is the reigning champion, having defeated the Great Kung Lao 500
years ago and as a last resort, Shang Tsung steps in for the final match. As mentioned before,
there are some deviations with this film, the first major being one is Sub-Zero and Scorpion
working for Shang Tsung. These two are noted for their legendary rivalry stemming from the
video games, and their rivalry is only mentioned briefly in passing in the film by Shang Tsung.
In the original canon, Scorpion was killed by Sub-Zero and got his revenge at the end of the
tournament, while Sub-Zero was actually contracted to kill Shang Tsung by the Lin Kuei, which didn't
happen for obvious reasons, and the fact that Liu Kang defeated Shang Tsung, forcing him to
flee to Outworld. Speaking of Shang Tsung, during the tournament his appearance was that of a frail
old man despite still being a powerful sorcerer with the ability to consume souls. The filmmakers
decided to go with his youthful appearance to reflect his appearance in Mortal Kombat II.
Another change from the game (though still one of my favorite fights) that instead of Liu Kang
exploiting Goro's overconfidence and defeating him, Johhny Cage is the one to do this with his
patented Split Punch. Funny enough, this would also go on to be somewhat retconned and referenced
in one of my favorite personal Mortal Kombat games, Shaolin Monks. The climax of the film
also takes place in Outworld but again this was planned as an element and nod to Mortal Kombat II,
along with the inclusion of Kitana and Jax in the film. Another nice touch is the fight with
Reptile, which is a nod to his status as a secret character in the first game. Last but not least as
far as the story and as I had touched on a little, the fights are different compared to the original
canon – the only canon fights that we truly know of that occurred in Mortal Kombat 1 are Liu Kang
vs Goro, Liu Kang vs Shang Tsung, and Scorpion vs Sub-Zero, though the last one could be written
off as an ambush with Scorpion able to seek his revenge. So Kano, Scorpion, Reptile, Goro, and
Shang Tsung's deaths don't happen as they would set up the events of Mortal Kombat II, but again
this decision was probably made for the movie's own canon. That brings us to the pros and cons
of the film, and does it hold up today? As far as the last question, I think it does. The fact that
it is one of the earliest video game movies to not only stick to the lore but also be so well made at
the time is well... excellent. The fight sequences are amazing, the atmosphere fits so well,
and of course we can't forgot about the iconic theme song used for the movie, as well as rest of
the soundtrack score. The portrayals are iconic, and even led to some changes in the game's canon.
For example, Trevor Goddard's portrayal of Kano led to the character being retconned to being
Australian instead of his original American of Japanese descent. Raiden also originally had black
hair in the canon, but after the film's portrayal by Christopher Lambert, in future installments
he's noted to have long white hair. And I think we can agree that Cary and Linden's portrayal of
their respective characters are just classic, and set the standard of how the characters would be
portrayed in future games, and of course we could go down the list of the cast, but there's also a
reason why some of these actors and actresses reappeared as DLC in Mortal Kombat 11. We also
have to give mad props for this incarnation to have an Asian lead, something not commonly seen
in mainstream releases at the time. One of the film's cons would be the CGI being so dated today,
but at the time was amazing to see (at least from my perspective when the film came out).
Of course, the fact that there was no gore given that the film was based on a franchise notorious
for it, was also a con as well. But as mentioned before, that was a studio decision. Goro's puppet
was great at the time, but not as beefy as one would imagine, considering his appearance in the
first game. Overall, Paul WS Anderson did a great job with this film and did the franchise justice.
That being said, let's talk about the 2021 film, also called Mortal Kombat. And I will
start by addressing the elephant in this room... Cole Young. I will say that I was not completely
a fan of his character, given the fact that most of the film he had difficulty fighting
like he once used to, being one of the last to unlock his arcana, and suddenly beating
Goro did not make sense... at first. Cole is the descendant of Scorpion's bloodline,
and his purpose, as explained in the beginning of the movie was to unite the the champions.
It didn't say he would defeat Shang Tsung or save Earthrealm solely. Let me explain – the reason his
arcana took so long to unlock is because it wasn't about his past, who he was or defending himself,
but rather defending his family... to avoid the same fate that his ancestor, Hanzo Hasashi,
better known as Scorpion, fell victim to thanks to Sub-Zero. Cole's arcana,
despite how goofy it looked, was there to shift his fighting style from purely offense to also
incorporate some defense and absorb the kinetic energy from his opponent to counterattack with,
and to either defend or save his family. This is also confirmed later in the 2 v 1 fight where
Hanzo realizes Cole is doing something he could not do – save his family. Cole is able to not
only break the cycle of the Hasashi bloodline, but also free Scorpion from his torment and allow him
to seek revenge on Sub-Zero. Now could the film still be written without Cole in it? I think yes,
there is a possibility that it could've gone down that way, but I will say that the way the
film concluded, it did not make Cole out to be Earthrealm's champion, but rather someone who
was able to bring the champions together, and I'll touch on this topic a little later. And honestly,
I think that's still better than inventing a character just to have him be killed off by Goro.
