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Mortal Kombat – Official Restricted Trailer

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Art Lean

Art Lean

Kombatant
Swindle said:
So, I’ve seen it:
Ask questions.
Click to expand...
Quite simply, was it good and worth the wait?

And how does it compare in quality to previous live action MK renditions (95, Annihilation, Conquest, Rebirth and Legacy); better than what, worse than which etc?

Is the often-made comparison of it being like Legacy-meets-Scorpion's Revenge accurate?
 
Swindle

Swindle

Philanthropist & Asshole
Art Lean said:
Quite simply, was it good and worth the wait?

And how does it compare in quality to previous live action MK renditions (95, Annihilation, Conquest, Rebirth and Legacy); better than what, worse than which etc?

Is the often-made comparison of it being like Legacy-meets-Scorpion's Revenge accurate?
Click to expand...
I enjoyed it.
Wether it’s “good” is going to depend on how accepting you are of story elements that differ from expected canon.
the film does not try to be the game series. While there are a lot of callbacks and canon Easter eggs, this is definitely its own thing. For a movie universe version of MK, it works really well. Main characters are given multiple opportunities to show their personalities, and have their “moment”. The tone of the film is consistent throughout, and it takes its story seriously.
It has a different feel than Rebirth/Legacy, as right up front the scale of the story is felt.
the closest thing I could compare it to, after one viewing, is the film Wanted, with James McAvoy and Angelina Jolie (as far as tone/feel)
For me, this was a big step up for the franchise in terms of movie/tv representation. There are things I would have done differently, but much of that comes down to personal taste, and not a “mishandling” of the material.
While Scorpion’s story is a large part of the overall mythology of this movie, the film doesn’t feel like Scorpion’s Revenge. Closer to the 95’ Movie than other material, but with a faster pace and better character development.
 
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Art Lean

Art Lean

Kombatant
Swindle said:
I enjoyed it.
Wether it’s “good” is going to depend on how accepting you are of story elements that differ from expected canon.
the film does not try to be the game series. While there are a lot of callbacks and canon Easter eggs, this is definitely its own thing. For a movie universe version of MK, it works really well. Main characters are given multiple opportunities to show their personalities, and have their “moment”. The tone of the film is consistent throughout, and it takes its story seriously.
It has a different feel than Rebirth/Legacy, as right up front the scale of the story is felt.
the closest thing I could compare it to, after one viewing, is the film Wanted, with James McAvoy and Angelina Jolie (as far as tone/feel)
For me, this was a big step up for the franchise in terms of movie/tv representation. There are things I would have done differently, but much of that comes down to personal taste, and not a “mishandling” of the material.
Click to expand...
Awesome, looking forward to it all the more now! So by your wording I'll take it that in your opinion it's the best live action rendition so far?

I don't ever need it to be accurate to the games, I enjoy them being their own thing as long as the end result has been done well. Hell I'm the one guy whose favourite episode of Legacy was the the Raiden one in the asylum. Sure it felt more like a classic episode of the X Files with a touch of Big Trouble in Little China at the end, but I loved its unique tone and style (even though the first two Scorpion and Sub Zero episodes were objectively probably the best both from a story perspective and in visualising a real Mortal Kombat), so I'm definitely not a stickler for accuracy by any stretch.

Glad you enjoyed it... here's hoping I'll be seeing it soon too, somehow.
 
Swindle

Swindle

Philanthropist & Asshole
Art Lean said:
Awesome, looking forward to it all the more now! So by your wording I'll take it that in your opinion it's the best live action rendition so far?

I don't ever need it to be accurate to the games, I enjoy them being their own thing as long as the end result has been done well. Hell I'm the one guy whose favourite episode of Legacy was the the Raiden one in the asylum. Sure it felt more like a classic episode of the X Files with a touch of Big Trouble in Little China at the end, but I loved its tone and style, so I'm definitely not a stickler for accuracy by any stretch.

Glad you enjoyed it... here's hoping I'll be seeing it soon too, somehow.
Click to expand...
I hope you do like it.
I can see many people not getting on board after the first act, due to the differences from the source material.
But IMO, the characters are treated with respect, and the story flows well and makes narrative sense. It also sets up the universe nicely for future films, which is all more than any of the other material did.
So, I do feel this is the best we could have hoped for from an adaptation. Hell, even NRS can’t stick the landing on their own stories...
 
