In this new attempt at adapting the popular video game franchise, new character Cole Young (played by Lewis Tan) finds himself chosen to be one of the warriors of Earth destined to fight in order to protect the planet from the forces of Outworld.
The fighting in this is definitely better than the '95 version. The R rating and modern special effects manage to achieve the more over-top and gory violence that made the game famous. Doesn't hurt that the brawls are well choreographed and shot. Surprisingly, the movie paces the more hardcore violent moments. I felt this pays off, the more mouth-dropping moments have more impact to them. If you like violent movies, this has a couple of the more creative kills in some time.
The movie looks good (with the exception being the design of a pair of mechanical arms that didn't quite work for me). Director Simon Mcquoid brings a distinctive visual style. Nice work on the costumes, too. Kung Lao's razor-rimmed hat is finally realized, and it's everything you'd want. Computer graphics allow more creative looking opponents from the games to pop up and they're fun.
Introducing the new character Cole does feel extraneous when the games already have a ton of characters to work with. The director has said that it was too provide a fresh prospective as an audience surrogate in order to explore the world. However, any of the characters could've been written as a newbie. That having been said, I didn't dislike the guy. He had a decent, albeit simplistic backstory, and some impressive fighting skills. Also, I can see how it's easier to write a character free of any pre-established lore restrictions.
Unfortunately, the story and characters aren't as strong as the nineties' version. The story is at it's peak during the action. It lags during the middle, which is a lot of setup. It doesn't help that there are couple of plot points that don't make a lot of sense, (and bear in mind that I wasn't walking in this looking for a lot of logic.)
There are some good lines, but a lot more stale ones. A lot of dialogue is just spurting out exposition without any nuance. The movie tries to squeeze in too many characters, and most of them are kinda flat or one-note. The main villain Shang Tsung (Chin Han) is a particularly dull character and a major step down from his nineties' counterpart. There are a few bright spots. Kano (Josh Lawson) is fun as the comic relief/in-it-for-himself member of the group. Though he doesn't get the best material every time, Joe Taslim as the villain Sub-Zero has some pretty standout moments.
Despite the film's problems, the weakest moments are simply that: weak. I wouldn't say they're a turnoff or intolerable. This definitely delivers in the action department and does deliver the basic essence of the Mortal Kombat games. I recommend this if you like this kind of thing. You just don't need to watch this at full movie ticket price.
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