That brings us to the canon – how faithful is the movie to the game's story? Like the 1995 movie,
pretty faithful in its aspects, despite incorporating elements from many games.
The fact that there is gore and seeing some classic fatalities recreated today is just...
well, excellent. The film has so many intricate details, whether it's dialogue, imagery,
or visuals that were just natural, and didn't feel forced at all. Some of my friends that have
also seen it and aren't familiar with the lore as much as I am also liked it for this reason,
as the movie was easy to follow, even if they weren't hardcore Mortal Kombat fans.
The fact that they added characters with pretty faithful costumes for the most part such as Reiko,
Kabal, Nitara, and Mileena was also a very nice touch. I do also want to clear some things up
about the portrayals of a few characters, namely Liu Kang, Raiden, and Jax. Now don't get me wrong,
Robin Shou did an excellent job of Liu Kang, and canonically Liu Kang DID have a younger brother,
as mentioned in the SNES version of the video game's canon (though named Chow instead of Chan).
I don't think people give Ludi enough credit for his portrayal as Liu Kang, because the character
has always been a shaolin monk raised in the Order of Light and represented the White Lotus Society
in the game's tournament. The fact that they went so far as to mention Bo' Rai Cho and the
Wu Shi Academy really shows how close they were trying to stay to the game, not to mention Liu
Kang's brother-like relationship with Kung Lao which is hinted on in most games and elaborated
more in Shaolin Monks. I think also with the fact that Shang Tsung killing Kung Lao gives Kang even
more of a drive to to go after him in the second film's tournament, as we know canonically Liu
Kang is a 4-time Mortal Kombat champion, known for defeating Shang Tsung, Goro, Shao Kahn, and
Shinnok. As far as Raiden, what a lot of people don't seem to realize is that canonically, he was
there during the first Mortal Kombat tournament, but was there to watch over Earthrealm's greatest,
not necessairly fight. He didn't even fight until Mortal Kombat II, 3, and Deadly Alliance but even
then, he had to give up his godhood in order to do so, especially during Deadly Alliance when
the Elder Gods refused to step in after Liu Kang's death. And as far as Jax... yes, I understand that
the initial bionic arms aren't the greatest and I'm not excusing how they wrote his character,
but rather explaining the reasoning that this was done as part of the arcana storyline.
Not to mention the way he lost his arms is a reference to one of his first fatalities,
and in the game's canon, he actually had bionic arms way before Mortal Kombat II, but chose not
to fight with them during that time (as it was retconned in the horrendous Special Forces).
God, that game. Some of my favorite nods are Bi-Han removing his blue armor and becoming
Noob Saibot for a brief amount of time, the scenery of Outworld, and Kano's fatality. I
think they did a good job with the arcana element of the movie's canon to explain how each fighter
has supernatural abilities, especially when it comes to Sonya, Kano, Jax, Liu Kang, and others.
And while this Shang Tsung may seem a bit off, I do like how powerful they made his character seem,
especially with how quickly he was able to defeat Kung Lao. I think some of the cons of this movie
would be Sonya and Jax's friendship not being fully explained, or could've been fleshed out
a little bit more, some of the attires being not canon (but then again as I said before,
movies often takes liberties), and definitely the absence of Johnny Cage. However, one possibility
that they can go with the future of these films that has been proposed so far is that the second
movie would be the tournament, ala MK II and the 3rd film would be post tournament, similar to
the Mortal Kombat 3 invasion storyline. There is also talks of a possible Johnny Cage spin-off and
standalone film, which we could see what he was up to during the first film's storyline. Overall,
this movie was a breath of fresh air and with how they treated the game's lore to incorporate
as much as possible in the movie, it shows they really had respect for the franchise. I'm looking
forward to the next installment and hoping it will be way better than what Annihilation... wait,
I forgot that movie doesn't exist. Here are my final thoughts on both films. It's not really fair
to compare the two to say which one is better, as I believe they're both good in their own right,
and it's also like comparing apples to oranges, given the circumstances of 95's no gore policy as
part of their deal and what Mortal Kombat 2021 was able to get away with. They were also made almost
30 years apart, so film-making has definitely come a long way since then, especially when
it comes down to the evolution of special visual effects. If you haven't seen either one, give them
a chance and you may be surprised. All in all, I'm excited to see what the future brings us in terms
of Mortal Kombat films. Let me know what you guys think in the comments down below – what do you
like about either film? If you enjoyed the video, please consider subscribing, liking the video,
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Thanks for watching, stay beautiful, stay awesome, and we'll catch you around next time!