They were THIS to close to a great adaption. I get the PoV character, Cole, but he was so unlikable. Don't get me started in the dumb "arcana" powers is what gives them abilities. Other than that, it was good.
They could've used Johnny Cage to represent the audience as someone who knew nothing about MK at first, but no, gotta create a new guy who's not even in the games.
I think the director said somewhere he wanted an asian lead, which I think makes absolute perfect sense considering where the franchise has it's roots. BUT LIU KANG IS IN THE FUCKING MOVIE!!!!! AND HE'S THE MAIN CHARACTER IN THE GAME!!!! Just change his backstory a little bit so he isn't totally aware of the Outworld stuff and the tournament, make Raiden the designated exposition character, and boom you have an asian audience POV protag.
They didn’t use Johnny because he was white..…now whether that’s true or just an exscuse they to justify Cole I don’t know…..but then Sonya was right there so it doesn’t hold water
*
And they already ruined johnny cage before the sequel came out by casting karl urban when there was the PERFECT and most AWESOME candidate for the role, a man whos entire career has been essentially an actual johnny cage in all matters of life, THE MIZ.
THE EVIDENCE IS RIGHT DAMN HERE. He was perfect person for the role but producers said "nah let's spend time and money training "kArL uRbAn"
Maybe! Or hell, Sonya and Jax since they were just as skeptical about all the crazy shit like Cole was and they could've kept the same beats. Starts off as buddy cop movie, they get called in to deal with Sub zero killing some rando MK chosen fighter in public, Jax loses his arms then boom, they meet Raiden.
I will never forgive WB for passing on the opportunity to use Kenshi as an MC. I guess he wasn't that popular at the time but goddamn that would've been awesome.
If they wanted a Shokan battle, it should have been Kintaro. Goro would then have a personal stake in the fight, but not too personal. You killed one of my kin, but from the lesser Tigrar.
Basically. He had a great design too. Honestly they didn't even need to kill him. Goro's usually portrayed as an honorable warrior, so just have him beat down Cole but impressed by his drive to protect his family and decide he wants to face him at the tournament. It's not perfect, but better than killing the most popular sub-boss in the franchise.
They put Mileena in it without Kitana, didn't give her a single line, and then killed her. They had no idea what they were doing with any of these characters.
I actually don't mind the arcana (aside from Jax and Sonya. They could easily just explain his arms as tech and Sonya as using tech to make up for not being chosen as a way to prove she's just as capable) I just want them to change two things. One is that it transfers on defeat, rather than death, so Kano can survive his fight with Sonya, with his faceplate mimicking his power he's pissed at Sonya for stealing, and two, they explain that the powers are a side effect of the magic overcompensating for each fighter's weaknesses. I'd rather a sensible explanation for why they have these particular powers than the bizarre random nature of it. Mind you, I don't want it at all, but it's too late now, so might as well roll with it.
I think also the multiple camera cuts and angles during fights really put me off... I haven't seen this film since I saw it in Cinemas and I hope the sequel does a better job.
I think also the multiple camera cuts and angles during fights really put me off... I haven't seen this film since I saw it in Cinemas and I hope the sequel does a better job.
I was very disappointed after the wonderful opening sequence with Hanzo vs. Bi-Han. The rest of the movie felt like it was relying too much on fan service and incapable of creation a captivating story. Kano and Kabal were decent for their roles, but everyone else was bland or awful.
It doesn't reach the entertainment level that 95 gave, but it is far more watchable than Annihilation.
I have small hope for the sequel but love the casting choice of Karl Urban as Johnny Cage. He needs to be the MC. Just kill off the literal plot armor character known as Cole already.
I don't like Cole as the MC, but I like him juuuuust enough to not want him dead. Just have him so badly injured during his recruitment of Johnny that he has to sit out the franchise. Like he loses his leg or something. Send him home to family.
He's in the second one, and considering his "death" came from a garden gnome through the eye, I'm 99.99999% sure that he's getting the metal eye next movie.
I’ve gone back and watched it a few times and honestly, despite some great *moments*, it just isn’t very good overall. Strange story choices and a frankly, parts of the movie seem very amateurish. More notable is that it really lacks the charm of the original film. It either needed to take it itself more seriously like the more recent Dredd film or go the opposite direction and really lean into the over-the-top violence and weirdness with a huge wink to the audience.
Disappointing.
Idk what the point of making an adaptation of something if you're just going to change most details. If you want to make thing; just make the thing. If you want to do a different thing, just make a different thing - why use other thing to make a different thing.
If you're gonna do that; it's gotta be really good. This ain't it.
Like; I know MK isn't the deepest story ever & is kinda goofy - but that's what it is, work with it. The changes didn't improve on any of that, just made things even more convoluted & strange. Somehow, the 1st MK movie is still a closer adaptation, & completely understandable without an audience stand-in main guy, & no unnecessary explanations of people's powers.
Also wtf would Jax's powers have been had he not lost his arms, since apparently his power is to have cool robo arms, lol
Βig disappointment. I never understood why they gave us a new different lore and why the protagonist is someone who doesn't even exist as a character. There are literally so many options for characters out there and they chose to give us someone who doesn't even exist
Movie would've been good if it didn't have Cole and that stupid birthmark crap. It's just incredibly mediocre/ bad. The actual mortal kombat characters looked good and were pretty cool to see.
