Grove City Messenger - May 2nd, 2021

www.columbusmessenger.com May 2, 2021 - GROVE CITY MESSENGER - PAGE 15
In Entertainment
“Mortal Kombat” is like a gut punch
I have never thought of myself as a violent person,
but I have to admit that I began to question my preferred
method of confrontation by using passiveaggressiveness
and snark thanks in large part to
“Mortal Kombat.”
While a casual player of the video game that irate
parents and Congressional leaders swore would corrupt
the youth of the world, it was the live-action adaptation
of 1995 that reeled me into the web of imagined
fisticuffs. Upon watching this version for the first time,
I became obsessed with the skill and power of the characters,
wishing that one day I too would be able to competently
wield harpoon-like spears attached to the
length of a rope like Scorpion or snap necks with my
knees while in a handstand like Sonya Blade.
In the years that followed, I did not rack up a body
count, or even learn how to do a handstand, but I did
parse out that what I was feeling whenever I thought
of “Mortal Kombat” was something called nostalgia.
Like a fist, or foot, or ice spike, nostalgia can be powerful.
It burrows into you, making you feel vaguely irritated
when someone makes fun of what you like, and
it brings forth a feeling of protectiveness when someone
tries to remake something you love.
When I heard that Warner Bros had decided to
reboot this franchise, I felt that inkling of irritation but
I thought would give it a chance because it’s “Mortal
Kombat.” It’s supposed to be stupid fun and that is
something we can all use in our lives. But this latest
version largely turns down that aspect in favor of stupid
without the fun. While it’s not awful enough to
make you want to inflict Sub-Zero levels of violence, it
is bad enough to make you want to give its new creators
a powerful stink-eye.
It begins with an effective prologue taking place in
17th century Japan where skilled assassin Bi-Han (Joe
Taslim) has found the guarded woodland home of rival
Hanzo Hasashi (Hiroyuki Sanada). After killing his
wife and child, the two warriors face off in the film’s
most exquisitely choreographed fight scene, expertly
blending moves only found in the video games and
martial arts movies of yore. When this sequence is
over, however, so too is most of the film’s promise.
The film then jumps forward to the Outworld where
sorcerer Shang Tsung (Chin Han) is delightfully planning
Earthrealm’s destruction. Knowing that they only
need one more win at the Mortal Kombat competition
to take over this “pathetic” realm, he sends his greatest
assassins to find their warriors and eliminate them
before the competition can take place. At first, not
much urgency is given to this mission, but he then discovered
a prophecy that foretells their defeat should
the Hasashi line unite the champions. This bit of news
is a surprise to all the baddies of that realm as they
thought Bi-Han and the Lin Kuei assassins killed
them all centuries ago. Whoopsie.
That whoopsie turns out to be Cole Young (Lewis
Tan), a character created specifically for this movie
universe. Born with a dragon tattoo (seriously), he is a
down-on-his-luck MMA fighter who knows nothing of
his lineage or Mortal Kombat and the hell that is about
to be unleashed upon him and his family.
While out for dinner one night, Cole and his wife
and daughter are attacked by a specter who has the
ability to generate and control ice. Knowing that they
are no match for this Cryomancer, they hesitantly
accept the help of stranger Jax Briggs (Mehcad
Brooks) who tells them to seek out Sonya Blade.
When Cole finds her, Sonya (Jessica McNamee)
explains to him what Mortal
Kombat is, who the people are
who also share in his dragon tattoo,
and when this fight to the
death might take place. She
then encourages him to follow
her on a quest to find the location
of Lord Raiden (Tadanobu
Asano) who could help train and guide them as they
prepare for this world’s greatest death match.
When they reach Raiden’s lair, the film slows to a
crawl as the fighters try to unlock their “arcana,” or
special power that could help them not have their
spines ripped out of their body or smashed to a bloody
pulp by Prince Goro, the Outworld’s last champion who
is a multi-limbed half-human, half-dragon creature.
There is a lot of exposition in these scenes, a lot of Cole
(and Sonya, to a degree) wondering who they are and
where they fit in this world, and not enough combat.
But the latter point is one of the biggest issues with
this film — there is little Mortal Kombat in “Mortal
Kombat.” There are mortals in this film, and there is
combat in this film, but there is no true Mortal Kombat
in “Mortal Kombat.”
With the lack of the tournament itself, this film can
only be described as a prequel, as a way to introduce
the audience to this weird world. It teases with one-onone
fights in the end (Max Huang is a true delight as
the razor-hat wearing Kung Lao, who definitely has
the best fatality of the film), but it really is a set up for
potential sequels even though the studio has not committed
to making said sequels.
There is also a big issue with the ambiance of the
film — it just takes itself too seriously. While it tries to
say it’s the opposite with high levels of gore or overthe-top
fatalities, its dialogue and plotting say something
else altogether, and usually in a monotone voice.
Should potential sequels go forward, there is some
hope that things can be salvageable with better pacing,
a better script and maybe some acting lessons in emoting
for its core actors. But until then, I say to fans that
this version is not a flawless victory for the franchise,
but it’s also not a fatality either.
Grade: C
The Reel Deal
Dedra Cordle
Dedra Cordle is a Messenger staff writer and columnist.
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Andrea Cordle...................................Grove City Editor
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