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StygianBeach wrote: Not sure about it.
If the fight scenes are kept short, then I think I could sit through it.
I'm not sure what a MK movie is going to do during not-fighting-time. Intellectual discussions, deep bonding experiences between unrelated characters from all over the world (and beyond)? It seems... off brand.
I see exposition, half-a-dozen or so recruitment missions, more exposition and then 40-60 minutes of pure face punching (punctuated by exposition) plus a 'shocking' climax ending in FX fizzle, and then maybe an epilogue with the survivors finding out about the sequel when they were headed for a small subdued 'we survived' party.
I'd suggest watching the story modes of the last three games and the Injustice ones (you can find playthroughs on Youtube if you're not interested in the fighting). You might be surprised--Netherrealm really do the best stories in just about any fighting game franchises. Some camp and humour, but there's also legitimately good character-building and story in there.
Spoiler:
Heck, Johnny Cage and Scorpion get actual character arcs.
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2021/02/22 11:22:26
"The 75mm gun is firing. The 37mm gun is firing, but is traversed round the wrong way. The Browning is jammed. I am saying "Driver, advance." and the driver, who can't hear me, is reversing. And as I look over the top of the turret and see twelve enemy tanks fifty yards away, someone hands me a cheese sandwich."
Well, its not going to win any awards, but it was fun.
Dude playing Kano killed it.
Would’ve liked more Scorpion, personally. Though I like the actor playing Scorpion, I felt he was miscast. A bigger role for him would’ve been better.
Alot of fights were clearly truncated due to time/budget constraints and it shows. I get why they did it, but it seemed rushed. Its evident that it has franchise aspirations.
Just a brainless action flick to veg out on. When you judge it on the curve of “Its a video game adaptation”, its passable entertainment.
Hot Take: I think I enjoyed it more then Kong v Godzilla.
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2021/04/24 13:35:22
"Sometimes the only victory possible is to keep your opponent from winning." - The Emperor, from The Outcast Dead.
"Tell your gods we are coming for them, and that their realms will burn as ours did." -Thostos Bladestorm
I rather enjoyed it. The opening Not-Scorpion-Yet vs Not-Sub-Zero-Yet thing took a bit overly long, but the rest of it seemed to flow pretty good. If I was a drinker I’d say you could make a good game of taking a drink every time they say a line from the game.
Gamgee on Tau Players wrote:we all kill cats and sell our own families to the devil and eat live puppies.
Kanluwen wrote: This is, emphatically, why I will continue suggesting nuking Guard and starting over again. It's a legacy army that needs to be rebooted with a new focal point.
Confirmation of why no-one should listen to Kanluwen when it comes to the IG - he doesn't want the IG, he want's Kan's New Model Army...
tneva82 wrote: You aren't even trying ty pretend for honest arqument. Open bad faith trolling.
- No reason to keep this here, unless people want to use it for something...
Kano was great. Absolute scene-stealer from beginning to end.
I liked Sonya, honestly didn't mind Cole (even if he wasn't a necessary addition and you could have had this movie without him), and I liked the way Kung Lao was portrayed.
I don't mind the Dragon Markings and the Arcana stuff as it's fine for retellings of MK lore to have their own interpretations of events and people. Hell, even the MK games have two distinct sets of timelines that run one after the other, and do things differently (sometimes wildly) each time.
The bit with Reptile was cool. Good use of the flare.
Umm... what else? Some of the fights were cool. They even let the camera stay on a single shot for more than a second a few times. Some of the easter eggs (Kano stealing Shinnok's amulet, Kitana's fan blade, Lui just doing the leg sweep over and over again on Kano) were fun. Really struggling for other good things...
Ok bad things.
It was mostly boring. A whole lot of people talking to Cole explaining what was going on, and how they have to be ready for the tournament that never actually arrives.
Shang Tsung wasn't impressive in the slightest.
Raiden wasn't very Raiden-y.
Kabal's voice actor was attrocious.
The (mis)use of Meleena was horrific. And they kill her. I mean... WTF?
Nitara? I mean... why even fething have her if all you're going to do is have Kung ride her like a surfboard and kill her instantly.