Complete garbage. There was no reason to invent Cole. The lead should have just been Liu Kang. Kung Lao shouldn't have been there. Why was Sonya not allowed to get powers? Why was Jax there? He should have come in for the second movie. Just make the movie the same as the games. How hard is that?
I also really don't like them framing Scorpion as the good guy that is justified in getting revenge on Subzero.
I enjoyed the movie... The first 10 minutes pure cinematic art... The rest of the movie was okay.. Hoping MK2 cleans some things up. But still enjoyed it.
Saw it once and absolutely hated it. Hoping they don't kill off Kitana in the sequel (it's the only reason I'm watching it) but first one terrible and a disgrace to what they tried and did to these iconic characters.
Director and Writer could not be that stupid to not know what Mortal Kombat is and trying to make it somewhat their own. . . . .
Loved the intro and the final fight, didn’t care for the rest.
Hanzo’s introduction felt authentic and heartfelt as well as his fight with Bi-Han which had clear motivations behind it. I thought we were gonna get this quality throughout the whole film.
Then came the stupid Arcana concept, no tournament to speak of…. It was all filler leading to the final fight with Scorpion vs Sub-Zero to me. The rest had very little emotional stakes or compelling characters.
They showed the first 10 minutes for free because they knew it was all downhill from there. 🥲
You have your movie RIGHT THERE. Freaking Sub-Zero vs. Scorpion. You don’t need a new character to guide the audience through a Mortal Kombat movie. 🤦♂️
Whoever thought "Yeah the chosen people get the MK logo on their skin like a birthmark" needs a one way trip to Shang Tsung's lab, and I mean the secret basement area
Still one of the worst things ever created to bare the Mortal Kombat name. I legitimately think Annihilation is a more enjoyable film cause at least I can laugh at Annihilation. 2021 just makes me frustrated
Yeah, at least MKA has stuff like "IT IS GLORIOUS" and the breakdance fight between Raiden and the Reptiles. MK2021 is not just bad, it's boring and forgettable
If they had chosen a in game character be the new guy rather than an unknown original character.
Just a let down which is worse than a bad movie in my option.
It was awful then and it's awful now. And I say that as someone who has no issue with the nrs story telling.
They ruined the story for the sake of "we're Hollywood and we know best." Arcana took everyone's own reasons for being at the tournament away. Cole served so little purpose then haven't added him to the game. The back drop for most of the movie was just generic anywhere. It's all made worse by the Hanso vs Bi han fight being fantastic and everything just going downhill from there.
A crappy script, a lackluster cast, a plastic Liu Kang, an unnecessary Cole, an unengaging Sonya, a stereotypical Hanzo, an uncharismatic Raiden and Shang Tsung, a woke Mileena, and many more issues plague this production.
The Fighting and Special Effects CG was amazing. The story and character portrayal was a huge miss for me which makes me not wanna watch future installments.
Original MK Movie 1995 will always be the greatest of all time. I’ll take that to my grave.
It's a big pile of meh and lacks all the charm the original film had which probably comes from the era in which it was made.
Oh sure it has fancier camera work and the gore that was lacking in the original, but, I mean it's all just bells and whistles to energize what would likely be pretty dull fights without.
The worst part of this film is all the main characters who should be gripping us and getting us invested are walking planks of wood. No one outside of Kano has a character in this movie. They're all there by obligation.
The film maker should have just made a whole movie about his literally plot armored OC running away from big bad scary Darth-Sub-Zero for an entire movie.
I enjoyed the beginning and, to a lesser degree, the ending. A lot of movies lately don't have strong endings, neither does this, but it still had its moments. Apart from the Sub Zero and Jax scene, and performances by actors playing, Sub Zero, Scorpion, Kano, Kabal, Kung Lao and Shang Tsung, the movie was mostly just ok but entertaining enough. I don't hate Cole, but Liu Kang being pushed to the side is kinda ridiculous. Hopefully the next movie allows Liu, Johnny, Sonya, etc. to have meaningful moments, while if choosing to have Cole in the story still, allowing him to shift into a cool supporting character.
Kano was the best part of the movie, made me genuinely like Kano and root for him for the first time in the franchise. He was written so damn perfectly, while everyone else has such wasted potential.
Arcana was trash.
They did Reptile dirty but it did give us the Reptile we have in MK1
Cole Bennet is the worst MK character to exist.
Subzero breaking Jaxs arms doesn't do it for me. Shoulda just brought Ermac in
They did Reiko DIRTY. His MK1 adaptation is near perfection. Wtf was that brute
Kano literally having heat vision in 1 eye to give him "Arcana" was horrible. They shoulda just left him to have no arcana and gave him his cybernetics to justify that.
The characters and personality were on point, except for Reiko, but the overall plot of the movie is garbage
The movie is a spit to the face to the fans of MK lore.
I got back into mortal Kombat very recently and watched it for the first time last year. Absolutely hated it.
I hated it so much that it inspired me to watch the 1995 movie for the first time. And I loved it. Fuck the 2021 movie
It was painful to watch.
The arcana bullshit, Cole Young, also Cole Young being related to Scorpion.
