Some video games invoke nostalgia, and some video games inspire films, and some video games do both! Most recently, Mortal Kombat became a fan favorite video game that made it to the big screen thanks to Warner Brothers, and it did not disappoint. With jokes about Magic Mike and more, the film put a modern twist to an old classic.
In Mortal Kombat, MMA fighter Cole Young and Earth’s greatest champions against the enemies of Outworld in a high stakes battle for the universe. To our elation, the film successfully found a way to bring all of its classic characters to life with a powerful cast. The leading role of Cole is played by Lewis Tan (Deadpool 2, Netflix’s Wu Assassins), Sonya Blade is Jessica McNamee (The Meg, CHIPS).Kano is Josh Lawson (Super Store, House of Lies), Bi-Han/Sub Zero is Joe Taslim (Star Trek Beyond), Jax is played by Mehcad Brooks (Netflix’s A Fall From Grace, True Blood); Liu Kang is played by Ludi Lin (Power Rangers, Aquaman), and Hanzo Hasashi/Scorpion is played by Hiroyuki Sanada (Westworld, Avengers: Endgame).
True fans will appreciate the new Mortal Kombat because it stayed true to the brand especially in the fighting scenes, which we honestly wouldn’t recommend for young fans due to the gore. The exciting thing about MK characters is that they all had special powers that made the fighting different from just kicks and punches like typical video games. Instead, we felt the red-hot heat of Kano’s laser eye, the torching heat of Liu Kang’s hand-held fireballs, Sub-Zero’s piercing icicles, and Lord Raiden’s electrifying blue lightning.
Amid all the fighting, we were surprised with the lessons to be learned from Mortal Kombat. The film really speaks to appreciating the strength in your differences, and standing in your purpose. For example, boxer and main character Cole is surprised when he is connected to the other MK fighters by the dragon marking that he always thought was a birth mark. The others helped him along at times he felt like giving up on the mission, because they reassured him he was chosen, and must stay the course. His birthmark secured his place in a bloodline of fighters that he should be proud to descend from, and that was really inspirational to see. We also respected that the characters, though connected by the mark, had their own strengths to cover for the others’ Achilles heels.
Make sure you “get in here” and watch Mortal Kombat in theaters and streaming through May 23rd on HBO Max.
