Well...
It's review time again and, this time, I'm looking at a film I've had in my Prime video watch list for some time now; Mortal Kombat (2021).
I've some very strong things to say about this, so I'll save it for after the jump.
The Review
I have to try and review a film now that I really do not want to review.
This is such an underwhelming and frankly mid film that it has left a lot of disappointment behind.
The cast? I don't think there was anybody I recognised, which in and of itself is not a bad thing as it can stop you expecting too much of a film just because of the presence of well-known individuals.
But this? This is an example of why "acting" seems to have become a spectator sport where a person who thinks they can act, automatically must be able to. So they're given opportunities to do so regardless of whether they add quality or not to the final product.
The script was, frankly, woeful. Sure it held to the medium upon which it was based, a videogame from thirty one years ago (good grief, that does make me feel, um, older!) about a gruesome fighting tournament across multiple dimensions.
Yet the tournament never even featured! Are you kidding me?!
It's all part of some four+ film kind of scam to create a franchise now that studios are scared to take a shot with originality and rely on a one-off being a hit. That's about as acerbic as I can be before I need to censor myself a little.
It kind of reminded me of a lot of Michael Bay's work where the explosions tell the story rather than the script being solid enough to tell the story itself; only this was, well, it was just meh. I cannot get more excited about this mid film and I'm trying, believe you me. It follows the franchise fairly closely, with some artistic license taken here and there as expected.
If you've seen any of my reviews from the history of this blog you'll know that I love to review media like films, books, select sporting events and videogames so imagine my, well, I wasn't surprised given that videogame movies haven't been converted all that well over the years with Tomb Raider (both versions) and Street Fighter being some of the worst movies I have seen. And I've seen some baaaaad movies over the years believe you me.
Conclusion
I'd say don't bother seeing this film as a videogame film, but I also want to say don't bother seeing this film as a film in its own right. I'll say this one last time; it's so mid. I hate these slang terms, but this is the one I keep coming back to because it aptly describes the lack of quality of this film.
Sure the special effects are good (as far as effects can go towards a film's interpretation) and the violence is, as expected, over the top and, frankly, unnecessary precisely what made the videogames so enjoyable. But the script lets it down with it's forced nods to the franchise (think "flawless victory!", "fatality!" and you're on the right pathway!); none of them felt natural to the moment they appeared in!
They could have been organic, each of the iconic catchphrases from the videogame appearing without seeming to be forced in just to represent the franchise they're known for, but they were. And that's if they weren't there just to make up numbers of a box ticking exercise (Gruesome deaths? Check. Catchphrases spoken? Check. Copied the key moments from the game? Done!).
You don't have to agree, but you do have to accept that all of this is my opinion. And anyway, it's my blog so if you don't like what I've got to say, why are you still here? jk
I don't like this film. It's been a waste of my time that I'll never get back and it's on course to being the worst film I've seen in my life.
Don't watch it and thank me later for the hour and fifty you've saved.
===TLP===
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