I haven’t watched many video game movies. That’s largely because upon release of the films of the past, even though the trailer may have had me super excited, soon after release, I hear nothing but bad things. 

Mortal Kombat, a hugely successful video game I’ve played in the past, and the story of the search for Earth’s greatest champions to fight in a high stakes battle for the universe is a fun movie. One with great special effects and an engaging story. 

Mortal Kombat isn’t perfect, but it is the best movie based on a video game that I’ve ever seen. Starring Jessica McNamee, Joe Taslim, Josh Lawson, and Hiroyuki Sanada, and more; I had so much fun that I thought about how proud I hope everyone who made it is. Because more than twice, the words ‘This is so fun/cool’ escaped my lips as I beamed. The fight choreography and special effects are my favourite thing. Then comes the characters and all else.

If you’re familiar with the game, then you know that this is a violent film. However, it still didn’t feel as gruesome as some Tarantino movies I’ve seen. 

There’s one moment in director Simon McQuoid’s film where a key moment involving Cole Young could have been executed slightly differently because it deserved more to be made of it. Yet, a few seconds later, that minor disappointment was behind me and I was back to hoping that everyone involved is super proud of what they’d achieved. It’s likely that the action was just relentless, engaging and fun enough to think about, let alone care about the areas the movie could improve. But what can I say? I wanted fun action and great special effects, which I got.

Even if you’ve never played the game, watch Mortal Kombat. And if you’ve seen other fighter/action/adventure video game movies, by the end of this one, you may just have a new favourite.

Happy Film Loving

G