Warner Bros.’ Mortal Kombat, a new movie adaptation of the popular fantasy-themed fighting video game franchise, is drawing mixed reviews from critics.
Per Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds a “Rotten” critics’ score of 55% on the Tomatometer after 110 reviews, with an average review rating of 5.6 out of 10. The critic’s consensus reads, “Largely for fans of the source material but far from fatal(ity) flawed, Mortal Kombat revives the franchise in appropriately violent fashion.”
Mortal Kombat stars Lewis Tan as Cole Young, a struggling Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fighter who discovers the truth about his heritage, setting him on a path to becoming one of Earth’s champions in “a high stakes battle for the universe.” Screenwriter Greg Russo has confirmed he wrote the film as the start of a Mortal Kombat trilogy, saying “When I was writing the first film, I was always, in the back of my mind, outlining two more so I always knew where things could go. I would love to come back and explore, there’s just so much of the mythology that we didn’t have the time to get into [but] two hours is the right length for a first film. But there’s more, there’s the Shaolin monks, there’s the special forces, there’s all these spinoffs that you could see.”
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CBR‘s Cass Clarke offered praise for Mortal Kombat, saying “Unlike its predecessors, 2021’s Mortal Kombat is extremely careful about balancing the screentime between its many leads, ensuring that each beloved character is uniquely represented with their video game-like introduction, fatality scene and overall fighting style.” At the same time, Clarke noted the film “feels like the beginning of something greater, that knows it can be greater, that is only just stretching out and giving us a glimpse of the mythos and lore that is begging to be molded.”
Directed by Simon McQuoid and produced by James Wan, Mortal Kombat stars Lewis Tan as Cole Young, Jessica McNamee as Sonya Blade, Josh Lawson as Kano, Tadanobu Asano as Lord Raiden, Mehcad Brooks as Jackson “Jax” Bridges, Ludi Lin as Liu Kang, Chin Han as Shang Tsung, Joe Taslim as Bi-Han and Sub-Zero, Hiroyuki Sanada as Hanzo Hasashi and Scorpion, Max Huang as Kung Lao, Sisi Stringer as Mileena, Matilda Kimber as Emily Young and Laura Brent as Allison Young. The film is now playing in theaters and streaming on HBO Max.
Source: Rotten Tomatoes
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