Mortal Kombat (2021)
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Mortal Kombat
Directed by: Simon McQuoid first major motion picture ever
Based on the video game of the same name
Starring: Lewis Tan, Jessica McNamee, Josh Lawson, Tadanobu Asano, Mehcad Brooks, Ludi Lin, Chin Han, Joe Taslim, Hiroyuki Sanada
Released April 23, 2021
Budget: $50M
Box Office: according to wikipedia, currently, box office take is $50.1M
Ratings: IMDb 6.4/10 Rotten Tomates 55%
Metacritic 44% Google Users 88%
Plot:
it opens on the Hanzo Hasashi Compound, Japan, 1617. A young family converses, and the son goes to check on the crying baby. The husband tells his wife he loves her and he goes to fetch more water. As he gets water, we see the dragon scar. In the house, that's strangely cold, the outside protectors are attacked, and the mother and son hide the baby. The attackers are speaking Chinese. A man in blue robes enters and asks where Hanzo is in Chinese and Japanese. He's shown growing ice out of his hand when they wont tell where Hanzo is. Hanzo hears screaming and runs back and finds his murdered guards, and spots his wife and son, bloody and frozen on the ground. Attackers come and hey are VIOLENTLY dispatched. He ties a rope through a blade and quickly kills more attackers. He finds the man in blue, Bi-Han, says he's killed all of Hanzos country-men. They Fight, and Bi-Han gets the upper-hand, stabbing him with his own spear, and leaves him. Though, Hanzo isn't quite dead yet, and he hears the hidden baby crying, he tried to drag himself back to the house, but dies before reaching the house. The dragon emblem then vanishes off his hand, and he disappears into flames. it begins to rain, and Raiden appears from lightning. He picks up the spear, and takes the baby, and disappears. Screen cuts to black.
S:
-Wife using the scorpion spike thing.
-Hanzo getting stabbed and pulled up 6" would've gutted him.
-Right off the bat, you know this is going to be MUCH different than the first film; so much character building and back ground on the initial two, or three with Raiden, characters. The violence and gore, too.
The screen reads: "Earthrealm is on the verge of catastrophe, Should it lose one more tournament, the savage realm of outworld will invade. But and ancient prophecy foretells that a new group of champions will be united by the rise of Hanzo Hasashi's blood." Cole Younger, is getting ready for a fight. As he's fighting, we're shown a man watching him from the crowd. Cole taps out of the fight. We're taking to Outworld, a barren looking place. Subzero and Shang Tsung talk and they explain their plan to kill all of earths heros before the Mortal Kombat tournament. As Cole is cleaning up, he sees a flash of Hanzo in flames. Jax introduces himself to Cole; he asks about the dragon on his chest, who the girl says was a birthmark. Jax follows him, and it begins to snow, and they say it's July... Then the ice really starts to creep in. Subzero appears and begins to attack the street, and Cole, lifting and throwing huge balls of ice, Jax saves them and explains what the dragon mark is, and he must fight. Subzero stops them going down an alley, and Jax tells him to find Sonya Blade, and he goes after subzero in a building. Subzero surprises him, and they fight. It goes back and forth, but subzero gains the upper hand, then freezes Jaxs arms, and breaks them off. He falls down a shaft and isn't moving. Cole tells his wife he's got to go find Sonya to keep them safe.
S:
-Immediately off the bat, you know who Cole is, the yellow and black, just like Hanzo shown in the scene before him.
-The girl braiding the yellow and black bracelet.
-Is the girl his daughter or just a gf's daughter?
-When Jax and Cole meet, he mentions Cole took a belt from Eddie Tobias, who is the creator of MK
-Apparently there is canon how Jax loses his arms, but this changes it. Also, originally, Subzero was somewhat of a good guy.
Back in outworld, Mileena meets with Shang Tsung, telling him Jax is dead and someone got away. Tsung, tells her to kill them all, and that winning 9 straight without cheating is impossible, to send the reptile to finish it. As the camera pulls back, we see a large statue of a four armed creature. Cole arrives and is ambushed by Sonya. She lets him in and we learn about the history of the dragon markings. Lots of exposition, world building, and that his mark means he has to fight in Mortal Kombat. Cole looks at the boards, and sees a drawing of Hanzo, and has another flash. Kano interrupts and we're introduced to him, who makes fun of Sonya for not having a mark. Suddenly the lights go out and the trio are attacked by the camouflaged reptile. The three alternate attacks, and Kano escapes his handcuffs and uses a knife that was thrown into his leg by Sonya, and stabs a flare to its back, so they can see it. Reptile grabs Kano, and while distracted, Sonya throws a knife into it's chest, it drops Kano, who pulls out the knife, punches the wound and pulls out the creatures heart, stating, "Kano wins."
S:
-Why do their voices sound different in outworld? There's a weird echo?
-Kano is actually hilarious
-Reptile looks awesome, thank God.
