*It’s Mortal Kombat…

IMDB Synopsis

Hunted by the fearsome warrior Sub-Zero, MMA fighter Cole Young finds sanctuary at the temple of Lord Raiden. Training with experienced fighters Liu Kang, Kung Lao and the rogue mercenary Kano, Cole prepares to stand with Earth’s greatest champions to take on the enemies from Outworld in a high-stakes battle for the universe.

“The fate of Earth is in OUR hands.”

MORTAL KOMBATTTTTTTTTTTTT

Well Juicers I made it back to the theater, FINALLY. Mortal Kombat hit theaters and my beloved Regal Cinemas opened concurrently with it, so I headed down to my local multiplex and got to see FATALITIES. Yes if you have played the video game or seen the Paul W. S. Anderson movie from the 90’s you know what Mortal Kombat is. Basically, crazy characters who kill each other in completely outlandish ways. This new film though really wants to dive into the lore of each of these characters, and possibly start their own new cinematic universe (yes another one).

The audience POV character is actually a new character to the Mortal Kombat canon, Cole Young (Lewis Tan). He is an ex MMA fighter, and final member of the Scorpion bloodline, who has no idea his mark on his chest means he has been chosen to fight in Mortal Kombat. Jax (Mehcad Brooks) finds him and leads him into this world of crazy characters and ancient rivalries.

I know, though, all anyone signed up for when they heard Mortal Kombat was the fights. And of course this new movie brings the absolute HEAT. The Fights are extremely gory yet well choreographed and keep you engaged. Each fight feels very different the way it is staged, and they do an awesome job having the characters utilize their abilities. All the different characters: Sonya Blade, Liu Kang, Kong Lau, Jax, Scorpion, Subzero and more each get their moment and never feel like they are out of the story for too long.

Stock Watch

Stock Up – Joe Taslim

Easily the MVP of the movie as Subzero, he brought the energy every time he was on screen. Of course he is known as one of the great Martial Arts actors of all time, but this movie gave him a chance to shine and show his skills. I think he is one of the great performers in Hollywood.

Stock Up – Video Game Movies

For years Video Game movies have been the butt of jokes in Hollywood. However, recently with Detective Pikachu, Sonic, and now this it seems like they are starting to be taken much more seriously because the product has started to get a lot better. I think we will continue to see great Video Game movies moving forward.

*A couple other tidbits

• You knew they were going to give us that Iconic Mortal Kombat theme, and I love that they made us wait for it.
• This movie gave us a serious sequel tease and you know what, I am here for it.
• Josh Lawson as Kano was the highlight of the film for me. Every line he had was hilarious and hearing that 90% of it was improv makes it even better.

Sure the story is shallow and not too thought provoking, but the world they set up is awesome and they leave us with a mean sequel tease. It seems like with the success this movie is having the Mortal Kombat Universe is coming, and with so many characters it feels like they can go many different places with it. This movie is a lot of fun and really well made, just maybe keep it away from the kids.

Juice Rating:

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