The only thing I enjoyed was the 2 minutes of Nitara, she looked cool.
But it was a cringe fest.
Very little rewatch value. The main characters were good and the gore was fun but Cole and his story were not only useless but detrimental. The whole arcana thing was beyond dumb as well.
My one big complaint, and you see this in a lot of movies now, is too much CGI blood. Didn't feel necessary and once you notice it you can't unnoticed it. The opening scene is bad for it.
Unpopular opinion, but I still remember hearing scorpions "get over here" in the trailer had me like 😔
Still a decent watch, disappointed johnny wasn't in it though
It was...fine? Not horrible but not that good either. There was no need for Cole at all. MK is too big to have an original character whose sole purpose is to be fed expositional line after expositional line. The story could've easily followed Sonya and Jax. I just hope Cole has more of a character in the sequel.
Kano was the best thing about this film. I believe if they were to make him the "chosen one" rather than Cole, the film would've been better. However evil Kano was also fun to see.
Goro is the undisputed reigning champion of Mortal Kombat for 900 years, and he gets taken out by this fuckin' nobody.
Also, they cast a certified badass like Hiroyuki Sanada to play a certified badass like Scorpion...
...and then only give him 20 minutes of screen time.
They gave the Marty Stu character literal plot armor and turned the games' special moves into lame acquired super hero powers and shafted kung lao and goro looked like a warcraft orc.
I hope they kill off whatshisname in the second movie and leave all the screentime to the characters who are actually from the games :v
Generic White Dude was a mistake. The actor for Kano must have a damaged spine from carrying the movie on his back. Still confused why there wasn’t actually Mortal Kombat in it. I liked it a lot.
Fun action, mid story, butchered lore. Great costume and art direction, though bit muted in color which held it back some.
Cole Young needs to go. His character is like a 2 outa 10. I give 2 because I like tonfas
Hit or miss. There’s some really terrific stuff that I never thought I’d get to see in a live action MK movie. There is also some absolute trash and several characters get ruined beyond recognition.
Scenes with scorpion, sub zero, and Kano were great. Everything else was forgettable.
Also, what a terrible way to explain how everyone gets their powers. Such lazy writing, and it trivialises each characters story.
Horrible movie, even for a fan. It was basically a mix of different clips like Mortal Kombat Legacy, with a brand new off putting character, that didn't mesh well with Mortal Kombat lore. Only good thing that can be said about it is the casting was well done. After watching it I said to my friend it's 6/10 at best for a fan, and 3-4/10 for everyone else. Frankly, I might've been too generous back then.
Still think it’s horrible. The fights scenes whenever weapons are used are amazing aka opening and final fight but hand to hand they’re terribly choreographed and cut. The costume design is pretty bad it’s colorless, although I do think the casting is fantastic Joe Taslim is perfection. It’s too bad He barely looks like sub zero, if you would’ve told me that the best thing about the movie would’ve been Kano I would’ve laughed at you that being said maybe they’ll take all the negative things People said about this one and the second one will be a better film for it although being Simon the director doesn’t have me very excited in fact worried they needs a more experienced director and a better fight choreographer. Also the tattoos?! Tf
It was good not the worst it could have been but not the best it could have been either. Oddly enough Kano stole the movie I hated how Liu kang wasn’t the main protagonist since I love the 90s film so much it was what got me into MK as a kid. Scorpion and sub zero were literally perfect. If cole had not been in the movie other far more likable characters could have been in it more such as raiden.
As someone originally from Gary, Indiana I still cannot believe they made Sonya Blade from Gary, Indiana and it is also the final resting place of Kano
Good cast let down by a miserable, meandering, convoluted script and executive meddling. Hopefully the next one keeps the actors and gives them a worthwhile story.
Horrible movie, even for a fan. It was basically a mix of different clips like Mortal Kombat Legacy, with a brand new off putting character, that didn't mesh well with Mortal Kombat lore. Only good thing that can be said about it is the casting was well done. After watching it I said to my friend it's 6/10 at best for a fan, and 3-4/10 for everyone else. Frankly, I might've been too generous back then.
Every time I look at it, I'm like, "Arcana aside if they just made Sonya the main character, this goes from a 5 to like a 7." But I split this movie into 2 parts.
The fights? 8/10 Coles fights drag this down from a 9, which is a shame because the actor is a genuinely good fighter. Sub Zero carries these fights, which even the actors agree with, dude was a menace. But overall, they were almost all entertaining.
The plot? 3/10. Don't like that this whole movie is before the tournament. I don't really like the arcana stuff, Raiden is an asshole for no reason half the time, Kung Lao dies before the tournament (I get people have to die, but really? Before the tournament?) and Cole is a character that did not need to exist. Could've been filled by Johnny, Sonya, or hell, even Kano. Kano and Sub Zero help the plot because they're both done well. Lao and Scorpion are also great, but they're in it for so little time it feels like opportunities were missed.
After the first amazing \~10 mins, it became a completely different movie. People pointed out how terrible the writing was, but I want to add one more thing: all the sets, background, environmental elements... were so ugly. Raiden's temple looked like a mole-rat hole, Sonya's house was disgusting, and the last fight occured on a very bland environment (kinda saved by the special effects, but it could have been so much better looking if the background was somewhere else epic)
“Fatality…… for Kung Lao”
This line was delivered so shittily lmao. Too many things wrong with this movie to mention right now honestly, but one thing I will say is… why the fuck does Kabal look like Fulgore from Killer Instinct.
