The newest reboot movie of Mortal Kombat almost nails replicating the gameplay experience with all its brutal fight scenes and character backstories, but not much of the lore and world that MK has established.
The story of MK involves an entire fictional universe with eighteen realms! It would take boring expositions and a longer movie to fully flesh out.
BY now, gamers and movie buffs have seen the movie topping the box office, Mortal Kombat (2021), the newest movie adaptation of the popular fighting game of the same name.
The new Mortal Kombat embraces the gore and extreme violence that made the game popular during its first release in 1992 but not enough plot and world-building.
The arcade game was made by Ed Boon and John Tobias following the success of Street Fighter 2 and heavily inspired by kung-fu movies, Bruce Lee, and Jean-Claude Van Damme.
The game introduces a feature called Fatality, a character-exclusive finishing move that violently murders the defeated opponent.
For many, it’s the end goal of the game over simply winning the fight.
Other than becoming a legendary game in the industry for its gameplay, it prompted the US government to create the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) ratings for its violence.
Controversy aside, the game inspired not just one but three live-action movie adaptations. The first two released by New Line Cinema in 1995 and 1997. Only the latter was successful.
For a long time, a third film sat in development hell until Warner Bros. picked it up in 2010. The film has topped the box office with a $22.5 million haul from 3,073 screens despite mixed reviews.
What makes video game movie adaptations tricky to produce is finding the balance between telling the story and replicating the experience of playing the game.
Mortal Kombat (2021) almost nails replicating the gameplay experience with all its brutal fight scenes and character backstories, but not much of the lore and world that MK has established.
While movie critics are talking about the faulty plot, fans of MK are pointing out the lack of an actual tournament where the characters are all pitted against each other. (See also: Less excitement on Mortal Kombat reboot without an actual tournament )
Some, on the other hand, feel that it was to be expected. The story of MK involves an entire fictional universe with eighteen realms! It would take boring expositions and a longer movie to fully flesh out.
For now, the movie did well in introducing key characters and establish a setting as a start.
In an interview, Joe Taslim who plays Sub-Zero revealed that he has signed in for four films if the film is a success. The producers have even teased the possibility of a standalone film around one of the original MK characters, Johnny Cage.
There haven’t been many successful video game movie adaptations after Resident Evil: The Final Chapter (2016) and Tomb Raider (2018) so gamers are hungry to see the next hit.
Mortal Kombat is also at an opportune time in Hollywood for Asian-Led films after Crazy Rich Asians (2018) and the upcoming Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021).
Fans can only wait if Mortal Kombat’s latest box-office success is enough for Warner to greenlight the sequels. (HD)
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