History YMMV / MortalKombat2021

* WinTheCrowd: The trailer was positively received thanks to capturing the spirit of the series with accurate depictions of the characters, impressive fight choreography, and some good old fashioned {{Gorn}} that was missing from the prior PG-13 rated movies.

** The subtitles specifying whether a character is speaking Japanese or Chinese distracts from the otherwise tragic opening. One wonders why they didn't just have Bi-Han speak Japanese throughout the whole scene.[[note]]Perhaps simply to establish that Sub-Zero is Chinese like in the games, but this does not come up again.[[/note]]

** For fans of the Sub-Zero brothers, the AdaptationalVillainy for Bi-Han did not go over well. As Bi-Han before his death and transformation into Noob Saibot was an anti-hero who fought for Earthrealm's side in order to to assassinate Shang Tsung, while here he is instead the dragon to Shang Tsung instead of the iconic Goro. This is further not helped by [[SpotlightStealingSquad Scorpion]] undergoing AdaptationalHeroism to the point of switching sides from his original game counterpart and [[spoiler:getting further relevance as Cole is revealed to be a descendant of his daughter.]] Their only silver lining is that Sub-Zero [[Administrivia/TropesAreTools makes a great use of the trope]] for [[EvilIsCool the movie's stronger points]], so it's a matter where some fans are aghast that they used the trope at all or believe that the trope usage is WorthIt.

** When Kung Lao dies, Liu Kang delivers a BigNo, which would have been a dramatic moment if not for the fact that the addition of slow motion turns this into an extremely goofy SlowNo, complete with distorted audio.

* OlderThanTheyThink: Sonya's EnergyRingAttack being a superpower rather than a military weapon has been [[TheyChangedItNowItSucks criticized for being inaccurate to the source material]] but this was actually the case in the original games before the [[VideoGame/MortalKombat9 reboot]] [[DoingInTheWizard retconned her into needing weapons to fire energy blasts]]. In fact, in the original game, Kano is the only character ''not'' to have some form of explicit supernatural power, though his "Heart Rip" Fatality implicitly requires strength and durability far superior to the average human.[[note]]Johnny Cage had his Shadow Kick and Green Flame, Liu Kang his fireball, Sub-Zero his ice attack, Scorpion was explicitly undead and this was shown in his "Toasty" Fatality, Raiden was a literal god with lightning attacks and the ability to teleport and fly, Goro was a monster from another dimension and Shang Tsung an EvilSorcerer with VoluntaryShapeshifting. Kano. . . could throw a knife.[[/note]]

* NightmareFuel: With an R-rating, this movie finally gets to replicate the gory violence and dark moments from its source material. And ''boy'', does it earn that rating...
** '''Sub-Zero'''. This version of the character was so ruthless and deadly that the heroes save him for last for a reason.
*** When introduced 400 years before the events of the movie, his cruelty is shown when he drops the ''dao'' he used to kill the servants of the Hasashi household upon encountering Hanzo's wife and son, choosing to freeze them to death and in the case of Hanzo's wife, he impales her through the chest with a giant icicle.
*** In the modern day, when sent to kill Cole Young and his family, he starts throwing hail at the restaurant they're eating in, missing them, but hitting several people in the vicinity with hail, possibly wounding or killing them.
*** And then there's his fight with Jax, which ends with him beating Jax and freezing both of his arms until they frost over, blood starts spraying from them, until they eventually shatter. And then to add insult to injury, Sub-Zero pushes Jax off a ledge, leaving him in a bloody heap on the first floor of the building they fought in.
** Hanzo Hasashi's situation in the opening; he goes off to get water only to come back to his house with all of his servants dead and his wife and son frozen in ice by his archnenemy. Then, after killing the rest of the assassins and fighting Bi-han, he's mortally wounded and left to die. But right before he expires, he hears his baby daughter crying and starts crawling over to her-- only to die of his wounds. And then his body gets set on fire, turning it into ash, with his soul ending up in the Netherrealm, for over 400 years.
** Reptile's look in this film shows how far CGI has evolved since the first MK movie, since now, the character actually looks scary despite being a fully animated creature.
** [[spoiler:Nitara]]'s death by getting [[spoiler:flown face first into a spinning razor bladed hat stuck in the ground, courtesy of Kung Lao, who ends up covered in blood afterwards]].
** As for Kung Lao? Shang Tsung grabs him and says four little words no one wants to hear: "[[spoiler:[[YourSoulIsMine Your soul is mine]]!]]" And its not cheesy like in the original movie. No, in this one, [[spoiler: Shang Tsung's eyes turn pitch black and he gets green veins popping all around his neck as he does the deed, all while Kung Lao turns into a withered husk]].
** [[spoiler:Goro's death]] is nauseating and painful to watch. Cole [[spoiler:cuts off one of his right hands, slashes him up the stomach, disemboweling him, and then gets a tonfa stabbed in his head, right through his eye]].

