Mortal Kombat (2021) / YMMV

See also the franchise-wide pages for:

Awesome Music:
- "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 Theme Tune Roll Call.
- While not officially featured in the movie, Kung Lao's actor Max Huang released his own song "Flawless Victory" based off his character using it as a catch phrase.
Common Knowledge: A lot of MK fans are under the impression that Johnny Cage was not included in the film and replaced with Cole because the creators wanted to avoid having a White Male Lead. Ignoring that Cage has never actually been the main protagonist of the series, but rather a supporting hero (Liu Kang is the de facto main hero of the series), the director eventually made it clear that Cage wasn't included only because his larger-than-life persona would overshadow a lot of other characters that were being introduced in this movie (to reinforce this, Cage is planned to be the main character in a spinoff, as well as appearing in the sequels).^note
Continuity Lockout: Similarly to Mortal Kombat: Annihilation, the film frequently introduces characters and references from the games with little to no in-depth explanation. This is fine for established fans of the franchise, but newcomers will likely be left confused.
Ensemble Dark Horse:
- Even the movie's detractors absolutely adore Kano, considering him the highlight of the film.
- Among the villains, Kabal has gained a lot of love for his game-accurate design, snarky attitude, and prominent New Yorker accent.
- Both Liu Kang and Kung Lao are near-unanimously loved for their excellent costume design, strong casting choices and impressive choreography. Kung Lao in particular is seen as performing the best fatality in the movie, so there was naturally a bit of an uproar when he was killed.
- Allison, Cole's wife, earned a lot of points by helping her husband, grabbing an ax and slamming it into Goro's side while he's trying to kill Cole.
- Emily, Cole's daughter, gets some love for actually supporting her dad (alongside Allison) trying to be an MMA fighter, instead of being full of angst over it.
Epileptic Trees: Fan theories circulated around Audience Surrogate Cole Young as soon as he was introduced, with the most popular believing him to be Kuai Liang, the second Sub-Zero. Other theories include him being a relative of Scorpion, a Johnny Cage Captain Ersatz, or Cage himself (either Johnny Cage is a stage name or the trailer dialogue and pre-release details are referring to Cage by the name of Cole for some reason). Another theory is that he's no one important and will be killed off at some point to make room for the game cast. Out of all these theories, the correct one turned out to be that he's a descendant of Scorpion.
Evil Is Cool: Bi-Han/Sub-Zero, no pun intended considering his powers. Sure, he's even more villainous than Bi-Han from the source material, but in between his borderline Story-Breaker Power freezing abilities (many of which are also really cool to look at), cool costume, awesome fight scene with Scorpion, and Joe Taslim giving a chilling portrayal of the Lin Kuei assassin, he is also one of the movie's most memorable characters.
Friendly Fandoms: With Godzilla vs. Kong. Both movies distributed by Warner Bros within a few weeks of each other, sharing space in theaters and HBO Max so fans of one were bound to notice the other. Being two American productions heavily influenced by Japanese media certainly helped, and considering both involve a ton of fighting meant the appeal of one readily crossed over to the other. Doubles as Hilarious in Hindsight given the Monsterverse having a running gag of finisher moves favorably compared to Fatalities.
Genius Bonus: In the opening scene, Scorpion’s wife is seen using his signature kunai for gardening. Historically speaking, gardening is their original purpose.
He's Just Hiding: Considering the franchise the movie is part of, it's no surprise that a lot of fans don't expect several of the character deaths to stick. Kano, as just one example, is notably missing his distinctive cybernetic eyeplate throughout the movie, and just happens to be dispatched with an Eye Scream in the exact spot where that plate normally goes. Who doesn't suspect he'll be turning up again with his signature look in a future installment?
Hilarious in Hindsight: Tadanobu Asano famously plays Hogun the Grim in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, an ally to a God of Thunder. Now he is playing another God of Thunder himself.
- As mentioned in Epileptic Trees, one fan theory suspected Cole to be Kuai Liang, while being Scorpion's descendant in the movie proper. As of Mortal Kombat 1, Kuai Liang is now Scorpion instead of Sub-Zero.
- Additionally, if you think you've seen the last of a much more villainous Bi-Han, Mortal Kombat 1's rendition of Bi-Han is there to provide the 'Round 2' of that.
