Scrappy reboot fails to punch above its weight...
NEW-LOOK MORTAL KOMBAT MOVIE SUFFERS SIMILAR PITFALLS TO 90s BIG-SCREEN OUTING
MORTAL KOMBAT (15) HHHII
RIGHT, down, left, up, right: cannonball. Down, left, high punch: teleport. Down, right, low punch: lightning.
Performing the special fighting moves in the Mortal Kombat video game series, which drew first blood in the early 1990s, required cunning, agility, tactical nous and split-second timing.
None of those qualities were evident when the game spilled onto the big screen in 1995 with British director Paul WS Anderson at the helm.
The same heavy-handed, gleefully violent mentality blights the 2021 reboot masterminded by director Simon Mcquoid.
This bruising introduction to the titular tournament between super-powered fighters from opposing realms lays the groundwork for a sprawling franchise.
Digital effects go into overdrive during breathlessly choreographed fight sequences, cranking up the gore.
In 1617 Japan, warrior Hanzo Hasashi (Hiroyuki Sanada), leader of the Shirai Ryu clan, is murdered by rival Bi-han (Joe Taslim).
More than 400 years later, Hanzo’s descendant – cage fighter Cole Young (Lewis Tan) – is unaware that a dragon-shaped birth mark on his chest will empower him to fight in Mortal Kombat.
Ancient prophecy decrees that the Hasashi bloodline will unite our world, Earthrealm, and inspire victory over duplicitous warriors from Outworld, commanded by soul-sucking sorcerer Shang Tsung (Chin Han).
Cole trains under thunder god Lord Raiden (Tadanobu Asano) alongside our chosen champions: Liu Kang (Ludi Lin), Kung Lao (Max Huang), Jax (Mehcad Brooks) and Kano (Josh Lawson).
However, Shang Tsung intends to secure victory before the tournament has begun and dispatches his demented underlings to slay Earthrealm’s gladiators.
Mortal Kombat caters to base desires with a miasma of frenetic on-screen carnage.
Lawson’s profanity-spewing theatrics aside, performances are uniformly forgettable, blocking any emotional connection to combatants as they brawl for mankind’s survival. Comfortingly, if Earthworld loses, it’s ‘game over’ for a sequel.
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