The final complicating factor: A prophecy claims that a new group of Earth fighters will be united by Hanzo’s blood. If Earth loses one more showdown, the planet will fall to the savage rulers, monsters, and champions of Outworld, who will enslave the human race. ![]() Intertitles then inform viewers of the Mortal Kombat tournament between the oppositional Earthrealm and Outworld. The film begins in the 17th century, when the idyllic life of Japanese warrior Hanzo Hasashi (Hiroyuki Sanada) is interrupted by the grudge-bearing assassin Bi-Han (Joe Taslim). (“You’ve been chosen to fight for Earth!” “There is nothing for you here, only death!”) But in terms of the elements that matter most for a movie of this type and in this lineage, Mortal Kombat rises to the challenge. In the middle, Mortal Kombat goes a little haywire: The pacing is slightly off, the requisite training portion drags, and there are some dialogue clunkers. “Look inside yourself” has been a component of martial-arts films for so long that it fits right into Mortal Kombat, which opens with a banger of an intricate, brutal fight scene, and concludes with another equally impressive display from assistant fight choreographer Anthony Rinna and fight coordinator Chan Griffin. And the explanation given for the fighting prowess of Earth’s champions is satisfyingly small-scale. A few character backstories have been tweaked. The film’s primary protagonist is an entirely original character. Instead, the script from Greg Russo and Chinese-American screenwriter Dave Callaham (who also co-wrote the upcoming Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings) modifies certain elements enough to set Mortal Kombat on a new narrative path while also honoring the franchise’s extensive mythology. Anderson’s initial cinematic adaptation of the video game whose violence so spooked American parents that it was the focus of congressional hearings in 19. But the 2021 Mortal Kombat does well by avoiding a beat-by-beat replication of Paul W.S. After a certain point, seeing another pale imitation of something you once loved doesn’t provide nearly the same thrill as the original. Leaning into nostalgia can be a lazy tactic, and an uninteresting one. Does a guy yell, “Mortal Kombat!” at some point? Yes, he does! Giddily satisfying self-awareness looks like Simon McQuoid’s new take on the Mortal Kombat universe, which includes a remix of the 1995 film’s techno theme song by The Immortals, a dagger made out of frozen blood, and Kung Lao’s Hat Grinder fatality whizzing a person’s body apart. Failed self-awareness looks like the live-action Mulan explaining away its female protagonist’s self-resilience and independence through some mythical chi force and an unexpected affection for nationalism. ![]() Intentional cinematic self-awareness looks like the Fast and the Furious franchise, which spent 20 years getting its audience used to ever-more-outlandish heists, until sending cars into space seems as natural as a quarter-mile race. ![]() That’s exactly what the Mortal Kombat film reboot does best. Used to excess, self-awareness can just look like cheap fan service, on the level of “Rey Skywalker” or “What are we, some kind of suicide squad?” But at its best, it suggests that some creators recognize the limitations of narratives, and take the chance to play within their organic boundaries. A filmmaker’s knowing wink toward the audience can go a long way, particularly when an established property is in play. Self-awareness is a form of cinematic grace.
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