Mortal Kombat (2021) User Reviews

Not bad. 1st part of a trilogy.

[ThomDerd · 6/10 · 14 May 2021]

Great visuals, excellent fight scenes, good choices on most of the cast (e.g Kano, Scorpion, Sub-Zero) and just a fun movie overall. If you are familiar with the game, you will like it.

Keep in mind that it's a trilogy, so this first film tries to add some background! Luckily there's not much time spent on meaningless conversations and the scenes get into the action parts faster than you would expect. Runtime of 1h 50min is works well; you will not be bored.

Fight scenes get more rewarding halfway through, closer to the game style.

Also, the idea to rotate this film's story around the rivalry between scorpion and sub-zero worked; it gave some background. Maybe the lead protagonist is not that interesting compared to the other characters but he seems necessary to keep the story moving forward.

So, this first film does the job and although not everyone from the game is in it, I m sure all the other favorite characters will appear in the next 2 films and I m looking forward to that.

6,5/10 good effort bringing the game on film screen.

A valiant effort but exactly what you expect

[cyrax-92742 · 7/10 · 18 April 2021]

Great action and fight choreography as was to be expected from a movie with this title, special effects regarding characters and their abilities were also very well done especially considering the budget constraints this movie had. Storyline was predictable from the beginning and the writing itself isn't gonna win any awards, characters say their catchphrases from the games in key moments of the film, however, one big surprise for me was the character of Kano. He was the biggest and funniest comic relief character in the whole movie, constantly throwing jokes and insults at other characters. Probably one of the funniest, self aware movie characters I've seen in a long time.

There are also weird editing jumps in the movie, one moment you're looking at characters interacting and in the next you're looking at something completely different. The movie suffers from a few of these, but given this is the directors first foray into the world of movie making, I'll take that L, most of the other important things were handled with care,

If you know what you're getting and your expectations are right, this movie isn't gonna let you down with violence and gore, if you're expecting more then it's gonna be a letdown.

7 for nostalgia 6 for a movie as a whole

[specopswolfmp · 7/10 · 24 April 2021]

I believe I was 12 years old when the first Mortal Kombat came out at the arcades, I would stand in lines meticulously destroying my competition. Watching this movie brought back memories that I hadn't thought about since I was young . To make this short, The nostalgia was perfect, they had all the old champions with a few new mixed in..The beginning was awesome, I really thought it was going to be a different Mortal Kombat movie, However, the beginning is the only drama you see after that its all fights. WHICH WERE AWESOME, but for people looking to see some sort of drama or decent script writing it falls very short.

Fun, gory but could be better!

[viantyara · 7/10 · 20 April 2021]

I don't really play Mortal Kombat or even follow the concept behind it. But even so, I enjoyed this movie. The fighting choreography is top notch! The costume, the cgi is also worth the hype. I love that they decided to make it rated R. But there's also some things that bothered me, like some bad cinematography, cheesy dialogues, and the somehow boring protagonist. The act 3 of the movie really felt rushed like the writers only had 5 minutes left to finish the script. I hope the sequel will have a better act 3.

And this was the best they could come up with?

[Darwinskid · 1 June 2021]

I am not that biggest Mortal Kombat fanatic, I would at best describe myself as a casual fan of the property, I played the first three games endlessly as a kid and watched the short lived animated series, short lived live-action TV series, and the original 1995 feature film adaptation multiple times. A new big screen version seemed appropriate in this day and age with technology becoming more advanced and the franchise's mythology becoming more complex but honestly after watching this latest attempt I am left scratching my head as to how and why this was considered to be the best possible version they could have made. Story-wise it's pretty boring, its essentially a 'set-up' tale that stuck in first act mode throughout its entire runtime, it moves pretty fast and its a little hard to invest yourself to the characters because of it. The humor is really mean spirited and completely overdone, I like Kano as a character but often I found myself yelling "shut up!" at the screen. The action I have to say is not very impressive, a lot of it is pretty cut heavy and you do not really feel any sense of excitement or feel there is any danger for the heroic characters in this. Visually, it looks and feels a lot like a series from The CW, very few times really feel it warranted a big screen release on a cinematographic level. Honestly, that it was R rated is the one aspect they got right, everything else however...No.

B-movie reboot

[SnoopyStyle · 6/10 · 30 April 2021]

Earth is on the verge of annihilation. After nine victories by Outworld, they are one loss away from the Earth being conquered. Cole Young (Lewis Tan), Sonya Blade (Jessica McNamee), and Liu Kang (Ludi Lin) must defeat the warriors of ruthless Outworld Emperor Shang Tsung (Chin Han).

