Mortal Kombat, First Half After 2 Decades Of Waiting

Mortal Kombat (2021). (ANTARA/Warner Bros ID)

JAKARTA - Since the release of the first and second films, Mortal Kombat (1995) and Mortal Kombat: Annihilation (1997), fans of the iconic video game of the same name have finally gotten their latest remake this year.

As reported by Antara, Thursday, April 15, the film opens with a setting centuries ago -- in which Hanzo Hasashi's family -- later better known as Scorpion (Hiroyuki Sanada) is slaughtered by troops from Sub-Zero Bi-Han (Joe Taslim) in his hometown of Japan.

The massacre was intense, brutal, and bloody -- wrapped in a barrage of action scenes that gave the audience goosebumps as they were executed solidly and quickly. The fight between Sub-Zero and Hanzo -- though so sadistic -- is very eye-watering.

The massacre then leaves a deep grudge against Hanzo. This opening was a success to make the audience curious about what will happen with the Hasashi clan, as well as with other Earthrealm fighters in the future.

Nowadays, the audience is not only taken to various characters of the legendary Mortal Kombat. In this film, it also features a new protagonist named Cole Young (Lewis Tan), a mixed martial arts (MMA) player who is used to taking blows for money, unaware that he is one of the heirs to the iconic "dragon" emblem of his ancestors.

Cole, who lives as a human being in general, also doesn't realize why Outworld Wizard Shang Tsung (Ng Chin Han) has sent his best warrior, Sub-Zero (Joe Taslim), a Cryomancer to hunt him down.

Fearing for his family's safety, Cole goes looking for Sonya Blade (Jessica McNamee) through the direction of Jax (Mehcad Brooks), a Special Forces Major who has the same strange dragon mark as Cole at birth. There is also Kano (Josh Lawson) who also has the same mark.

On his way with Sonya and Kano, Cole and the team arrive at the temple of Lord Raiden (Tadanobu Asano), the god and protector of Earthrealm, who provides protection to those who have the mark.

Here, Cole trains with experienced fighters Liu Kang (Ludi Lin) and Kung Lao (Max Huang), preparing to stand alongside Earthrealm's greatest champion against enemies from Outworld in a high-stakes fight for the universe.

But will Cole be pushed hard enough to unlock his arcana—an extraordinary force from within his soul—in time to save not only his family, but also to stop Outworld for good?

Mortal Kombat was directed by Simon McQuoid and is his directorial debut. He worked with Greg Russo and Dave Callaham as screenwriters on the story directed by Oren Uziel and Russo.

If you look back a little, the first two Mortal Kombat films did not produce great success, thus making the next Mortal Kombat project have to languish in the studio for almost two decades.

In late 2010, Warner Bros. Pictures began developing a new film, with Kevin Tancharoen serving as director of a script written by Uziel.

James Wan was announced as a producer in August 2015 and McQuoid was hired as director in November 2016. Production took place in Adelaide and elsewhere in South Australia from September to December 2019.

And, is the wait of the two decades worth waiting for his fans this time? The answer is yes!

Director McQuoid managed to bring legendary characters to the big screen with an approach that seemed to get fans of both the series and the game "Mortal Kombat" excited.

Unlike the previous two battle-focused films, the director prefers to make his debut film a character recognition event and the opening gate for a sequel that seems likely to happen.

McQuoid also did a good job of performing this fight sequence with fun and excitement -- at least for his fans, as it was portrayed as fitting with his game -- with a variety of choreography and thrilling action.

Mortal Kombat is probably arguably one of the most "brutal" games. Don't worry! Gliding with a D-17 rating, each fight is visualized in such a way -- gory and shows some very imaginative deaths in graphic detail.

Many unexpected moments are the best part of this adaptation, especially if you watch them on the big screen.

Mortal Kombat has references and mythologies that are arguably quite complicated, so it's also not easy for filmmakers to translate and tell it directly. This makes the pace of the film sometimes feel so fast, or vice versa.

Switching to the character, the audience will be presented by a variety of characters with their own powers (arcana). The character and background of each different character makes the film feel fresh and has their own dynamics when watching it.

The most eye-catching performances were Joe Taslim as Sub-Zero and Hiroyuki Sanada as Scorpion. Both are able to display these two key characters with a prime and evocative audience.

On the other hand, the new main character introduced by Lewis Tan, Cole, still feels less "kicking" when compared to the other two characters mentioned above. However, of course, his presence in the next round is worth the wait.

Overall, Mortal Kombat provides a variety of refreshing changes from previous adaptations. What's more, the film seems to keep the essential points that its fans love.

Mortal Kombat seems to be a satisfying adaptation that fans can be proud of; and, in the world of video game adaptations, that alone is already a significant achievement.

The film premiered in various Indonesian cinemas starting Wednesday, April 14, 2021.