Ho Yay: Liu Kang's Expo Dump of his backstory while patching up Cole after training is... well, frankly had more chemistry between the two actors than likely was intended. It's a very intimate moment between two men who don't really know each other yet.
I Knew It!: Anyone who's familiar with the source material was probably not surprised when Kano betrayed everyone and joined Outworld's forces. Y'know, 'cause it's Kano we're talking about.
Moral 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 is the descendent of Hanzo's daughter, so he proceeds to kidnap Emily and Allison, freezes them in ice so that they slowly die of hypothermia and then attempts to kill Cole in kombat as to permanently wipe out the Shirai Ryu for good.
Narm:
- This exchange from the trailer, regarding Cole's dragon mark^note:
  Emily: It's a birthmark.
  Jax: What do you mean?
  Emily: He was born with it.
- 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
- After the first Scorpion/Sub-Zero fight, there is a text card that is supposed to set the stage for the main plot. Not only is everything the card explained via dialog later in the film, but said text card, which is supposed to be for people who haven't played the games, does a very bad job of actually explaining the plot. In particular, the text says that Earthrealm has lost nine of the last ten tournaments to Outworld without explaining what Outworld or this "tournament" even is.
- Once Sub-Zero is defeated and spirited away, Scorpion gives Cole and his family a final speech that's intended to be heartwarming... except he says it in Japanese and Cole has shown no indication he understands any language other than English.
- Jax's metal arms got double Narm. Firstly, by Liu Kang's word, Raiden temple's healer scour the realm looking for the best treatment for Jax and what they come up with is a crude metal arm. Secondly, when Jax unlocked his Arcana, the arms are upgraded with a Transformation Sequence not out of place in the Mecha genre. Both are entirely out of place with the heavy mysticism theme of the movie.
- Sonya was forced to deliver such a long Info Dump for Cole and the audience that the actress got winded at one point.
- When Kung Lao dies, Liu Kang delivers a Big "NO!", which would have been a dramatic moment if not for the fact that the addition of slow motion turns this into an extremely goofy Slow "NO!", complete with distorted audio.
Narm Charm:
- While the film is relatively straight-laced, at least compared to the previous ones, it isn't afraid to indulge in this once in a while, particularly with elements of the game, such as lines or moves, that aren't very justified.
  Kung Lao: Flawless. Victory.
  Kano: Kano wins!
- Scorpion's Catchphrase "Get over here!" simply makes no sense in the film, since it's the only time he speaks English and he sounds different enough from his normal speaking voice that they may as well have used the stock quote of Ed Boon and it would have fit just as well. However, he says it as he spears Bi-Han and yanks him away from Cole, pulling a Big Damn Heroes moment alongside He's Back!, and a remix of the iconic theme from the 1995 film plays as the camera pans to reveal him behind Bi-Han. It makes for a moment so badass that you won't care how nonsensical it is.
Newer Than They Think: Much of the promotional material for the film talks about how the traditionally Japanese character Raiden is finally played by a Japanese actor. Except Raiden's never been specifically identified as Japanese. Raiden has just as much Chinese mixed in, and after the first movie, he essentially became the head of Liu Kang's Chinese monastery in the games. There is also him being referred to as Haokah, the Lakota god of thunder and lightning, meaning that he's the representative of all thunder gods of every culture in Earthrealm and that Raiden is merely the name most people are familiar with. Not to mention, Raiden has yet to be portrayed by an Asian in any Mortal Kombat media until this movie. His most famous portrayals are by white men (Christopher Lambert in the first movie, Clancy Brown in Mortal Kombat: Defenders of the Realm, Richard Epcar in the games from Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe onwards), but his original actor in the first few games was Hispanic Carlos Pesina.
Obvious Judas: Any longtime fan knew right off the bat that Kano was going to betray the group of kombatants Raiden summoned, especially since Kano is the leader of the Black Dragons, making him Kabal's superior in the games. Viewers who've never played the games? Well they could work it out based on how he's an evil arsehole who's only in it for the money.
