This article is about the 2021 movie. For other uses of the word "Mortal Kombat", see the disambiguation page named Mortal Kombat.
Mortal Kombat is a fantasy action movie based on the popular Mortal Kombat series of fighting games produced by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and serves as a reboot to Mortal Kombat and Mortal Kombat: Annihilation.
The film is rated R.[2]
Plot
In 17th century Japan, Bi-Han, an assassin of the Lin Kuei clan, attacks and kills Hanzo Hasashi along with his family. The only survivor is Hanzo's infant daughter, who is taken away by the Elder god Raiden, the protector of Earthrealm.
In the present day, the forces of Outworld have won nine consecutive Mortal Kombat tournaments with just one more victory needed in the next tournament to conquer Earthrealm. Outworld sorcerer's and second-in-command of Emperor Shao Kahn, Shang Tsung, orders his warriors Mileena, Reiko, and Kabal to seek out and eliminate Earthrealm's champions, who bear a dragon mark, in order to ensure that Earthrealm has no chance in the upcoming tournament.
Cole Young, a financially struggling ex-MMA fighter and a bearer of the dragon mark, is attacked by Bi-Han, now going by the codename Sub-Zero. Cole and his supportive wife and daughter are rescued by Special Forces major Jackson "Jax" Briggs, who also has a dragon mark. Jax tells Cole to seek out his partner Sonya Blade while he stays behind to fend off Sub-Zero; in the process, Sub-Zero incapacitates Jax by shattering his arms.
Cole meets Sonya at her hideout where he finds out about the history of the Mortal Kombat and learns that the dragon mark can be transferred by killing its bearer. Sonya has captured Kano, an Australian mercenary of the Black Dragon clan, who had previously killed a champion with the dragon mark, which had moved onto Kano's body. Sonya, however, does not have the mark. The hideout is attacked by a reptilian creature which Kano kills by ripping its heart out.
Cole, Sonya, and Kano travel to Raiden's Temple, which has traditionally been the training ground for Earthrealm's warriors. They are met there by Shaolin warriors Liu Kang and his partner Kung Lao and also encounter Raiden himself. They also find Jax there, who now has a set of inadequate mechanical arms.
Raiden reveals to Cole that he is a descendant of Hanzo Hasashi, through Hanzo's daughter, and that he can use Hanzo's rope dart to reawaken the ancient ninja. Liu Kang and Kung Lao explain that every Earthrealm warrior with a dragon mark has a special power known as an "arcana", such as Liu Kang's ability to conjure fire. Therefore, the warriors at the Temple must find and awaken their arcanas if they are to stand a chance in Mortal Kombat. While Kano awakens his arcana, Cole is unable to do so. Realizing that Cole would be vulnerable for Outworld's forces, Raiden allows him to leave despite the champions' concerns.
Shang Tsung and his warriors attempts to assault the temple but Raiden conjures an energy shield to keep them out. Kabal, being a former rival of Kano, persuades the latter to defect and lower the shield. Shang Tsung's warriors attack, killing Kung Lao and trapping Sonya under rubble. Jax's arcana awakens, powering up his arms, and giving him the opportunity to save Sonya.
Cole is attacked by Outworld champion Goro. When Cole's wife and daughter are threatened by the four-armed brute, his arcana awakens, giving him a suit of armour and a set of tonfas. With his newfound arcana, Cole kills Goro and rejoins the others at the temple.
Cole proposes splitting up Outworld's warriors and taking them out individually. Agreeing to the plan, Raiden transports Earthrealm's champions to each of Outworld's warriors, and Earthrealm's fighters kill their opponents in one-on-one battles; Sonya kills Kano during this process and gains his dragon mark, awakening her own arcana: the ability to fire purple energy blasts.
Outworld's remaining fighter, Sub-Zero, abducts Cole's family and goads him into a fight. Cole is initially overpowered by Sub-Zero until his blood touches Hanzo's rope dart. Hanzo is resurrected as the undead ninja Scorpion and, with Cole's assistance, battles Sub-Zero and kills him. Scorpion then departs back to the Netherrealm, thanking Cole for bringing him back.
While the battle is won, Shang Tsung declares that he is undeterred by these setbacks and that the Mortal Kombat tournament will proceed as expected. Raiden orders Earthrealm's warriors to find more champions to fight in the tournament and help defend Earthrealm. Meanwhile, Cole sets off for Los Angeles to recruit Hollywood superstar Johnny Cage.
Cast
Visit here for our guide to catch-up on the characters of the new film.