-If Reptiles saliva is acidic, strange it's blood isn't.
-too bad they killed Reptile off so fast.
Kano, for some reason, has stayed with Cole and Sonya. As they're trying to put together where to go, Kano discloses he knows where Raidens temple by running guns. Sonya and Kano go back and forth, and agree that Kano will take them for $3M. Which turns out was a ruse by Sonya. On the plane, Cole has another vision/dream. They parachute into someplace that looks like outworld... and Kano is lost. He and Sonya have words and a quick fight, with Kano goading her to kill him and take the mark. They finally find someone walking in the desert, when Kano approaches, he's shot back with a fireball produced by who we learn is Liu Kang. Kano is hyped to learn he may get super powers. Liu Kang leads them to Raidens temple. He explains the back ground of the temple, and that they must begin their training. They enter the temple and se see wall drawings of other tournaments, and other characters. Cole comes across a drawing of the intro fight, Bi-Han and Hanzo, and recognizes the spear from a vision. Liu Kang says again they must train to find their inner power. Sonya wonders off and she finds Jax, alive. Liu Kang found him, and they are trying to heal him. Liu introduces them to Raiden, and he is not impressed.
S:
-Love the foreshadowing and Kano mumbling "I fucking hate garden gnomes."
-I like how they replaced Kanos metal face/eye with the scar.. more "realistic"
-I don't think Kano wants the marking... I'd almost say he's scared.
-This temple is thousands of years old, yet, they've got some glass conductor right in the middle of it? Weird.
-Raiden was kind of a dick
Liu Kang, meditating, hears something in the temple and Subzero is shown opening the temple door; Liu Kang attacks, and subzero returns blows, as he grabs him, a hat comes flying in, knocks him back, and lands. A man then materializes below it who Liu identifies as his cousin. Tsung walks in with Mileena, and confronts Raiden, stating conflict outside of mortal kombat isn't excluded and the elder gods are too lazy to do anything, he then orders his followers to kill them. Raiden slams his staff down, and brings a protective barrier down around them. Kung Lao is introduced, and we're told the power comes from their arcana, a gift from the dragon symbol, and that to defeat the other fighters, they'll have to unlock their arcana through fighting. Sonya can't fight since she doesn't have a mark. Dejected, she sits with Jax who comes to, and sees hes got new metal arms. Cole and Kano fight Kung Lao and Liu Kang, and are defeated, with out finding their arcana. Liu tells Cole how he got his arcana, by killing a man who sold orphans like himself. Cole fights and loses again, Jax is angry/upset with his new arms. Sonya recounts her first day of training with Jax to keep going or regret it for the rest of your life. Eating dinner, Kano keeps picking at people, and Kung Lao and Liu Kang antagonize him. Calling him an aggressive bunny. During an explosive outburst, Kano shoots a laser out of his eye... the first to harness his arcana. Cole is literally just getting beat, not fighting back, to focus on the pain, with no luck. Raiden tells Cole his linage, a descendant of Hanzo, that when he died, he went to the neatherealm in hell to search for revenge. Raiden sends Cole back to his family, saying the blood still isn't as strong.
S:
-The barrier and the whole training bit is a bit trope-y...
-"All you can do now is test your might"
-I like the 80's feeling synth/techno fight music... But Kung Laos stances with his hat are kinda dumb
-This whole section kinda drags.
-Decent looking lightning
Back in outword, Shang Tsung introduces Nitara, Kabal and Gen Reiko. Kabal says he knows Kano, and can get them by the barrier. We're shown Goros shadow. Kabal convinces Kano to betray everyone. Cole hears something in a barn...back to Kano destroying Raidens staff and the barrier. Shang tsung enters with his fighters and Kano switches sides... Cole watches Goro emerge from the barn. They all start to fight, and the earthrelm fighters aren't doing too well. Sonya is stabbed, and Kano drops stone hand on her. Kabal and Liu Kang fight, meanwhile Kung Lau waits for Nitara... When she flies in and attacks, he jumps on her, rides her around, puts his razor tipped hat in the sand spinning, and puts her through head first, cutting her in half... Finishing with a "flawless victory." Back to Cole, Goro is about to tear Cole in half, when Allison attacks with an axe, they get in a truck and try to run him down, Goro pulls Allison out, watching Coles bracelet comes alive and wraps his body in an armor. Goro hits him with a door, which leaves his chest glowing, otherwise unhurt. As they fight, Goro pounds on him, causing his armor to glow, Emily yells, "dad, use your uppercut!" and the glowing energy transfers to his fist, hitting Goro and knocking him back, surprised. Goro jumps and does an attack that leaves much of Coles chest glowing, that then transfers to his arms, and two stylized tonfas appear. They continue to fight, and Cole gains the upper hand, by literally taking one of Goros, disemboweling him, and shoving a tonfa through his eye. Goro falls dead. Cole checks on his family, and Emily tells him, "Bad ass suit, dad."