* SugarWiki/HeartwarmingMoments:
** The last words Hanzo ever speaks to his wife: "I am grateful and blessed to be with you."
** Hanzo Hasashi and his family are devoted to each other. This carries on with Cole and his family... [[spoiler:setting up the two as linked by blood. When Cole summons Scorpion, it's an ancestor-descendant team-up!]]
** The arcana are unlocked by the heroes through saving their close associates and family. [[spoiler: Jax gets his through helping out Sonya, while Cole gets his through protecting his family, twice. Even Sonya unlocking hers immediately after getting her mark counts: the whole film, she's been looked down on as "not a true Champion," yet she's the only one aside from the Shaolin Monks who ''wants'' to fight. Because she's a soldier, and defending her home, her planet, her realm, and her friends is ''what she does''.]]
** Liu Kang gets to demonstrate that fire is not always a destructive force. Twice he gets to use it for more positive uses. Once to help heal Cole's arm wound and once to help warm up Cole's recently frozen family.

* OlderThanTheyThink: Sonya's energy ring blasts being a superpower rather than a military weapon has been [[TheyChangedItNowItSucks criticized for being inaccurate to the source material]] but this was actually the case in the original games before the [[VideoGame/MortalKombat9 reboot]] [[DoingInTheWizard retconned her into needing weapons to fire energy blasts]]. In fact, in the original game, Kano is the only character ''not'' to have some form of explicit supernatural power, though his "Heart Rip" Fatality implicitly requires strength and durability far superior to the average human.[[note]]Johnny Cage had his Shadow Kick and Green Flame, Liu Kang his fireball, Sub-Zero his ice attack, Scorpion was explicitly undead and this was shown in his "Toasty" Fatality, Raiden was a literal god with lightning attacks and the ability to teleport and fly, Goro was a monster from another dimension and Shang Tsung an EvilSorcerer with VoluntaryShapeshifting. Kano. . . could throw a knife.[[/note]]

** Liu Kang, often the ''protagonist'' of the franchise, is demoted to TheLancer for Cole, who essentially takes his role as ChosenOne.

** Where’s Johnny Cage? [[labelnote:explanation]]For people who ''are'' familiar with the games, fans have griped and questioned the apparent absence of Johnny Cage. Recently though, [[https://www.inverse.com/entertainment/mortal-kombat-2021-preview-todd-garner-on-cole-young-johnny-cage the filmmakers revealed]] that Johnny Cage isn’t in the movie because of Kano; Kano's already set to be the ComicRelief in this DarkerAndEdgier adaptation of the series and the filmmakers [[PragmaticAdaptation felt that having two egotistical showboats in the same movie would cause them to overshadow each other]]. They do intend on including Cage [[RefittedForSequel if a sequel for this movie is greenlit]]. Indeed, the film's SequelHook explicitly teases him.[[/labelnote]]

* AlasPoorVillain: Fans of [[spoiler:Goro]] were upset at his gruesome death at the hands of Cole. Yes, [[spoiler:Goro was sent to kill Cole and attacked his wife and daughter]], but with [[spoiler:Goro being a fan-favorite character]] and Cole having a more polarized reception, its obvious why people were upset.