Art Lean

Art Lean

Kombatant
Swindle said:
I hope you do like it.
I can see many people not getting on board after the first act, due to the differences from the source material.
But IMO, the characters are treated with respect, and the story flows well and makes narrative sense. It also sets up the universe nicely for future films, which is all more than any of the other material did.
So, I do feel this is the best we could have hoped for from an adaptation. Hell, even NRS can’t stick the landing on their own stories...
Click to expand...
I'm not going to ask for any plot points as I want to be completely surprised when I see it, however what's the verdict on Cole? Is he a justified new inclusion, or do you feel he should have been Johnny, or Kai, or some other down-to-earth heroic character that was already in the games?

Oh and no details please, but is his armour an actual MacGuffin or just clothing he adorns?
 
Kindred

Kindred

Let Be Be Finale Of Seem
Art Lean said:
I'm not going to ask for any plot points as I want to be completely surprised when I see it, however what's the verdict on Cole? Is he a justified new inclusion, or do you feel he should have been Johnny, or Kai, or some other down-to-earth heroic character that was already in the games?
Click to expand...
Johnny down to earth? lol Hes larger than life this guy. You need someone fresh that is an outsider for ppl who know nothing of MK to use as a surrogate to the world.
 
Art Lean

Art Lean

Kombatant
Kindred said:
Johnny down to earth? lol Hes larger than life this guy. You need someone fresh that is an outsider for ppl who know nothing of MK to use as a surrogate to the world.
Click to expand...
When I say "down to earth", I didn't mean in terms of personality (though the 95 movie version was very grounded), I meant as in human Earth realm fighters without any inherent supernatural abilities, sci-fi powers or "chosen one" legacies. Just martial artists and combatants who fight for the side of earth, which outside of this movie's character cast would include (for me), Johnny, Kai and Stryker.

The latter two are hardly popular though so can understand why they wouldn't be used to lead a movie.
 
Swindle

Swindle

Philanthropist & Asshole
Art Lean said:
I'm not going to ask for any plot points as I want to be completely surprised when I see it, however what's the verdict on Cole? Is he a justified new inclusion, or do you feel he should have been Johnny, or Kai, or some other down-to-earth heroic character that was already in the games?

Oh and no details please, but is his armour an actual MacGuffin or just clothing he adorns?
Click to expand...
I liked Cole, and his fight scenes are great.
you couldn’t have substituted Johnny in there, as that would have been an entirely different story. My only gripe with Cole as a character is that he isn’t entirely his own. Future films will tell...
As for his look and weapons, I don’t want to spoil anything.
 
Swindle

Swindle

Philanthropist & Asshole
Kindred said:
Is the fighting well down? On a scale of The Raid and Taken (quick cuts galore) lol
Click to expand...
The fight scenes are generally very well done.
not comparable to the Raid, as most of them incorporate mystical/power elements into the Kombat, which makes them feel very different from the more grounded fights. They also aren’t as fast-paced as many of the Raid fights are, but more about strategy and abilities. They mostly feel a lot like the fight choreography in MK11 story Mode, where there is some well-filmed martial arts with the fights highlighting certain powers that characters have. There are some creative uses of character abilities, and a couple of callbacks to the 95 film.
it not filmed shaky-cam style, and the actors are given more time between cuts.
 
Slymind

Slymind

Warrior
Swindle said:
I enjoyed it.
Wether it’s “good” is going to depend on how accepting you are of story elements that differ from expected canon.
the film does not try to be the game series. While there are a lot of callbacks and canon Easter eggs, this is definitely its own thing. For a movie universe version of MK, it works really well. Main characters are given multiple opportunities to show their personalities, and have their “moment”. The tone of the film is consistent throughout, and it takes its story seriously.
It has a different feel than Rebirth/Legacy, as right up front the scale of the story is felt.
the closest thing I could compare it to, after one viewing, is the film Wanted, with James McAvoy and Angelina Jolie (as far as tone/feel)
For me, this was a big step up for the franchise in terms of movie/tv representation. There are things I would have done differently, but much of that comes down to personal taste, and not a “mishandling” of the material.
While Scorpion’s story is a large part of the overall mythology of this movie, the film doesn’t feel like Scorpion’s Revenge. Closer to the 95’ Movie than other material, but with a faster pace and better character development.
Click to expand...
That's very promising. Thx for the input.