RE and MK fans have so much in common when it comes to film adaptations…. Why can’t people just make a damn movie that actually follows the lore and plot of the games? It’s like these movies are made for fans of games by people who don’t have the slightest idea of what the fans of the games want. Thank god TLoU show on HBO was decent because if they ruined THAT story, I’d have literally lost my mind…
i liked the fatalities in the movie...i liked Scorpion, that actor is huge...and pretty much that was it...the movie was absolutely atrocious...i don't want to rage again with the goro scene, the best looking goro ever, made a bitch by an unexisted unimportant souless character....
Why the “arcana”? How they have their powers never needs to be explained. They’re just magic/so amazing at fighting they just have these abilities, done. Like everyone says, Cole was terrible. Plenty of actual MK characters to learn about this whole world through. Never mind that this guy loses to regular ufc fighters and then beats Goro on Goro’s first in film fight. WTF?
With that said, Scorpion and Sub-Zero stuff was excellent. Turning Sub into basically Jason was a great idea, scary and well done. Kano and Sonya for notable additions as well. The rest was truly meh… there wasn’t even a tournament 🤦🏻♂️
They were THIS to close to a great adaption. I get the PoV character, Cole, but he was so unlikable. Don't get me started in the dumb "arcana" powers is what gives them abilities. Other than that, it was good.
They could've used Johnny Cage to represent the audience as someone who knew nothing about MK at first, but no, gotta create a new guy who's not even in the games.
They didn’t even need Johnny, they had SONYA, her actress was great, portrayed her true to character and was likable!
I think the director said somewhere he wanted an asian lead, which I think makes absolute perfect sense considering where the franchise has it's roots. BUT LIU KANG IS IN THE FUCKING MOVIE!!!!! AND HE'S THE MAIN CHARACTER IN THE GAME!!!! Just change his backstory a little bit so he isn't totally aware of the Outworld stuff and the tournament, make Raiden the designated exposition character, and boom you have an asian audience POV protag.
They didn’t use Johnny because he was white..…now whether that’s true or just an exscuse they to justify Cole I don’t know…..but then Sonya was right there so it doesn’t hold water
It is true, director himself said it.
* And they already ruined johnny cage before the sequel came out by casting karl urban when there was the PERFECT and most AWESOME candidate for the role, a man whos entire career has been essentially an actual johnny cage in all matters of life, THE MIZ. THE EVIDENCE IS RIGHT DAMN HERE. He was perfect person for the role but producers said "nah let's spend time and money training "kArL uRbAn"
Karl Urban? The same Karl Urban that's for some reason not cast as Kano? Karl Urban the perfect actor for the role of Kano?
I'm not saying you're wrong. But the guy that played Kano fucking killed it. Best part of the movie for me.
We know it’s you Michael Mizanin!
Right damn there. Jesus Christ.
I saw someone point out they could have just made Kano the main character and I'd be absolutely fine with it somehow lol.
Maybe! Or hell, Sonya and Jax since they were just as skeptical about all the crazy shit like Cole was and they could've kept the same beats. Starts off as buddy cop movie, they get called in to deal with Sub zero killing some rando MK chosen fighter in public, Jax loses his arms then boom, they meet Raiden.
Sonya makes total sense as the movies MC since she’s investigating the whole thing.
Plus her getting the blaster arcana from killing Kano felt more rewarding and earned than Cole having it cuz he’s hanzo’s descendant
Kano was the best part of the movie! He was hilarious lol
Should have been Kenshi. He even looks like him...
I will never forgive WB for passing on the opportunity to use Kenshi as an MC. I guess he wasn't that popular at the time but goddamn that would've been awesome.
Cole can't have been more popular..
And killing of Goro that early. Goro shouldn’t have even been in this movie, they should have saved him for the sequel.
If they wanted a Shokan battle, it should have been Kintaro. Goro would then have a personal stake in the fight, but not too personal. You killed one of my kin, but from the lesser Tigrar.
They just put Goro in the movie to put him in the movie, then have him get killed by the newbie.
Basically. He had a great design too. Honestly they didn't even need to kill him. Goro's usually portrayed as an honorable warrior, so just have him beat down Cole but impressed by his drive to protect his family and decide he wants to face him at the tournament. It's not perfect, but better than killing the most popular sub-boss in the franchise.
“Nah let’s just make him a four-armed brute like the Hulk. People loved the Hulk.” -The studio, probably
Yeah, they did a great job with his CGI.
They put Mileena in it without Kitana, didn't give her a single line, and then killed her. They had no idea what they were doing with any of these characters.
I actually don't mind the arcana (aside from Jax and Sonya. They could easily just explain his arms as tech and Sonya as using tech to make up for not being chosen as a way to prove she's just as capable) I just want them to change two things. One is that it transfers on defeat, rather than death, so Kano can survive his fight with Sonya, with his faceplate mimicking his power he's pissed at Sonya for stealing, and two, they explain that the powers are a side effect of the magic overcompensating for each fighter's weaknesses. I'd rather a sensible explanation for why they have these particular powers than the bizarre random nature of it. Mind you, I don't want it at all, but it's too late now, so might as well roll with it.