Older Than They Think: Sonya's Energy Ring Attack being a superpower has been criticized for being inaccurate to the source material. However, this was actually the case in the original games before the reboot retconned her into needing weapons to fire energy blasts. In fact, Kano is the only character from the first game not to have some form of explicit supernatural ability, though his "Heart Rip" Fatality implicitly requires strength and durability far superior to the average human.^note
Signature Scene: Both of the fights involving Hanzo Hasashi/Scorpion and Bi-Han/Sub-Zero.
So Okay, It's Average: One consensus for the film is that while it wasn't a bad film, it could have been better. The story is a bit underwhelming, the main character is a movie original instead of an existing character, fan favorite Johnny Cage isn't in it (and is only teased as a Sequel Hook). The fight choreography is just okay (better in some fights, more underwhelming in others). And in the end, the tournament doesn't even happen, it's set to happen sometime in the future, with the implication that the Big Bad will be able to resurrect his minions that the heroes killed before then. Ultimately, the film feels like an extended first act rather than a full story, and it has a much more po-faced and self-serious tone in sharp contrast with the over-the-top plot and characters, almost entirely lacking the 1995 movie's campy fun factor (aside from Kano).
Special Effects Failure:
- While it fares fine during fight scenes, Cole's armor when not fighting is very obviously just a textured shirt.
- Nitara is very clearly a CGI creation, which is made more obvious in the Outworld scenes.
- While Goro looks fine when by himself, his fight against Cole utterly fails in giving the impression the character has any kind of physical mass.
Tainted by the Preview: The absence of Johnny Cage has led many people to swear off the movie or at least be concerned with why he's not there, and as it became such a common thing to ask, movie review sites started to post their theories as for why he seems to be Adapted Out in the movie. The film does end with Cole planning to search for Johnny in Hollywood, setting up his appearance in a possible sequel.
They Changed It, Now It Sucks!:
- While the first trailer was well-received overall, the fact that the film's lead protagonist is apparently Canon Foreigner Cole Young confused many fans who were expecting an actual Mortal Kombat character to be the lead, such as Liu Kang or Johnny Cage (who is instead relegated to just a Sequel Hook). It's especially jarring since Liu Kang is in the movie already and is widely considered the de facto protagonist of the series.
- Some have also criticized the delivery of Scorpion's iconic "Get over here!", particularly in that it doesn't have the same old intensity as Ed Boon's delivery in the games.
- While Kano's characterization in this film is mostly spot-on, the fact that he's one of Earthrealm's champions alongside his archenemies Sonya and Jax was met with mild bewilderment by some fans. Others theorize that Kano being on the side of heroes is just a misleading edit, or that Kano will betray the team just like he betrayed Sonya and the Special Forces in the games' backstory. Sure enough, the movie itself has him captured by Sonya and pretty much railroaded into working with the others, and he betrays them to Shang Tsung the first chance he gets.
- Mileena has been criticized for not having a huge, fanged mouth like her previous incarnations, not even the Glasgow Smile-style design featured in Mortal Kombat X. However, Word of God suggested that she would have her signature teeth in the final product. A Syfy Wire article from a set visit back in 2019 confirms this. Indeed, her jaw ends up unhinging in the climax to display her insidious maw.
- Sonya's energy rings and Kano's laser eye are the result of their magical "arcana", rather than military weapons and cybernetics^note, while Jax's cybernetic arms are created by Raiden and activating his arcana powers them up. While this sort of explanation works for characters like Liu Kang and Kung Lao, some feel that this is an unnecessary change that makes their powers seem less special, because everyone has some sort of magical gimmick instead of a variety of magic, military hardware, cybernetics, etc. Additionally, Sonya, Jax, and Cole, activate their arcana just when they need them to work, making the idea seem like a Deus ex Machina.
- For fans of the Sub-Zero brothers, the Adaptational Villainy 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 assassinate Shang Tsung, while here he is instead the dragon to Shang Tsung instead of the iconic Goro. This is further not helped by Scorpion undergoing Adaptational Heroism to the point of switching sides from his original game counterpart and getting further relevance as Cole is revealed to be a descendant of his daughter. Their only silver lining is that Sub-Zero makes a great use of the trope for 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 Worth It.
They Wasted a Perfectly Good Character: Unfortunately to be expected of a franchise with a large number of characters that need to be violently killed off.