Reiko? Jesus... I guess Nathan Jones is really cheap, 'cause even in this bit part he's not much good. And they fight at The Pit and... no one goes over the edge. Just a headsmash fatality. I'd call that the worst fight of the movie if not for the Nitara nonsense.
Jax... whose power is "make better robo arms", and his ark is to settle a score with a guy who has no lines. Awesome.
Sonya's fight with Kano was fething lame. In the dark, inside a building, and then he dies to a garden gnome.
Goro... wasted. Completely.
Even Scorpion coming back at the end didn't make a hell of a lot of sense. It sort of just happened because people expected it.
The scenes at Shang's weird outside throne felt like they were from a different movie. Felt like a collection of Power Ranger villains.
There wasn't enough time spend inside the fights, as they kept quick cutting everything to the point of absurdity. The 2 minute fight between Scorp and Sub at the start has 105 cuts in it.
Uhh... yeah. As I said. Lousy. There was virtually nothing interesting in that film, and the fights were either too frenetic or too short to be worth watching. Give me Scorpion and Jonny Cage fighting to a Fear Factory track, or Robin Shou yell-fighting against Reptile any day of the week.
It certainly wasn't as offensively bad as Annihilation was - I doubt anything could be - but this was bad, bad, bad.
And it suddenly occurs to me that I might have gone to school with the girl who plays Sonya. I didn't know her, but I knew her older sister Penny (who is also an actress). She's a couple of years younger than me, so might've started after I left. Small world.
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2021/04/24 16:35:28
Dysartes wrote: Do the lines from the games feel over-used, AduroT, or have they judged the usage about right? In your opinion, of course.
I don’t think they’re overused, though they do feel forced at times, but always in such a self aware tongue in cheek kind of way that I found amusingly endearing. They’re definitely going to annoy some people, I’ve got one friend already who complained about them, but I think they worked.
Yes, the one in the theatre RIGHT NOW! (Unless you are reading this in the future! Then, it is not in the movie houses right now.... or is it! It is all timey-whimey)
This actually feels like a Pre-quel to the actual Mortal Kombat tournament as there is no actual tournament in this film! Instead, Shang Tsung is trying to kill off earth's champions BEFORE the tourney so they can auto-win. I guess the rules do not explicitly forbid conflict outside of the Tourney.
All Champions have a MK mark. If they get killed or defeated by another member of their plane, the mark transfers to them. If they are killed by someone outside of their realm, it starts fresh with a new person (who may or may not be an actual fighter yet).
So, the big question is how does this stack up compared to the "original" Mortal Kombat (OTMK)?
1. Outworld is really boring compared to the OTMK.
2. The acting and story is much better, even if some of the character actors in the OTMK are iconic.
3. This has 100% less Johnny Cage, and it is weaker for it.
4. Kano in this one is particularly good.
5. The fighting in this one is better, with the potential exception of Jaxs vs. General Hammer Guy.
6. Actual Fatalities from the games in the movie, which is delivered in a superior way than the OTMK.
Overall, this is a much more "serious" effort than the OTMK and it has its charms. However, it lacks the over-the-top zaniness of the OTMK. I was still entertained, but my bar was very low going in.
***Reviewers warning, my daughter asked to go see this with me and she is a teenager who can drive and hang-out with her friends and see a movie like this without me. However, she asked me to see it with her, because she is secretly a MK fan girl, which I did not know! Therefore, my MK experience is being clouded by dad emotions!***
Automatically Appended Next Post: Also Note, I have read that the Sub-Zero actor was contracted for 4 MK movies! That may explain why this felt like a pre-quel.
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2021/04/27 20:37:33
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Generic main character was boring and his power was dull and not executed well. SHould have been head to toe like Colussus in X-Men if they wanted to do something like that.
To much of the fights were quick edit to be as good as they could have been but still had some fun.
Outlands, and much of Earth, looked so bland and uninteresting. It is all black sand dunes and mud puddles. In X and XI it is a more interesting and vibrant world. Different from Earth but seemed like a place people would actually inhabit.
Odd edits and tonal shifts.
Felt like they made it PG-13 then got the word they could go R half way through shooting.
Amidst the mists and coldest frosts he thrusts his fists against the posts and still insists he sees the ghosts.