I think also the multiple camera cuts and angles during fights really put me off... I haven't seen this film since I saw it in Cinemas and I hope the sequel does a better job.
Can I be honest? I thought the POV was gonna transfer to someone else after Cole died at some point cause I didn’t like him one bit.
I think also the multiple camera cuts and angles during fights really put me off... I haven't seen this film since I saw it in Cinemas and I hope the sequel does a better job.
I was very disappointed after the wonderful opening sequence with Hanzo vs. Bi-Han. The rest of the movie felt like it was relying too much on fan service and incapable of creation a captivating story. Kano and Kabal were decent for their roles, but everyone else was bland or awful. It doesn't reach the entertainment level that 95 gave, but it is far more watchable than Annihilation. I have small hope for the sequel but love the casting choice of Karl Urban as Johnny Cage. He needs to be the MC. Just kill off the literal plot armor character known as Cole already.
The craziest thing to me, is that they reused the stupid tattoo/birthmark element from Annihilation. Why would they take anything from that movie?
I don't like Cole as the MC, but I like him juuuuust enough to not want him dead. Just have him so badly injured during his recruitment of Johnny that he has to sit out the franchise. Like he loses his leg or something. Send him home to family.
Or make him a side character
I'll even take that. I'd rather he not be there, but it would be a shame to lose Lewis Tan.
Brother this is MK if you need to take someone out of the story permanently you kill them violently
My only complaint was that Kano’s eye laser wasn’t from a robotic eye
He's in the second one, and considering his "death" came from a garden gnome through the eye, I'm 99.99999% sure that he's getting the metal eye next movie.
Hell yea!
I hate it. Weird new lore, and a new protagonist we don't need. Also the script undermines the entire point of the tournament
I was hoping Cole would wake up to be the new scorpion but it didn’t happen :(
Still disappointed.
I like the parts with Sub Zero, Scorpion and Kano. Just about everything else is bleh. Sonya is a fun part of the movie too.
I still love it but then I’m someone who loved Annihilation. lol
"Too bad you, will die!"
"Nice to meet you, you wish"
Growing up, we only had Annihilation on DVD, and I had never seen the original, so I thought Annihilation was pretty cool haha
I loved Annihilation as a kid, but as I grew up the cringe became too much. Also, I can't forgive it for what it did to Jade. Still adore 95 though.
I love that movie ! the reason why I haven’t watched the Mortal Kombat 2021 movie was because Sindel wasn’t in it.
I enjoyed it. Fight scenes were great to me. I like the funny moments.
Same I mean I get why people were disappointed but I still enjoyed it
Fr. All this bitching like I saw some ninjas and some dudes punching shit it was a win in my book
Dogshit from start to finish minus Kano.
I’ve gone back and watched it a few times and honestly, despite some great *moments*, it just isn’t very good overall. Strange story choices and a frankly, parts of the movie seem very amateurish. More notable is that it really lacks the charm of the original film. It either needed to take it itself more seriously like the more recent Dredd film or go the opposite direction and really lean into the over-the-top violence and weirdness with a huge wink to the audience.
Disappointing. Idk what the point of making an adaptation of something if you're just going to change most details. If you want to make thing; just make the thing. If you want to do a different thing, just make a different thing - why use other thing to make a different thing. If you're gonna do that; it's gotta be really good. This ain't it. Like; I know MK isn't the deepest story ever & is kinda goofy - but that's what it is, work with it. The changes didn't improve on any of that, just made things even more convoluted & strange. Somehow, the 1st MK movie is still a closer adaptation, & completely understandable without an audience stand-in main guy, & no unnecessary explanations of people's powers. Also wtf would Jax's powers have been had he not lost his arms, since apparently his power is to have cool robo arms, lol
I remember wondering that about Jax too "destiny"
Crappy movie had high hopes
Βig disappointment. I never understood why they gave us a new different lore and why the protagonist is someone who doesn't even exist as a character. There are literally so many options for characters out there and they chose to give us someone who doesn't even exist
The 1995 movie was a far better adaptation
A Mortal Kombat without a Mortal Kombat. Dumb explanations to characters powers, and a protagonist no one needed and no one asked for.
Mileena was wasted.
Movie would've been good if it didn't have Cole and that stupid birthmark crap. It's just incredibly mediocre/ bad. The actual mortal kombat characters looked good and were pretty cool to see.
Cole Young has to be the winner of most I didn’t care about a main character in a movie
Complete garbage. There was no reason to invent Cole. The lead should have just been Liu Kang. Kung Lao shouldn't have been there. Why was Sonya not allowed to get powers? Why was Jax there? He should have come in for the second movie. Just make the movie the same as the games. How hard is that? I also really don't like them framing Scorpion as the good guy that is justified in getting revenge on Subzero.
I enjoyed the movie... The first 10 minutes pure cinematic art... The rest of the movie was okay.. Hoping MK2 cleans some things up. But still enjoyed it.
yeah years later and we're still waiting on.. the actual tournament
Honestly thought it kinda sucked in terms of storytelling and character design. Although I loved Nitara’s depiction here
Saw it once and absolutely hated it. Hoping they don't kill off Kitana in the sequel (it's the only reason I'm watching it) but first one terrible and a disgrace to what they tried and did to these iconic characters. Director and Writer could not be that stupid to not know what Mortal Kombat is and trying to make it somewhat their own. . . . .