- Many of the villains, barring Sub-Zero, Kano, and to a lesser extent Mileena and Kabal, get significantly less screentime than the heroes, usually only getting one or two lines. Most of them are all introduced at once just past the half-way point. In particular:
  - Goro, champion of Mortal Kombat and Prince of the Shokan, serves as a glorified assassin, only appearing fully for one fight scene. Thankfully, it's a memorable one.
  - Reptile, an Ensemble Dark Horse and The Chew Toy of the franchise, is killed off fairly early (less than thirty minutes into the film) in his first fight against the heroes, leaving out much of his extensive background and sympathetic qualities in exchange for simply being a mindless Starter Villain.
  - Reiko, a general among Shang Tsung's forces, has little characterization beyond The Brute.
  - Nitara seems favored by Shang amongst his henchmen, but is killed by the heroes shortly after being introduced.
- Liu Kang, often the protagonist of the franchise, is demoted to The Lancer for Cole, who essentially takes his role as The Chosen One.
- Kung Lao, who in the games serves as The Lancer to Liu Kang, gets killed by Shang Tsung and ends up being the only casualty among the heroes. This didn't sit well with fans of the character who have waited 26 years to see him finally appear in a Mortal Kombat movie after having been absent from every Mortal Kombat movie prior to this.
- Sonya Blade's arc is arguably more fitting for a protagonist's than Cole's. She and Jax spent years trying to learn about Mortal Kombat, meaning she has a lot more personal investment in getting involved in the tournament. She is also seen as a liability by Raiden and the other heroes for not having an arcana despite being a better fighter, and being far more loyal, than Kano and is dismissed by the villains as Not Worth Killing so she has a lot more to prove.
- Scorpion's daughter was set up to be an important character, but she doesn't have any appearances, let alone a name. Her only scenes is her being comforted by her brother and mother, being hidden from Bi-Han, and taken by Raiden to be raised by monks. Raiden only tells Cole of her importance and his lineage from her, but we never see her reach adulthood or whether or not she wants to avenge her family and clan. Especially jarring, since her own father was already set up as an important character in a Big Damn Heroes way.
They Wasted a Perfectly Good Plot: With The Reveal that Cole is Scorpion's descendant, many viewers were hoping that his Arcana would be taking the form of Scorpion, either through spiritual possession or through reincarnation. Not only would that have justified Cole's place in the story as a Canon Character All Along, but saving his wife and his daughter from Sub-Zero would have been more personal for Scorpion.
- Despite setting it up in a way that would make it possible, Jax’s fight at the end didn’t have the infamous “this is not a brutality. This is a fatality.” line.
Tough Act to Follow: The original Mortal Kombat: The Movie is fondly remembered (even with PG-13 as its rating and Mortal Kombat: Annihilation as a sequel) and so was positioned as the standard that this movie had to live up to. While the heightened violence, and more refined visual effects and costumes was embraced by the fans, there were numerous individual elements that were criticized for not living up to expectations. Among them include Liu Kang being Demoted to Extra, Raiden lacking much of the charm, wisdom and leadership of Christopher Lambert's version and Goro being a brutish thug introduced late in the story rather than Shang Tsung's personal enforcer.
Unexpected Character: Amongst the iconic series mainstays like Scorpion and Goro, the film features Reiko and Nitara amongst Shang Tsung's warriors.
Vanilla Protagonist: It's generally agreed that Cole Young simply isn't interesting enough to justify being the main character, and that the canon Mortal Kombat characters all easily overshadow him. Although Lewis Tan does his best with the bland material given to the character, critics generally agree he was unable to elevate the material and was the weakest link by far among the protagonists. It also doesn't help that, in a movie based on a video game that's mostly 1-vs-1 fights, Cole is unable to defeat any opponent without outside help, even after getting his magic armor that seems particularly overpowered given the nature of the movie. In fact, he's actually the only one of the Earthrealm Champions to actually need help in order to win. Already many people are hoping Cole is either killed off or otherwise written out in a potential sequel. Thankfully for Cole, despite his problems as stated before, his actor gave a decent performance that the audience considered him to be at least just 'okay' enough to avoid the fate of the last guy who tried to bill himself as the new MK Protagonist (Shujinko). It also helps that his wife Allison and his daughter Emily are well-liked.

YMMV / Mortal Kombat (2021)

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