#bi han and shang tsung have way too much fun filming together

[cienie-isengardu]

Mortal Kombat 1 Behind the Scenes AU: Decapitation then

[Cage’s Mansion] [Waiting for Liu Kang] [Special Bonus] [Grandmaster’s commentary] [Climbing scene] [Madam Bo’s Inn] [Cage’s Mansion 2 (fire extinguisher)] [Medic] [Shang Tsung’s sad face] [Smoke’s Fall] [Scenography (1)] [Scenography (2)] [Show off!] [Favorite brother] [Climbing on the wall (nonsense)] [Tomas’ commentary] [Perfectly fine] [Sexy, sexy man~♪] [Brothers between filming - Scenography(3)] [Wrong team!] [Since when you two are friends?!] [I like being evil sorcerer more] [I forgot my line, sorry!] [Read the script Kuai!] [Get. Lost.] [Dating] [Permission] [Why date a punk like him…] [Panic (Mom is visiting)]

[sasorikigai]

So, Kathy’s Review of Mortal Kombat 2021; 

The Good, the Remarkable™

For those who are obliviously unfamiliar with MK’s more complicated and convoluted lore, the more helpful it would become to provide a naïve character like Cole Young who can serve as stand-in for audiences who don’t already know what the hell is going on, so with that dichotomy in mind (coming from more knowledgeable Mortal Kombat fan who is more or less familiar with the lore), I think Cole Young, despite my initial dislike of him, was mitigated from that point of view. I did like him as a character, albeit I feel like Lewis Tan’s performance comes short, compared to let’s say Hiroyuki Sanada and Joe Taslim. 

Oh man, Hiroyuki Sanada as Hanzo Hasashi / Scorpion completely nailed the role. The movie’s strongest focal point was created solely by his appearance (the ‘prologue’ scene leading up to the movie’s title roll up and the last final showdown between Cole Young & Scorpion vs. Sub-Zero). The first scene especially, giving birth to a rivalry between iconic ninjas Scorpion and Sub-Zero (Hiroyuki Sanada and Joe Taslim). It is an intense, emotional opening which sets up the adventure nicely - and I really think, from both objective and subjective point of view, that the movie is at its best when it leans into their conflict. I could really see his dedication, his research, his passion in which that come to understand how a family man becomes a fighting machine, and that he comprised the authentic, original style for Hanzo Hasashi’s martial arts prowess, especially with the roped and chained kunai.

Joe Taslim as Bi-Han / Sub-Zero is extremely menacing, and I really enjoyed his choreography with Sanada the most. He delivers such a solid performance (despite Sub-Zero coming off as an evil character for the sake of being evil, despite such wasn’t the case in other adaptations, as of recent, from Scorpion’s Revenge), and it really give me a chill (no pun intended) when he appears out of nowhere. 

Kano (Josh Lawson) was most definitely the unexpected shining element of the movie. He constantly toes the line of being an annoying loudmouth, and a complete asshole, but he often stays on the right side of that line, delivering the right amount of crass one-liners and some genuinely funny moments. 

The Ok, Could be Improved on 

Some of the fights and choreography are excellent, but there are long stretches without any action and it starts to feel dragged out and tepid. I think McQuoid came a bit short in utilizing extremely talented martial artists (including Lewis Tan, Hiroyuki Sanada, Joe Taslim, etc.) to let them do what they do best. It felt like most of the action sequences were either extremely trimmed or cut without proper sequences. 

For all the setup of the blood-feud between Scorpion and Sub-Zero, the former gets very little screen time, while the latter is treated almost like the monster in a slasher film. Sub-Zero feels almost like a dog on the leash of Shang Tsung (Chin Han); he's calm, calculated, and powerful. While Mortal Kombat does a terrific job of setting the table for Sub-Zero being such a powerful character, with the heroes at one point acknowledging that nobody can take him out in a one-on-one fight, the lack of time given to Scorpion is immensely disappointing, but once the character makes his grand entrance, the emotional crescendo of the film rewards viewers for their patience. I just needed A LOT more of Scorpion’s appearance, because essentially, this is what is literally centered around the movie. 

All the konstant barrage of battling, with some of the iconic special moves, fun matchups and delightfully gory fatalities that highlight the second half of the movie. The actors’ physicality makes it pretty believable and each fight is a joy to watch. The film builds to a glorious final confrontation, with choreography and camerawork coming together beautifully - especially when it all comes down to the epic Scorpion vs. Sub-Zero fight. But I still think that could have been done so much better, with more drawn-out exchanges that highlight their strengths as actors and martial artists (as they are clearly the better performers who shine through the movie) and Scorpion’s fatality (TOASTY) was weaker than how it appears on screen. I expected Sub-Zero to literally become cinder and dust.  

The Bad, The Horrible™ 

The first hour of the movie being mostly setup, as the universe is established and the Earthrealm heroes figure out their destinies, is extremely tedious to watch. I just wish the movie would focus more about the strongest point; Hanzo Hasashi’s heritage, and the bitter rivalry between the Shirai Ryu and the Lin Kuei. Also, how all different scenes and narratives weaved together sometimes feel so jarring that sometimes it’s so difficult to focus on what is going on. 

Kung Lao’s ‘shock-value’ death. It was unexpected, while his dispatching of Nitara was a feat of complete badassery.

The tournament concept is certainly one way to justify having a bunch of characters fight one another in hand-to-hand kombat, except the Mortal Kombat tournament never actually happens because the fighters all get restless beforehand and start picking fights with each other anyway. I wonder why so much screen time was wasted talking about a tournament at all is left unclear, even if this serves as a completely disparate AU of some sorts. It literally is the half-origin story (THE STRONGEST NARRATIVE) meshed with half-chaotic mess lodged in the middle (THIS PLOT SUCKS). 

SO MANY UNDERWRITTEN CHARACTERS. The movie seems to fall on the inevitable downfall of having included too many characters all at once. Sorcerer Shang Tsung (Chin Han) and his goons are so underdeveloped they feel like a group of one-dimensional villains - several of whom are dispatched before they can do much of anything.