This is a violent, hard-R reboot of the video game adaptation from the 90's. It has scraped off the cheese and speckled on some more action. The special effects are mostly up to date. It's very competent like the competent acting, action, and designs. The story is basic and set up to have more movies in the franchise. Josh Lawson is funny as Kano. The others are less charismatic. The missing ingredient is an A-list actor or an old action star doing a side role cameo. It's an old Hollywood trick but it works. It would give this the illusion of an A-list movie. As it stands, this is a well made B-movie and it's probably enough to continue as a B-movie franchise. Sadly, that road is usually downhill but maybe it could be a long ride.

7 is about right.

[mclive25-877-401488 · 7/10 · 23 April 2021]

Plot was lacking but the violence, gore and fighting choreography made up for it. The editing was a bit choppy and lacked in arrears that needed more detail. With all that being said, it was overall enjoyable if you're an MK fan.

Amazing for fans (but improvable). For the rest... probably less so.

[educallejero · 7/10 · 16 April 2021]

The good: the story mostly works, the characterizations are insanely good (from costumes to personalities), and the movie is as gory and brutal as needed, actually way funnier than expected, and the CGI for the powers really great.

The bad: the story is a bit messy, the characters motivations and reactions not always 100% natural and/or coherent, and the action and fights (with the exception of the ones with Scorpion) are fine, but the choreography and/or filming is kind of weak (easy to improve with a bigger budget and more talent on board).

🦂

[samtv-18889 · 7/10 · 23 April 2021]

A beautiful movie that brings back joyful memories But Scorpion's role was small And the scenes of fighting and karate should be stronger and more.🦂

Solid 7. Maybe some slight spoilers

[sedwing · 7/10 · 24 April 2021]

Faithful to the game as far as fatalities go. Faithful to the Sub-Zero and Scorpion rivalry. Action packed, great fighting choreography, acting was good. What it lacked was the tournament. It seemed the story and script was overwhelmed by the decades of story from the game. It needs sequels to complete what I watched. It seems they set up for one. It made me feel like this movie was made to set up more. Overall they stayed faithful, and developed a movie lovers of the franchise cannot ignore to love. Gore, funny, action.

Dumb fun

[ghrwoo · 10/10 · 4 May 2021]

I am not quite sure why many are going into this movie expecting some "Grade A" writing and pacing. This is literally a Mortal Kombat movie you know what you are going to get and it gave what was needed good entertainment and fighting and brutality. I didn't start up Mortal Kombat on my HBOMax expecting some amazing award-winning plot or writing I came for the fights and characters. I am not sure what a lot were expecting out of this its Mortal Kombat lol also the fight choreography was really well done I am not sure what in the world some are talking about.

Entertaining movie and pretty much what I expected.

If you want to watch it, don't let negative reviews stop you.

[pash46 · 7/10 · 4 May 2021]

I'll try to say as little as possible so no spoilers.

I, personally wanted to watch it and changed my mind the first time going to a theater as I read some reviews here. I'm glad I changed my mind again and went to see it.

I enjoyed the whole movie,and looking forward to next one. The negative reviews mostly say couple of things : 1 bad acting 2 not enough action.. Well firstly it's not an oscar reaching drama so for acting - acting was fine, all characters were in their style and some even better than expected.

The movie has plenty of action but you gotta keep in mind that it's clearly made to be continued soon, so this film gives a nice welcome to MK world. Well balanced story good action and def fun MK fights.

...these reviewers must have lost the love for MK world, but it's easier to criticize the movie vs recognizing that they too old for this .lol..

Ignore negative reviews, go watch it and enjoy.

Great movie

[dwisunucahyoutomo · 7/10 · 4 May 2021]

It's actually great, with the history of this.

The fight is totally awesome, it's very outstanding when see Sub-Zero use his ice.

But, I think, the story still need more, because it's feel too forced to be 2 hours.

Entertaining

[royhd · 7/10 · 29 April 2021]

The movie was fun and entertaining, but without hiroyuki sanada and Joe taslim, this movie is nothing... :-)

Watch if you are a MK fan, otherwise skip it

[Leungzy · 7/10 · 23 April 2021]

Let's set the expectations first. This movie is based on a video game, not a book or a comic. If you are going into the movie expecting an Oscar winning script or Oscar performances from actors, then you will be disappointed.

If you are hoping for a decent screenplay based on the video game with good fight scenes, screen adaptions of your favourite characters and improved choreography and CGI compared to previous Mortal Kombat movies, then you will enjoy this movie. Based on those criteria and scoring this movie from an entertainment point of view, I would give it an 7/10 - I would have loved to have heard the original theme from the 1995 movie in this.

I personally didn't have high expectations for this movie due to the fact that very few video games have had good screenplay adaptions. However, I was pleasantly surprised at the job the producers have done for this movie.

Although I did not know some of the actors, I thought the casting of the characters was perfect and loved seeing the job they did with them. I especially loved the screen adaptions of the characters special moves... they were a joy to behold. Kano was also surprisingly very funny and the producers did a great job including some of the characters catchphrases. The fictional worlds were also impressive looking in the movie.

