Film Review: "Mortal Kombat" (2021).

"Get over here." It is Mortal Kombat. This martial arts fantasy action film directed by Simon McQuoid, in his feature directorial debut, written by Greg Russo and Dave Callaham and based on the video game franchise of the same name created by Ed Boon and John Tobias. The film serves as a reboot to the Mortal Kombat film series. Why has Outworld's emperor sent his best warrior, Sub-Zero, to hunt down MMA fighter Cole Young? In search of answers, Cole finds his way to the temple of Lord Raiden and begins unlocking the secrets of his heritage. As Outworld’s threat to Earthrealm grows, Cole joins warriors Liu Kang, Kung Lao, and Kano in a high stakes battle for the soul of the universe.

In 1997, production on a second sequel was initially scheduled to commence shortly after the release of Annihilation, but it was shelved due to Annihilation's critical and financial failure. Attempts to produce a third film since then have remained stuck in development hell. In June 2009, a bankruptcy court lawsuit saw Lawrence Kasanoff suing Midway Games while mentioning that a third film was in the works. In 2008, Warner Bros. Pictures ended up purchasing most of Midway's assets, including Mortal Kombat, when became the parent of New Line Cinema. In 2010, Kevin Tancharoen made as a pitch to Warner Bros. Pictures of a reboot of the franchise with an eight-minute short film titled Mortal Kombat: Rebirth. In September 2011, New Line Cinema and Warner Bros. announced that Tancharoen was hired to direct a new film from a screenplay penned by Oren Uziel, with the intention of aiming for an R rating and a 2013 release date. However, in October 2013, the project was ultimately delayed due to budget constraints, and Tancharoen left the project. In August 2015, James Wan signed on as a producer. In November 2016, McQuoid was hired as director, marking his feature directorial debut, with Greg Russo penning the script. In May, it was announced that the film had entered pre-production and would be shot in South Australia, with a March 5, 2021 release date. By mid September, Lewis Tan, Jessica McNamee, Josh Lawson, Tadanobu Asano, Mehcad Brooks, Ludi Lin, Chin Han, Joe Taslim and Hiroyuki Sanada were cast. At the same time, principal photography commenced and wrapped in mid December. Filming took place at Adelaide Studios and throughout South Australia.

The film stars Tan, McNamee, Lawson, Asano, Brooks, Lin, Han, Taslim and Sanada. Despite the talented cast, the characters were cardboard set ups for future instalments. Their humor was cheesy (not the good kind) and they are all so unlikable most of the way that the audience won't be able - or want - to identify with them.

The film is far too much of a mixed bag recommend to anyone of this visually stunning, cheesy and very violent adaptation of the '90s video game classic. It will possible satisfy only the core audience already hooked on video and arcade games, and even that's not a sure thing.

Simon says Mortal Kombat receives: