2021’s Mortal Kombat reboot was a disappointment on several notable levels, giving the upcoming sequel plenty of room to improve. The Mortal Kombat series doesn’t have the best reputation as a film franchise, and the most recent movie adaptation of the infamous fighting game series did a lot right, arguably being the best live-action Mortal Kombat film, allowing the series to bask in the R-rated gore it deserved for the first time. That being said, the 2021 martial arts extravaganza didn’t exactly have a high bar to clear, and fell short in several key areas.
Like most video game adaptation movies, Mortal Kombat made some significant changes to the story and world of the franchise, which has a tumultuous history of reboots as it is. Some of these changes and omissions were sorely felt as the film progressed, giving the impression of barely-missed potential. Hopefully, the upcoming Mortal Kombat sequel will be able to fix the shortcomings of its predecessor while carrying over the positive elements.
One of the most recognizable faces of the Mortal Kombat games is the irreverent Johnny Cage, an egotistical martial arts actor who somehow finds himself holding his own against horrific multiversal threats alongside the Earth’s greatest heroes. Based off of real-life film star Jean-Claude Van Damme, who Mortal Kombat creator Ed Boone originally envisioned the game revolving around, Johnny’s signature moves and egotistical personality make him an enduring fan-favorite. Yet the iconic fighter was nowhere to be seen in the 2021 redux.
Despite being the perfect fish-out-of-water character to introduce unfamiliar audiences to the world with, Johnny Cage wasn’t present in Mortal Kombat. This was likely done to allow newcomer Cole Young to breathe as the central perspective character, unhindered by pre-existing lore. Whatever the reasoning, Cage’s absence was certainly noticeable, with the villainous Kano having to step up as the comic relief. Luckily, Karl Urban is confirmed to play Johnny Cage in the sequel. Hopefully, the next entry will make good use out of his performance to make up for his lack of attendance.
One of the most controversial choices Mortal Kombat made was to center the action on the brand-new fighter, Cole Young. An original creation of the film that never appeared before or since in any of the Mortal Kombat games, Cole Young has no history in the series, making him an odd choice to stake the perspective of the latest film on. This could’ve been saved if Cole was an engaging character, but Mortal Kombat fell short on selling both fresh audiences and expectant fans on the original fighter.
Cole simply doesn’t have the personality to compete with the eclectic cast of the Mortal Kombat games, with no real distinguishing characteristics beyond having a family and an underwhelming powerset and fighting style that ends up being a rip-off of Black Panther‘s kinetic absorption suit. Other than a brief tease tying him into Scorpion’s bloodline, Cole Young doesn’t have much to do with the central plot of the film, existing as a fresh set of eyes for new audiences to experience the worldbuilding through. The sequel will either need to quickly make Cole Young a lot cooler, or simply put him in the backseat so more familiar fighters can shine instead.
The fighters of the Mortal Kombat series boast a wide range of powers, with an equally diverse number of sources. Some characters rely on advanced technology and training, like Jax and Sonya Blade, whereas others boast generational superpowers, like Sub-Zero and Johnny Cage. In order to save time on explaining how each fighter was able to produce such mind-boggling techniques, the movie lazily lumped all of these incredible powers into the Arcana system, a sort of magical X-gene that activates the power of tournament goers that has no basis in the lore of the games.
Beyond taking away from the development of fan favorite characters, Arcana is a poorly thought-out magic system. Some fighters seem to be blessed with incredible power by it, such as Liu Kang’s flaming dragon summoning, whereas others get marginally-useful or overly-specific powers, such as Jax being able to upgrade his spindly cybernetic arms. The lines of the Arcana powers are never made clear, with racial traits like Nitara’s wings or Goro’s arms being an Arcana gray area. Unfortunately, it seems as though Mortal Kombat 2 will bring back Arcana powers, hopefully at least fleshing them out to have better rules.
In the Mortal Kombat games, Raiden is the god of thunder and a strict defender of Earthrealm, being the foremost leader in organizing the planet’s defenders within the context of the Mortal Kombat tournament. Raiden’s commitment to the rules of the tournament and sometimes questionable leadership has become something of a running gag in the Mortal Kombat fanbase, famously needing to “Consult the Elder Gods” before making any decision. Unfortunately, the movie did little to convince fans of Raiden’s worthiness as Earthrealm’s primary protector.
In the 2021 movie, Raiden does next to nothing, gathering fighters without proper vetting, as the despicable Kano even makes his way into Earthrealm’s starting roster. His incredible lightning powers are used for nothing but transportation, making the fearsome god of lightning little more than a glorified taxi service for Mortal Kombat‘s heroes. The film had the opportunity to make Raiden just as exciting to watch as Scorpion or Liu Kang, but ended up relegating him to a simple exposition bot. Hopefully, the sequel can give Raiden an actual fight to test his might.
Squeezing in the sorcerer Shang Tsung as the real threat facing the cast of Mortal Kombat was a mic drop that afforded the film a lot of anticipation, doubly so after witnessing him swallow Kung Lao’s soul. However, if there was one missed opportunity in Mortal Kombat‘s casting to reprise a familiar face, it was Cary Tagawa failing to reappear as Shang Tsung. One of the most iconic hammy performances from the first two live-action films, Tagawa’s delightful declaration that “Your soul is mine!” has become one of the most familiar quotes of the entire series.
Singaporean actor Chin Han does a fine job as Shang Tsung, and is set to return among the cast of Mortal Kombat 2. However, there’s no denying that Cary Tagawa’s reappearance wouldn’t be a surefire way to win some fan service points, just as it did when Tagawa lent his face and voice to Mortal Kombat 11. Considering Shang Tsung is known for being a shape-shifter, sometimes even swapping between old and young forms, a surprise cameo from the beloved actor could still be on the table.
The whole crux of Mortal Kombat‘s story revolves around the relationship between the multitude of dimensions, or Realms, that encompasses the game’s universe. Tightly-regulated in warfare via the cosmic power of the Mortal Kombat tournament itself, the realms range from the barbaric fantasy landscape of Outworld to the vile, flaming depths of the Netherrealm, not to mention the familiar human world of Earthrealm. With a host of locations just as varied as the fighters they produce, it’s a shame Mortal Kombat didn’t explore these locations more.
There are a great many fantastical arenas perfect for being the backdrop of bloody fights that 2021’s Mortal Kombat missed out on by keeping things within the confines of Earthrealm. Granted, the film had a lot to set up without causing the heads of viewers unfamiliar with the games to spin, but the sheer spectacle missed out on when narrowing the focus of the story in this way is impossible to deny. The sequel should provide a variety of interesting arenas for fighters to duke it out in as the tournament progresses.
It goes without saying that the primary draw to both the Mortal Kombat films and games isn’t the story or worldbuilding, but the gory spectacle of thrilling hand-to-hand combat. 2021’s Mortal Kombat admittedly managed to outdo the fight scenes of its predecessors in many ways, taking advantage of modern gore sensibilities and special effects. That being said, having the best fights of the Mortal Kombat movies isn’t saying all that much, and the most recent installment still has a long way to go in penning some truly impressive action sequences.
Frequently, the battles of Mortal Kombat were too short, wrapping up all too quickly to give each member of the bloated cast at least some small chance to shine. The fights were also frequently lit too darkly, needlessly obscuring the action in dour environments. Finally, the actual hand-to-hand choreography of each blow was often underwhelming, with fighters either dominating or being dominated in all-or-nothing takedowns. The sequel would do well to brush up on the actual martial arts present in the Mortal Kombat tournament.
In general, 2021’s Mortal Kombat looks surprisingly good for the wide bevy of special effects, creatures, and unique costumes it had to create. From the slimy hide of Reptile to the mighty four-armed form of Goro to the blazing dragon summoned by Liu Kang, the film managed to bring the most fantastical imagery of the Mortal Kombat series into the modern age of filmmaking. Yet for every victory the film can claim in this regard, there was an art department failure that certainly needed a second pass.
Some of the special effects look all the worse alongside the ones that do manage to succeed, such as Jax’s strangely skeletal baby arms and the unimpressive teleportation effect employed by several characters. A few of the costumes are also unforgivably bad, with Sub-Zero’s poorly-fitting mask and Cole Young’s plastic-looking Arcana armor being the most egregious offenders. Mortal Kombat is close to being a good-looking film, but the sequel will have to work a little harder to excuse the areas in which its predecessor fell short.
The name Mortal Kombat is used in-universe to describe the central tournament whose winner determines the fate of the realms. It’s reasonable to expect, then, that the film naming itself solely after the tournament in question would feature it, like many martial arts movies relying on tournaments to move forward their stories. Yet 2021’s Mortal Kombat never actually gets to the actual Mortal Kombat bracket, instead being essentially an extended training montage with a dash of Scorpion and Sub-Zero’s family drama coming to a head.
It goes without saying that the Mortal Kombat sequel will absolutely need to get started on the actual tournament itself to win back the good will of fans and newcomers alike. This will help the film solve a lot of problems easily, including the introduction of new characters, locations, and better fight scenes. The lack of actual Mortal Kombat was by far the most disappointing aspect of the original film in dire need of correction.