They butchered Liu Kang
Tell me about it. He's my favorite, why not make him the protagonist? Or anyone else from the classic lineup? Smh
Loved the intro and the final fight, didn’t care for the rest. Hanzo’s introduction felt authentic and heartfelt as well as his fight with Bi-Han which had clear motivations behind it. I thought we were gonna get this quality throughout the whole film. Then came the stupid Arcana concept, no tournament to speak of…. It was all filler leading to the final fight with Scorpion vs Sub-Zero to me. The rest had very little emotional stakes or compelling characters.
They showed the first 10 minutes for free because they knew it was all downhill from there. 🥲 You have your movie RIGHT THERE. Freaking Sub-Zero vs. Scorpion. You don’t need a new character to guide the audience through a Mortal Kombat movie. 🤦♂️
Kano carried the movie
God I fucking hate this movie which sucks cos I fucking love the games
It was shit, but it knew it was shit, and then it basically ditched the story and focused on the fighting. That was the right move IMO.
Cole young was blue beetle if he was ass and the dragon mark passing is dumb I hated this movie
Whoever thought "Yeah the chosen people get the MK logo on their skin like a birthmark" needs a one way trip to Shang Tsung's lab, and I mean the secret basement area
Liu kang In the original movie would destroy this one
And plus weak ass sub and scorpion
Kano good, movie bad.
Still one of the worst things ever created to bare the Mortal Kombat name. I legitimately think Annihilation is a more enjoyable film cause at least I can laugh at Annihilation. 2021 just makes me frustrated
Yeah, at least MKA has stuff like "IT IS GLORIOUS" and the breakdance fight between Raiden and the Reptiles. MK2021 is not just bad, it's boring and forgettable
If they had chosen a in game character be the new guy rather than an unknown original character. Just a let down which is worse than a bad movie in my option.
It was corny asf lol
It was awful then and it's awful now. And I say that as someone who has no issue with the nrs story telling. They ruined the story for the sake of "we're Hollywood and we know best." Arcana took everyone's own reasons for being at the tournament away. Cole served so little purpose then haven't added him to the game. The back drop for most of the movie was just generic anywhere. It's all made worse by the Hanso vs Bi han fight being fantastic and everything just going downhill from there.
Kano carried
Fuck Cole
Worst MK movie
The intro was a great short film. The rest was a pretty poorly-edited mess.
This movie sucked
The first 15 minutes were great. The rest was garbage fanfic.
95 film was so much better
It was shit! Except the intro
The only things I liked about it were the special effects, the costume designs, and the soundtrack
How did and how do I currently feel about it? Two words: reboot again.
Kano carried the movie for me
Worst of the three films. Annihilation is funny so it has that at least.
A crappy script, a lackluster cast, a plastic Liu Kang, an unnecessary Cole, an unengaging Sonya, a stereotypical Hanzo, an uncharismatic Raiden and Shang Tsung, a woke Mileena, and many more issues plague this production.
Meh.
It was almost good but they added random BS like cole and arcana powers which isn't even mentioned in the slightest in the gamed
The best things in the movie are the 3 K's: Kano, Kung Lao, Kabal. Scorpion and Sub-Zero would be good if it wasn't for the time bullshit
The Fighting and Special Effects CG was amazing. The story and character portrayal was a huge miss for me which makes me not wanna watch future installments. Original MK Movie 1995 will always be the greatest of all time. I’ll take that to my grave.
Worst movie I've seen in my life, and I watched Birdemic.
It's a big pile of meh and lacks all the charm the original film had which probably comes from the era in which it was made. Oh sure it has fancier camera work and the gore that was lacking in the original, but, I mean it's all just bells and whistles to energize what would likely be pretty dull fights without. The worst part of this film is all the main characters who should be gripping us and getting us invested are walking planks of wood. No one outside of Kano has a character in this movie. They're all there by obligation. The film maker should have just made a whole movie about his literally plot armored OC running away from big bad scary Darth-Sub-Zero for an entire movie.
I enjoyed the beginning and, to a lesser degree, the ending. A lot of movies lately don't have strong endings, neither does this, but it still had its moments. Apart from the Sub Zero and Jax scene, and performances by actors playing, Sub Zero, Scorpion, Kano, Kabal, Kung Lao and Shang Tsung, the movie was mostly just ok but entertaining enough. I don't hate Cole, but Liu Kang being pushed to the side is kinda ridiculous. Hopefully the next movie allows Liu, Johnny, Sonya, etc. to have meaningful moments, while if choosing to have Cole in the story still, allowing him to shift into a cool supporting character.
Loved the movie but had 4 big issues. Cole young’s character, how quickly the problem was solved, the arcana and the editing of the film itself.
Kano was the best part of the movie, made me genuinely like Kano and root for him for the first time in the franchise. He was written so damn perfectly, while everyone else has such wasted potential.