S:
-Kabal is hilarious too.
-While goro is obviously computer generated, still better than the 95 version
-In the barn, the pole that Cole breaks, you can clearly see where its supposed to break.
-According to Lewis Tan, who plays Cole, "They were described to me by [director Simon McQuoid] as a protection over the heritage that runs through the bloodline of Cole Young. In the beginning of the movie, if you look carefully at the basket that his great-great-great grandmother was placed in, you can see though the same webbing/cross-hatching that’s on [Cole’s] suit is the same thing that was on that basket. It’s the same design. [It’s] not only the design that saved this baby, but it’s a design that saved his bloodline, and it’s a design that’s physically protecting his body."
Back at Raidens temple, Jax wakes up to find Sonya under the rock, he asks for help, and as he tries to lift her, his arms start to transform. We then see his new, bigger arcana arms. Raiden arrives, and sends a doorway for Cole. Raiden reveals he planned for Cole to leave and find his arcana, and reveals Coles bloodline to subzero. As Raiden is about to leave with everyone, tsung tells subzero to stop him, and he blasts Cole from the teleport beam. As Subzero moves in to attack, Kung Lau stops him, while distracted, Shang Tsung pulls him to him and sucks his soul, killing him. Raiden takes the fighters into the void, he tells Cole about the spear with Hanzos blade. Cole comes up with a plan to split up the fighters, but to do it their way. Raiden sends Jax with Reiko, Sonya against Kano, though she wants the "bitch with the teeth." Liu Kang and Cole take Meelna and Kabal. Saving Subzero for last, to take out together. We switch back and forth, Liu and Kabal, Cole and Meelna, Reiko and Jax, who breaks Reikos hammer, beats him down to his knees, and then crushes his head, saying, "yea, these mother fuckers work." Kano is being sneak attacked by Sonya, they fight and Sonya disables his laser by throwing acetate in his eye, they bust through the window back outside on the ground, Kano is choking her, and she searches for something... She grabs the gnome from earlier and stabbs Kano thorugh the eye, and gains his dragon on her arm. Liu does a bicycle kick to Kabal, the preforms a fire-dragon fatality, for Kung Lau. Mileena screams and her cheeks split showing her huge mouth, biting Coles tonfa, Sonya then appears and blasts a hole through Meelna, killing her. Cutting back to Coles family, they're packing up to leave, and Subzero appears. The then appears to Cole, and shows the bracelet she made early on, freezes it, and crushes it. As he steps back through the teleporting smoke, Cole follows and arrives in a frozen gym from the beginning of the movie.
S:
-Cool, if silly fatalities
-Most of the places the final battles occur in are stages from the game, the pit for sure, probably not Sonyas trailer though.
-pretty impressive how quickly Sonya accesses her arcana.
Cole sees his family, but Subzero attacks, wanting to end the Hanzo bloodline. They fight and subzero is getting the upper hand, telling him he'll die with his family, he grabs the spear and tries to stab subzero, but is reversed, and when the blade cuts into Coles hand, it starts to glow red with fire. Subzero recognizes it as the blade of Hanzo, and as he's about to stab Cole with is, a flaming spear pierces his arm, behind him, Hanzo, or Scorpion, appears and says his trademark, "Get over here", yanking him away from Cole. Hanzo tells Subzero he's risen from hell to kill him. He removes his mask, asking if he remembers the face, and that he is now Scorpion. Cole starts trying to get his family out, and Scorpion and Subzero fight. When Scorpion sees Coles family, he's taken aback, reminded of his family. Cole and Scorpion both faceoff against subzero. He freezes Scorpion, and starts losing armor. Scorpion breaks free with a firy blast, and Coles family wake up. Subzero removes his helmet, and says, "for the Lin Kuei." They fight and it's obvious Subzero is defeated, Scorpion tells Cole to leave him, Cole gets his family as Scorpion tells Subzero, "You hoped I would burn in the fires of hell... but instead, I learned to control them." He sends a fiery blast at Subzero, killing him. He tells Cole he's freed him, and to take care of his bloodline...and vanishes in fire. Raiden and the others appear, Raiden sees the body of Subzero and is impressed. Shang Tsung appears and they confront each other. tsung says death is only another portal, and the bodies of Subzero and Goro disappear. He threatens to return with armies, and Raiden sends him away, saying, "He talks too much. Raiden says hes going to assemble a new list of champions and Cole asks whos first. Cole is showing cleaning out his locker, and says hes going to Hollywood, as the camera pans we see a headless poster for a Johnny Cage movie, Citizen Cage: Fight For Your Rights, cut to end credits and the the remixed Mortal Kombat theme.
S:
-thought the fighting was solid..
-Hated we had to wait SO LONG to see scorpion, but worth the wait.
-Interesting twist making subzero bad an scorpion good.
-I do wonder how many more movies like this Sanada can/could do, he's 61.
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