If you are a fan of the Mortal Kombat game, and you enjoyed the 1995 movie, then this movie is definitely for you. If you are looking for a cheesy entertaining movie to watch then you can't really go astray either with this. If neither of those scenarios apply to you then you should probably give this a miss.

Solid game movie

[bloodworia · 7/10 · 24 April 2021]

You shouldn't be taking this more as the fan service that it is. I never really played the games, but watched the playthroughs and story modes quiet a bit.

I always loved the Fatalities and you got them here, even some kind of inside jokes from the game.

I would really like another movie.

It wasn't a masterpiece, but it was enjoyable to watch.

Poorly Made

[k_l_c55-777-242630 · 3/10 · 24 April 2021]

To be honest first 7 minutes seems shot by somebody else

the rest very poorly made,

+ opening is amazing +great subzero and kano +brutal fatalities

-bad pacing and editing -bad acting -main character sux -music choise and the new remix theme are worst ever.

alright alright

[LandonFranszcheil · 7/10 · 29 April 2021]

Pretty legit, solid. Had a good time watching.

Wished it was longer with more action scenes. Otherwise, totally legit and would totally watch this one again.

Hell yea!

[Calicodreamin · 8/10 · 23 April 2021]

I actually quite enjoyed watching this movie! The action was awesome, the jokes were actually funny, and the storyline was fairly well developed. The main characters were badass, and the CGI was stunningly good. I went in with no expectations and was rewarded with a good time. Finish them!

Solid movie on the "Mortal Kombat/Street Fighter" scale

[and_shove_it_up_your_butt · 7/10 · 24 April 2021]

First things first - I'm super pissed they didn't yell MOORRTTAALLLL KOOMMMBBAAATTT" even once during the movie. I waited to hear it and was so disappointed *insert thug tear here*

Moving on, I thought the movie was solid!! Seeing some of my faves (like Scorpion, Raiden and Sub-Zero) took me back to my youth when I spent hours playing Mortal Kombat, trying to hit fatalities on the wretched Sega controller. It's gory and now that I'm a bit older it can be hard to watch but I knew what to expect going in. All in all MK had great fight scenes, so-so character development and tons of nostalgia. You can't go into these movies thinking they will be Oscar worthy or you'll be disappointed.

As they said in Gladiator - I was, in fact, quite entertained and am looking forward to the next one!

Nostalgia fest

[misslilia84 · 7/10 · 24 April 2021]

Brought out all the 90s kid feels. Not sure why some reviews are so low. Fight scenes were great, special effects were great, story was serviceable. It's not going to win an oscar, but i feel like they did a great job with this adaptation. Hope they include Kitana in the sequel.

(Almost) Flawless Victory

[tomicalvert · 7/10 · 5 May 2021]

It is a Mortal Kombat movie, so nobody expects a cinematic masterpiece but rather a fun martial arts movie with fun fighting scenes and cool special effects. That being said; this movie nails it but it still needs polishing in that area. The fighting is the centerpiece of this movie, but some shots and cuts take that away a bit too often and makes you go from "holy cow" to "what was that?" a bit too much. This is especially sad since not only the special effects were great but so are the fighting choreographies, and the editing overshadows the amazing actors' work.

On the other hand this movie presented some cheesy and awkward moments script-wise, having some noticeable plot holes and basic dialogues, but it also delivers great performances; mainly from Josh Lawson (Kano).

In conclusion: when you walk in wanting to watch a Mortal Kombat movie you know what you're going to get. And while this movie needs some polishing to be done in its editing and writing in its essence is actually a great movie... or rather a... Flawless Victory!

Another Game based movie ruined

[dawid-per · 4/10 · 8 May 2021]

When you have a game with full fledged story, characters world and you use it in worst possible way you get 2021 Mortal Kombat.

Main character is crime against viewers (or at least gaming community) - both from arc and acting perspective. Only thing vaguely remaining from original stories is Scorpion vs Sub-Zero arc, that of course they needed to ruin by somehow attaching Earth countries to them (chinaaa baaad!!).

Fighting sequences are what can be expected from B grade movie - 1500 cuts for one move, some of CGI is atrocious (Reptile and Goro look worst than in 1995 edition).

BTW Ever heard of this great Mortal Kombat turnament? Yeah, neither did creators of this movie.

What a terrible waste of potential and budget.

Pretty Fun

[paulbarboot · 7/10 · 4 May 2021]

Could this movie have been better? For sure. Are the characters fun? Yes. Are the fight scenes good? Absolutely. I would've liked a couple more ninja scenes worked in. I feel the ninja genre is under served and there's a ripe opportunity to bring it back. And of course they had two of the coolest ninjas ever at their disposal.

Freaking awesome!!!!

[kazkadaz · 10/10 · 25 April 2021]

When scorpion says "get over here" and the mortal kombat music starts playing, that gave me chills!!!! I hope we do get the trilogy, seeing your childhood on the screen is always perfection.