Note: Support Asian voices and check out Asian reviewers of this movie. Have suggestions? Include their names and links in the comments.
This Mortal Kombat movie review isn’t coming from someone who loved this movie. Let’s make that clear, first and foremost. All I know from Mortal Kombat is that the guy from Teen Wolf played Johnny Cage. I know, you just cringed at that, didn’t you? But it’s true. I vaguely knew about the OG Mortal Kombat movie from 1995 and might’ve watched it once. But I don’t remember anything else besides the music. It was badass then and it’s still badass now.
Even then, I can say I enjoyed this movie and feel like people need to stop talking badly on it. Scrolling through Twitter I saw people complaining about the pacing, the main character, and how the fights were lacklustre. Did you and I watch the same movie? First of all, the movie moved along pretty well. It was about 2 hours long and spent a good chunk of the opening establishing the movie. And Mortal Kombat managed to somehow make me care for the people kicking ass in this middle of an epic interdimensional battle.
Then there’s the garbage that I’m being hearing about the lead character Lewis Tan. I have a lot of questions. Number one, how dare you? He killed it as Cole Young and then some. You could tell that he threw his everything into this movie and I hope he gets all the roles and shows Hollywood how Asian representation is done and how we need more to come. And this is coming from a white Latina with no horse in this race.
All I know is that we can’t let Crazy Rich Asians, Minari, and Parasite be the only Asian representation out there to hit it big. There are a vast number of experiences and stories by Asian creators and writers that are worth telling. And as ridiculous as Mortal Kombat was sometimes, it showed that an Asian lead can thrive, survive, and kickass on our screens. And if we want to continue with positive Asian representation we need to open all the doors and give POC creators all the chances.
Tan wasn’t the only Asian representation on Mortal Kombat. There was Joe Taslim, Tadanobu Asano, Hiroyuki Sanada, Chin Han, Ludi Lin, Max Huang, and more. That representation isn’t something we should disagree with. That’s the kind of representation that we should be going, “Heck yeah! Give me more.” Because, believe it or not, you can have more than one POC in a movie that is core to the story told.
And finally, there’s the action sequences. Again, did we watch the same movie? First up, the weapons they used during the action sequences. At one point Sub-Zero uses blood to turn it into a knife and stab someone. At another point a blade used to dig up plants was used as a weapon that took down foe after foe. And there was even a flying hat that turned into a saw blade. Those weapons helped make the fight sequences, which there were plenty.
Sanada played badass Hanzo Hasashi and threw it down in the first action sequence. 10/10. Would totally watch again. Tan’s character Cole fought tooth and nail for his family and took calculated risks left and right to create action sequences that make you go, “Yup. That’s exactly what I’d do.” Sonya, played by Jessica McNamee was a lean mean machine matched only by Mehcad Brooks Jax. And Lin’s Liu Kang and Huang Kung Lao were the dream team you want to see more of when it comes to kicking ass.
But somehow the fight scenes were lacklustre? Someone the Asian representation didn’t make you go, “Heck yeah!” Me thinks, you’re protesting too much because you, reviewer or viewer who is complaining on Mortal Kombat, have nothing better to do that knock down work that was meant to be fun, full of tons of mythology, and action sequences that make you wonder how the special effects team managed to do all this. So please, kindly go away and let those who enjoyed Mortal Kombat have their fun.
They’re not hurting anyone.
This movie isn’t hurting anyone, well…besides the characters who died.
Point being, let people have fun and let nerds for Mortal Kombat have their moment to shine via an interdimensional battle to save planet Earth.
What did you think of Mortal Kombat? Let us know in the comments section below!
