Mortal Kombat

That's pretty badass looking.

Based on Shopping Anderson got his next gig, Mortal Kombat.  And I guess I can see why it was offered to him.  Shopping does have a good look to it with its moody and gritty underbelly feel.  I think the Hollywood suits figured that if this kid worked with a good script then he could make some magic happen.  Perhaps they thought of Mortal Kombat as a testing ground or perhaps these executives really expected a top notch picture.  Either way I think they got what they were looking for.

Video game movies are notoriously bad.  I haven’t seen a lot of them but this has to be in the top tier, right?  It’s an Enter the Dragon knock off so it has a sturdy foundation underneath it and I don’t think very many other video game movies can make that claim.

Mortal Kombat is a really fun movie.  Even if you haven’t played the game it would be difficult not to embrace the incredibly enjoyable characters with their unique idiosyncrasies.  The actors cast totally bring them to life too and give faithful performances.  Actually the whole look and feel is pretty faithful to the game.  Sure I would’ve preferred an R rated version but it certainly works regardless.

Oddly enough the fight sequences aren’t spectacular.  I mean they’re fine but nothing outstanding.  It’s good that this was made during a time when you could actually understand what was going on during fight scenes (although I think it’s gotten better in the past couple of years).  It’s also good that there’s a lot of fighting in this.  A Mortal Kombat movie should have a bunch of brawls and they definitely deliver on that.

What’s better than the fights though are the scenes with the characters interacting with each other.  The way they play off one another and the way the good guys eventually align against the bad guys are more interesting.  We get to know the rank and file of the members like that Rayden is the leader, Liu Kang is his number two (and number one when Rayden’s not around), Sonya and Johnny are the support.  Their personalities balance each other out and it’s satisfying to see this motley crew pull together to save Earth.  It’s all good stuff.

In contrast to Shopping which seems to have been shot either completely or almost completely on location, Mortal Kombat was filmed almost entirely on soundstages and it shows.  The film looks pretty cheap.  The budget was $18 mil but most of that must’ve went to the actors and travel expenses for those couple of scenes they shot in Thailand.  I think the cheap look actually works though.  I guess because it’s a video game movie and I expect less from it the over the top plastic, Styrofoam and plywood set pieces look kinda cool and original.  Somehow it fits with the mood of the film.  The CGI shit on the other hand is some of the worst I’ve ever seen.  I can’t imagine the filmmakers thought it looked good.

Mortal Kombat is a solid tournament movie.  It’s no Lionheart but goddamn is it entertaining.  Anderson treated the material very well by taking it seriously for the most part.  He knew the type of picture he was making so he made sure it was fun and not bogged down in so much gloom that it would become boring or depressing.  If you haven’t seen this one by now then I think it’s about time.

Now since Mortal Kombat grossed huge fuckin’ bucks Anderson could do just about anything he wanted next.  He wisely passed on directing the Mortal Kombat sequel and decided to try his hand at something much more interesting and much darker.