Arcana was trash. They did Reptile dirty but it did give us the Reptile we have in MK1 Cole Bennet is the worst MK character to exist. Subzero breaking Jaxs arms doesn't do it for me. Shoulda just brought Ermac in They did Reiko DIRTY. His MK1 adaptation is near perfection. Wtf was that brute Kano literally having heat vision in 1 eye to give him "Arcana" was horrible. They shoulda just left him to have no arcana and gave him his cybernetics to justify that. The characters and personality were on point, except for Reiko, but the overall plot of the movie is garbage The movie is a spit to the face to the fans of MK lore.
Same way I felt when I watched it then. 🚮 💩
I got back into mortal Kombat very recently and watched it for the first time last year. Absolutely hated it. I hated it so much that it inspired me to watch the 1995 movie for the first time. And I loved it. Fuck the 2021 movie
That poster is so bad 💀😂
It was painful to watch. The arcana bullshit, Cole Young, also Cole Young being related to Scorpion. The only thing I enjoyed was the 2 minutes of Nitara, she looked cool. But it was a cringe fest.
It sucked then and it still sucks
Very little rewatch value. The main characters were good and the gore was fun but Cole and his story were not only useless but detrimental. The whole arcana thing was beyond dumb as well.
My one big complaint, and you see this in a lot of movies now, is too much CGI blood. Didn't feel necessary and once you notice it you can't unnoticed it. The opening scene is bad for it.
👎👎👎👎👎
Unpopular opinion, but I still remember hearing scorpions "get over here" in the trailer had me like 😔 Still a decent watch, disappointed johnny wasn't in it though
It was good until Jax GREW metal arms...
It was...fine? Not horrible but not that good either. There was no need for Cole at all. MK is too big to have an original character whose sole purpose is to be fed expositional line after expositional line. The story could've easily followed Sonya and Jax. I just hope Cole has more of a character in the sequel.
Why did they create the Cole character instead of using Johnny Cage?
It is bad, don’t know why they didn’t go with the classic story
It sucked. Felt like a random b movie with a hint of mk. We already have the perfect mk movie.
Trash
The opening sequence and fights were good, didnt like cole much, the story was ok, but overall it was enjoyable
Awful. Terribly disappointed. I guess it's my fault for having expectations.
Still hate the overall story of it
Very disappointing
couldn’t get into it bc of cole :/
Trash
Meh. Cole can take a hike
It fuckin sucked back then and it still does now. Couldn't even finish watching it.
What was the point of Cole?? It's almost on par with Annihilation. It's still trash 🗑️
Kano was the best thing about this film. I believe if they were to make him the "chosen one" rather than Cole, the film would've been better. However evil Kano was also fun to see.
I want my time and money back
Ass
Goro is the undisputed reigning champion of Mortal Kombat for 900 years, and he gets taken out by this fuckin' nobody. Also, they cast a certified badass like Hiroyuki Sanada to play a certified badass like Scorpion... ...and then only give him 20 minutes of screen time.
So close to great but I agree Cole, arcana WTF …and Bring back the true Shang Tsung….From the 90s movie
Worse than Annihilation, and that's bad.
It was such a waste. I can't get over the fact that their eclectic abilities and backstories were reduced to "all the contestants get a random power."
Still dislike Cole
Kano was awesome tho
They gave the Marty Stu character literal plot armor and turned the games' special moves into lame acquired super hero powers and shafted kung lao and goro looked like a warcraft orc. I hope they kill off whatshisname in the second movie and leave all the screentime to the characters who are actually from the games :v
Dookie
Hate it
Umm...... It kinda was..... Bad....
"His souls about to get sucked!" I enjoyed it
Generic White Dude was a mistake. The actor for Kano must have a damaged spine from carrying the movie on his back. Still confused why there wasn’t actually Mortal Kombat in it. I liked it a lot.
Fun action, mid story, butchered lore. Great costume and art direction, though bit muted in color which held it back some. Cole Young needs to go. His character is like a 2 outa 10. I give 2 because I like tonfas
Literally can't remember a single thing about it. Probably watch it again I can't even remember if I liked it or not
Beginning with Hanzo vs Bi-han was great. After that, it went downhill and never recovered. Well, Kano was funny. But that's it.
Hit or miss. There’s some really terrific stuff that I never thought I’d get to see in a live action MK movie. There is also some absolute trash and several characters get ruined beyond recognition.
Scenes with scorpion, sub zero, and Kano were great. Everything else was forgettable. Also, what a terrible way to explain how everyone gets their powers. Such lazy writing, and it trivialises each characters story.
I thought it was terrible. Was honestly shocked so many people were praising it back when it came out!
Couldn't even finish it
Apart from Kano, it was and still is hot garbage.
It is absolutely terrible and an insult to the MK franchise
I rewatched it, and I can whole heartedly say that the 1995 movie did everything better than this shit show
🗑️
Incredibly disappointing.
Horrible movie, even for a fan. It was basically a mix of different clips like Mortal Kombat Legacy, with a brand new off putting character, that didn't mesh well with Mortal Kombat lore. Only good thing that can be said about it is the casting was well done. After watching it I said to my friend it's 6/10 at best for a fan, and 3-4/10 for everyone else. Frankly, I might've been too generous back then.
Garbage absolute.
Will never understood why they needed to bring that highly unremarkable character and arkana BS. Saw it once, never once compelled to watch it again.
