Review: Mortal Kombat

Cole (Lewis Tan) is an MMA fighter blissfully unaware that he is the descendent of one of the world's greatest fighters. When other warriors began to hunt he and his family down, he seeks out Sonya Blade (Jessica McNamee) to learn more about what fate has in store for him.

Objectively, this is a bad movie but I had so much fun watching it. I didn't play a ton of Mortal Kombat as a kid, but I played it enough to recognize the property and welcome a bloody, campy fight fest. Thankfully this was streaming on HBO Max, so I didn't have to pay extra either. If you go in expecting those things, you'll have a good time. It makes for a nice evening at home. 

The fights are choreographed very well. At times it feels like the editor is deliberately trying to ruin a lot of these sequences, but the martial artists and stuntmen power through and deliver something very entertaining.

The script and the actors, not so much. Nearly all of the actors are terrible and the story doesn't do a very good job of explaining itself for people who aren't versed in the Mortal Kombat lore already. They also make some pretty questionable choices for a supposed franchise starter.

This is far from a "good" movie, but it's certainly fun.

Recommended: Yes

Grade: C

Memorable Quote: "Oh yeah, these motherfuckers work." - Jax (Nathan Jones)