No flawless victory for game reboot

Mortal Kombat Sky Cinema Premiere ●●●●●

Despite slicker special effects and action, and a more adult tone, this belongs in similar territory to the flawed 1995 take on the video game.

The familiar tournament template is jettisoned in favour of setting up the conflict between Earth’s greatest champions and the evil-doers of Outworld.

While the script tries to keep things as grounded as possible, an adventure with ice and fire dragon-conjuring combatants can only veer so far away from the outrageous and over-the-top.

The film lives or dies by its action, though, and it’s very cool to see the magical weaponry on display.