The following Mortal Kombat characters appear in the film:
- Lewis Tan as Cole Young[3]
- Jessica McNamee as Sonya Blade[3]
- Josh Lawson as Kano[3]
- Tadanobu Asano as Lord Raiden[4]
- Mehcad Brooks as Jackson "Jax" Briggs[4]
- Ludi Lin as Liu Kang[5]
- Chin Han as Shang Tsung[6]
- Joe Taslim as Bi-Han / Sub-Zero[7][8]
- Hiroyuki Sanada as Hanzo Hasashi / Scorpion[6]
- Max Huang as Kung Lao[9]
- Sisi Stringer as Mileena[4]
- Matilda Kimber as Emily Young[10][11]
- Laura Brent as Allison Young[11]
- Mel Jarnson as Nitara[12]
- Nathan Jones as General Reiko[13]
- TBA as Reptile
- Angus Sampson as Goro (voice)
- Daniel Nelson as Kabal[14][15]
- Damon Herriman as the voice of Kabal
- Dane Reese as Johnny Cage (uncredited)[16]
Marketing
Cybeart collaborated with Warner Bros. to release gaming chairs, as well as accessories including gaming mousepads and phone cases in advance of the release of the film.[17] The film's official marketing campaign kicked off approximately two months from its release, with a series of posters showing off the film's major characters.[18]
Releases
The film was originally set to release on March 5, 2021, then moved to January 15, 2021, but in November 2020, Garner confirmed that the film would be delayed until theatres reopen due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The film is now scheduled to be released in theaters and HBO Max in the United States on April 23, 2021.[19] The film's earliest official release was in the countries of Croatia, South Korea, Russia, Singapore, Thailand and Taiwan, all of which debuted the film on April 8, 2021.[20]
Reception
As of the morning of April 22, 2021, the film has a 59% fresh score on the review aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes with 85 reviews. The site's "Critics' Consensus" feature states that "Largely for fans of the source material but far from fatal(ity) flawed, Mortal Kombat revives the franchise in appropriately violent fashion." Johnny Oleksinski of the New York Post praised the film as "unrepentant fun," giving a score of 3/4, while Princess Weekes of The Mary Sue was slightly less positive, but nevertheless felt that the film left viewers "wanting more," being mainly disappointed that it was "over so quickly, giving the film a score of 3.5/5. On the reserve side, David Ehrlich of IndieWire graded the film a "D," stating that while the film is "more broadly watchable" than the 1995 film, he has a "dull sensation that video game movies are now playing us." Jeffrey Zhang of Strange Harbords, however, felt that the "janky cult classic" nature of the 1995 film reigns supreme over the new adaptation.[21]. To date by that point, the film had earned an estimated $19.2 million in overseas markets, including $9.6 million in Russia.[22]
Trivia
Production
Production began in South Australia on September 19, 2019, and concluded on December 13 in the same year. Regarding the film's creation, producer Todd Garner stated that "We didn’t want to remake the 1995 movie, we didn’t want to short-change the fans, but we needed an epic storyline that, even if you have never played the game, you could still become immersed in it."[23] Star Lewis Tan (Cole Young) stated that while the film does contain R-rated gore, it is tasteful, that the director indicated that the film would be a "hard R, Try not to make it NC-17, but let’s take it all the way up until that point." He continued that "And that’s what we did. But I think he did it really tastefully."[24]
Game Connections
- Jax mentioned Cole defeated "Eddy Tobias", a name apparently referenced to the creators of Mortal Kombat: Ed Boon and John Tobias. Their names are also used as anagrams to make Noob Saibot's name.
- While Sonya explains the appearance of the mark for Cole, a draft of Nightwolf and a photo of Kotal Kahn's statue are present in the scene.
- Reptile has his appearance mostly based on his Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance design, although without the clothes.
- Additionally, Shang Tsung refers to him by "Syzoth", his canon name revealed in Mortal Kombat X during an interaction with Raiden.
- Kano uses his signature Heart Rip Fatality to finish off Reptile after he was sent to kill Cole and Sonya.
- On the Order of Light's hideout, a painting of the Great Kung Lao defeating a young Shang Tsung and another one of Argus and Delia burying Taven, a replica of the amulet of Shinnok, one of Kitana's fans and a statue of Fujin facing a statue of Raiden can be seen.
- various characters' projectile moves from Mortal Kombat games are referred as "Arcana" in the film, including Liu Kang's Dragon Fire, Sonya's Energy Rings, and Kano's Eye Laser.
- Kung Lao eliminates Nitara with his Razor's Edge Fatality from Mortal Kombat (2011).
- Kung Lao was killed by surprise by Shang Tsung, possibly referencing his death at the hands of Shao Kahn in Mortal Kombat (2011).
