If there was ever a film that was given a free pass because we are in the throes of a pandemic, it's ‘Mortal Kombat’ — a movie so sloppy that surviving it almost requires a vaccination of its own.
Directed by Simon McQuoid and produced by James Wan, ‘Mortal Kombat’ makes the same mistake that Gareth Edwards' 2014 ‘Godzilla’ did. It picks the wrong dude as its protagonist. An infinitely more interesting story is teased in the prologue, only for it to be discarded almost immediately in favour of a generic hero's tale.
Like ‘Godzilla’, which made the baffling decision to make Aaron Taylor Johnson its lead instead of Bryan Cranston, ‘Mortal Kombat’ is almost overeager in its hurry to move past its arresting opening sequence, featuring a face-off between Hanzo Hasashi and Bi-Han. Casual fans of the long-running video game series upon which this film is based would perhaps recognise them as the legendary foes Scorpion and Sub-Zero.
Played by the always excellent Hiroyuki Sanada and The Raid's Joe Taslim, the two characters share a history that spans generations. But just when things are about to get interesting in that medieval Japan-set prologue, the film chooses to, as Eminem would say, snap back to reality.
And that is when our real hero, Cole Young, stands up. Cole doesn't know this, but he has been marked as one of the ‘Chosen Ones;’ the Earthrealm's representatives in a mythical 'tournament' known as ‘Mortal Kombat’. ‘The Earthrealm’, we are told in expository scenes that have no place in a film that spells 'combat' with a K, has lost nine tournaments in a row to the Outworld. Losing the tenth would mean total surrender. —News Rush