* OlderThanTheyThink: Sonya's energy ring blasts being a superpower rather than a military weapon has been [[TheyChangedItNowItSucks criticized for being inaccurate to the source material]] but this was actually the case in the original games before the [[VideoGame/MortalKombat9 reboot]] [[DoingInTheWizard made them an effect of her weapons]]. In fact, in the original game, Kano is the only character ''not'' to have some form of explicit supernatural power, though his "Heart Rip" Fatality implicitly requires strength and durability far superior to the average.[[note]]Johnny Cage had his Shadow Kick and Green Flame, Liu Kang his fireball, Sub-Zero his ice attack, Scorpion was explicitly undead and this was shown in his "Toasty" Fatality, Raiden was a literal god with lightning attacks and the ability to teleport and fly, Goro was a monster from another dimension and Shang Tsung an EvilSorcerer with VoluntaryShapeshifting. Kano. . . could throw a knife.[[/note]]

** While Goro looks fine when by himself, his fight against Cole utterly fails in giving the impression the character has any kind of mass.

* [[MoralEventHorizon Mortal Event Horizon]]: Bi-Han crosses it when he sadistically murders Hanzo's family, as well as several of the innocent house servants outside, on the orders of the Lin Kuei. Over 400 years later as Sub-Zero, he learns that Cole [[spoiler:is the descendent of Hanzo's daughter]], so he proceeds to kidnap Emily and Allison, freezes them in ice so that slowly die of hypothermia, and then attempts to kill Cole in kombat as to [[spoiler:permamently wipe out the Shirai Ryu for good]].

* MortalEventHorizon: Bi-Han crosses it when he sadistically murders Hanzo's family, as well as several of the innocent house servants outside, on the orders of the Lin Kuei. Over 400 years later as Sub-Zero, he learns that Cole [[spoiler:is the descendent of Hanzo's daughter]], so he proceeds to kidnap Emily and Allison, freezes them in ice so that slowly die of hypothermia, and then attempts to kill Cole in kombat as to [[spoiler:permamently wipe out the Shirai Ryu for good]].

* SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic: "Techno Syndrome," better known to fans as "The Mortal Kombat Theme", makes its glorious return covered by Benjamin Wallfisch, first as an instrumental during the final battle between Sub-Zero and Scorpion, and then in a full-blown, glorious remix during over the credits. It even includes an updated ThemeTuneRollCall.

* SpecialEffectsFailure: While it fares fine during fight scenes, Cole's armor when not fighting is ''very'' obviously just a textured shirt.

** Sonia was forced to deliver such a long InfoDump for Cole and the audience that the actress got ''winded'' at one point.

*** And then there's his fight with Jax, which ends with him beating Jax and freezing both of his arms until they frost over, blood starts spraying from them, and until they eventually shatter. And then to add insult to injury, Sub-Zero pushes Jax off a ledge, leaving him in a bloody heap on the first floor of the building they fought in.
** Reptile's appearance shows how far CGI has evolved since the first MK movie, since now, the character actually looks scary.
%%** ''Goro''. In his few scenes

** The arcana are unlocked by the heroes through saving their close associates and family. [[spoiler: Jax gets his through helping out Sonya, while Cole gets his through protecting his family, twice. Even Sonya unlocking hers immediately after getting her mark counts: the whole film, she's been looked down on as "not a true Champion," yet she's the only one aside from the Shaolin Monks who ''wants'' to fight. Because she's a solider, and defending her home, her planet, her realm, and her friends is ''what she does''.]]

*** When introduced 400 years before the events of the movie, his cruelty is shown when he drops the ''dao'' he used to kill the servants of the Hasashi household upon encountering Hanzo's wife and son, to instead choosing to freeze them to death and in the case of Hanzo's wife, he also impales her through the chest with a giant icicle.

*** And then there's his fight with Jax, which ends with him beating Jax and freezing both of his arms until they frost over, blood starts spraying from them, all before they finally shatter. And then to add insult to injury, Sub-Zero pushes Jax off a ledge, leaving him in a bloody heap on the first floor of the building they fought in.

* OlderThanTheyThink: Sonya's energy ring blasts being a superpower rather than a military weapon has been [[TheyChangedItNowItSucks criticized for being inaccurate to the source material]] but this was actually the case in the original games before the [[VideoGame/MortalKombat9 reboot]] [[DoingInTheWizard made them an effect of her weapons]].

** The arcana are unlocked by the heroes through saving their close associates and family. [[spoiler: Jax gets his through helping out Sonya, while Cole gets his through protecting his family, twice.]]

%%* NightmareFuel: With an R-rating, this movie finally gets to replicate the gory violence and dark moments from its source material. And ''boy'', does it earn that rating...