- Shang Tsung uses his Soultaker Fatality to drain Kung Lao's soul while Kung Lao gradually becomes a shrunken corpse.
- Jax uses his Head Clap Fatality to kill Reiko.
- Liu Kang uses his Enter the Dragon Fatal Blow from Mortal Kombat 11 to kill Kabal.
- Sonya uses "Energy Rings to kill Mileena.
- Scorpion kills Sub-Zero with his Toasty! Fatality introduced in the first Mortal Kombat, however, instead of being reduced to a skeleton or pile of bones, Sub-Zero died as a charred corpse, a reference to the version of the Fatality in Mortal Kombat (2011).
- Shao Khan does not make appearance in the film. Instead, paintings and his statue is shown in the film, with his appearance being nearly identical to his appearance in Mortal Kombat 11.
Soundtrack
The film's soundtrack will be composed by Benjamin Wallfisch. The soundtrack is as follows:
- Techno Syndrome 2021 (Mortal Kombat)
- Hanzo Hasashi
- Lord Raiden
- Bi-Han
- Shang Tsung
- Cole Young
- Birthmark
- Sonya Blade
- Kano v Reptile
- Liu Kang
- The Great Protector
- Sub-Zero
- Kung Lao
- Origins
- Kabal
- Goro
- Arcana
- Jax Briggs
- The Void
- The Tournament
- Sub-Zero v Cole Young
- I Am Scorpion
- We Fight as One
- Get Over Here
Other
To be added...
See also
External links
- Official website
- Mortal Kombat at the Internet Movie Database.
- Twitter feed
References
- ↑ https://deadline.com/2021/03/mortal-kombat-going-a-week-later-in-april-leaving-breathing-room-for-godzilla-vs-kong-1234724859/
- ↑ The new Mortal Kombat movie will be rated R, writer says
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 "Mortal Kombat Movie Finds Its Sonya Blade, Kano (Exclusive)" - Hollywood Reporter
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 "Mortal Kombat Movie Adds Fistful of Fighters (Exclusive)" - Hollywood Reporter
- ↑ "Ludi Li in Talks to Play Liu Kang in New Line's Mortal Kombat (EXCLUSIVE)" - Variety
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Mortal Kombat Reboot Finds Its Shang Tsung and Scorpion (EXCLUSIVE)" - Variety
- ↑ "Mortal Kombat Movie Finds Its Sub-Zero (Exclusive)" - Hollywood Reporter
- ↑ Greg Russo (@WriterRusso) - Twitter
- ↑ "MORTAL KOMBAT: Max Huang To Play Kung Lao As Cameras Roll In South Australia" - Film Combat Syndicate
- ↑ "Young Matilda Kimber Added to the Cast of the Mortal Kombat Movie" - COGconnected
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 "Mortal Kombat (2021)" - Warner Bros. Pictures
- ↑ Elissa Cadwell Will Play the Vampire Nitara in the James Wan-Produced ‘Mortal Kombat’ Movie
- ↑ JOE TASLIM IS ‘SUB-ZERO’ IN MORTAL KOMBAT REBOOT. UPDATE: NATHAN JONES CONFIRMED
- ↑ https://comicbook.com/gaming/news/mortal-kombat-11-movie-reboot-kabal-actor/
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PSwna42XV30&t=4s
- ↑ Mortal Kombat 2021: Everything We Know About The Reboot (So Far)
- ↑ Canadian Brand Cybeart collaborates with Warner Bros. to create Mortal Kombat Gaming Chairs & Accessories. Global Newswire (April 20, 2021). Retrieved on April 22, 2021.
- ↑ Fink, Richard (February 17, 2021). Mortal Kombat Posters Reveal Sub-Zero, Kano, Mileena, Kung Lao & Shang Tsung. Screen Rant. Retrieved on April 22, 2021.
- ↑ https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2020-12-15-the-mortal-kombat-movie-has-an-april-2021-release-date
- ↑ Mortal Kombat (2021) Release Info. IMDb. Retrieved on April 14, 2021.
- ↑ Mortal Kombat (2021). Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved on April 19, 2021.
- ↑ Mendelson, Scott (April 18, 2021). Box Office: ‘Mortal Kombat’ Nears $20M Overseas As ‘Nobody’ Nears $35M Global. Forbes. Retrieved on April 19, 2021.
- ↑ Chung, Julie (March 31, 2021). Mortal Kombat – A Journey Behind The Scenes. Snap Taste. Retrieved on April 16, 2021.
- ↑ Stevenson, Rick (April 13, 2021). Mortal Kombat Movie’s Gore Is Tasteful, Says Lewis Tan. Screen Rant. Retrieved on April 18, 2201.