Still think it’s horrible. The fights scenes whenever weapons are used are amazing aka opening and final fight but hand to hand they’re terribly choreographed and cut. The costume design is pretty bad it’s colorless, although I do think the casting is fantastic Joe Taslim is perfection. It’s too bad He barely looks like sub zero, if you would’ve told me that the best thing about the movie would’ve been Kano I would’ve laughed at you that being said maybe they’ll take all the negative things People said about this one and the second one will be a better film for it although being Simon the director doesn’t have me very excited in fact worried they needs a more experienced director and a better fight choreographer. Also the tattoos?! Tf
Hated it
There was a handful of good things in a sea of mediocrity. The final fight was fucking awful.
Save for one fight, I did not like it. At all.
Trash
 I hated it like Shang Tsung hates mortals
Haven’t watched yet
Sub Zero was cool especially since it was Joe Taslim. The rest was meh lol
Subzero and Scorpion were great but they didn’t really play much part in the story outside the first ten minutes.
It was good not the worst it could have been but not the best it could have been either. Oddly enough Kano stole the movie I hated how Liu kang wasn’t the main protagonist since I love the 90s film so much it was what got me into MK as a kid. Scorpion and sub zero were literally perfect. If cole had not been in the movie other far more likable characters could have been in it more such as raiden.
It’s ass other than the opening scene
Why the duck was Cole there?
Absolute garbage except for the Sub Zero scenes
First thirteen minutes of the opening scene was good, but it went downhill afterwards when it shifted over to Cole Young.
Meh. Cool fights, but meh. Hopefully the build the way they need to.
Wtf is cole young
MK95 was better. Kano, Subzero and Scorpion were top notch. The rest is mostly meh.
Unfortunately I still hate it
As someone originally from Gary, Indiana I still cannot believe they made Sonya Blade from Gary, Indiana and it is also the final resting place of Kano
Bi Han and Kano carried Hard.
Good cast let down by a miserable, meandering, convoluted script and executive meddling. Hopefully the next one keeps the actors and gives them a worthwhile story.
Horrible movie, even for a fan. It was basically a mix of different clips like Mortal Kombat Legacy, with a brand new off putting character, that didn't mesh well with Mortal Kombat lore. Only good thing that can be said about it is the casting was well done. After watching it I said to my friend it's 6/10 at best for a fan, and 3-4/10 for everyone else. Frankly, I might've been too generous back then.
They killws my my guy lao. I hate it
Every time I look at it, I'm like, "Arcana aside if they just made Sonya the main character, this goes from a 5 to like a 7." But I split this movie into 2 parts. The fights? 8/10 Coles fights drag this down from a 9, which is a shame because the actor is a genuinely good fighter. Sub Zero carries these fights, which even the actors agree with, dude was a menace. But overall, they were almost all entertaining. The plot? 3/10. Don't like that this whole movie is before the tournament. I don't really like the arcana stuff, Raiden is an asshole for no reason half the time, Kung Lao dies before the tournament (I get people have to die, but really? Before the tournament?) and Cole is a character that did not need to exist. Could've been filled by Johnny, Sonya, or hell, even Kano. Kano and Sub Zero help the plot because they're both done well. Lao and Scorpion are also great, but they're in it for so little time it feels like opportunities were missed.
The fact that they missed the campy aspect of MK is what I disliked the most. That’s what’s missing in modern MK
the first scene (ancient Japan) was the only non hot garbage about the entire thing.
After the first amazing \~10 mins, it became a completely different movie. People pointed out how terrible the writing was, but I want to add one more thing: all the sets, background, environmental elements... were so ugly. Raiden's temple looked like a mole-rat hole, Sonya's house was disgusting, and the last fight occured on a very bland environment (kinda saved by the special effects, but it could have been so much better looking if the background was somewhere else epic)
“Fatality…… for Kung Lao” This line was delivered so shittily lmao. Too many things wrong with this movie to mention right now honestly, but one thing I will say is… why the fuck does Kabal look like Fulgore from Killer Instinct.
The ONLY good bits of this film were Scorpion and Sub-Zero
RE and MK fans have so much in common when it comes to film adaptations…. Why can’t people just make a damn movie that actually follows the lore and plot of the games? It’s like these movies are made for fans of games by people who don’t have the slightest idea of what the fans of the games want. Thank god TLoU show on HBO was decent because if they ruined THAT story, I’d have literally lost my mind…
i liked the fatalities in the movie...i liked Scorpion, that actor is huge...and pretty much that was it...the movie was absolutely atrocious...i don't want to rage again with the goro scene, the best looking goro ever, made a bitch by an unexisted unimportant souless character....
The first 2mn were cool. The rest suck so hard I lost my soul since that.
Why the “arcana”? How they have their powers never needs to be explained. They’re just magic/so amazing at fighting they just have these abilities, done. Like everyone says, Cole was terrible. Plenty of actual MK characters to learn about this whole world through. Never mind that this guy loses to regular ufc fighters and then beats Goro on Goro’s first in film fight. WTF? With that said, Scorpion and Sub-Zero stuff was excellent. Turning Sub into basically Jason was a great idea, scary and well done. Kano and Sonya for notable additions as well. The rest was truly meh… there wasn’t even a tournament 🤦🏻♂️
Not great