At first, i was a little bothered by the deviations from the the source material specially considering the first movie was loved because they were very loyal to the the lore(albeit very thin back in the day), but i accept that this is their take on the universe, and considering the countless timelines that ocurred since MK11 introduced Kronika, one could just pretend this is one of those timelines.
 
Trini_Bwoi

Trini_Bwoi

Kombatant
Swindle said:
I enjoyed it.
Wether it’s “good” is going to depend on how accepting you are of story elements that differ from expected canon.
the film does not try to be the game series. While there are a lot of callbacks and canon Easter eggs, this is definitely its own thing. For a movie universe version of MK, it works really well. Main characters are given multiple opportunities to show their personalities, and have their “moment”. The tone of the film is consistent throughout, and it takes its story seriously.
It has a different feel than Rebirth/Legacy, as right up front the scale of the story is felt.
the closest thing I could compare it to, after one viewing, is the film Wanted, with James McAvoy and Angelina Jolie (as far as tone/feel)
For me, this was a big step up for the franchise in terms of movie/tv representation. There are things I would have done differently, but much of that comes down to personal taste, and not a “mishandling” of the material.
While Scorpion’s story is a large part of the overall mythology of this movie, the film doesn’t feel like Scorpion’s Revenge. Closer to the 95’ Movie than other material, but with a faster pace and better character development.
Click to expand...
Imo, MK story has been bad for almost 20 years so I don't care about sticking to story elements, just that the characters are treated with respect.
 
Nephrite

Nephrite

#Fujin4MK12BaseRoster
I saw the movie on April 8th and my first impressions were mostly positive, mostly because of the way they showcased characters' special abilities and how good the costumes are, especially Kabal's and Kung Lao's and the special effects were good. But now that the excitiment has passed, the more I think about the film the less I like it. Main reason being that so many things were not explained not just for the audience that is not familiar with the MK Universe, but also for us, the fans, who know these characters and their histories.

My ranking right now would be 1995 > 2021 > 1997.
 
Swindle

Swindle

Philanthropist & Asshole
Nephrite said:
I saw the movie on April 8th and my first impressions were mostly positive, mostly because of the way they showcased characters' special abilities and how good the costumes are, especially Kabal's and Kung Lao's and the special effects were good. But now that the excitiment has passed, the more I think about the film the less I like it. Main reason being that so many things were not explained not just for the audience that is not familiar with the MK Universe, but also for us, the fans, who know these characters and their histories.

My ranking right now would be 1995 > 2021 > 1997.
Click to expand...
I felt this new film handled the characters much better overall.
In 95, the main heroes plus Shang were featured nicely, but Sub & Scorpion were mere shells of themselves. I think the nostalgia glasses are a little too rosy for the 95’ film, tbh. It had a LOT of issues.
This film feels so much more well-rounded, and gives me hope that future characters will be handled well.
 
Nephrite

Nephrite

#Fujin4MK12BaseRoster
@Swindle

Well, I have to disagree about 2021 film being more well-rounded and handling the characters better. I'd say the only charcater that was clearly handled better was Hanzo/Scorpion. Other than Hanzo/Scorpion, pretty much all other characters feel shallow to me and, except for Kano, don't really have much personality. Sub-Zero has a better costume and way more screen time than in 1995, but he is not any deeper as a character. Actually, there are a couple of things that really bug me this time about Bi Han/Sub-Zero:

If he killed Hanzo in 17th century, how is still alive in modern time?
Why is he showing up as Bi Han in the first part of the film, but later on wears a mask and calls himself Sub-Zero even though he had ice powers from the very start?
Why is he even working for Shang if we know he is from Earthrealm? This makes him the same as in '95, he's just another bad guy with no depth, just more screen time.

While I don't mind Cole, I think this movie could have been much better without him as more time could have been given to provide more info/background on other characters. Also, the problem with Cole as a sort of ''lead hero'' to me is that:

He pretty much serves as a tool to bring back Scorpion in action later on. Speaking of that, if Hanzo was presented as a loving family guy at the beginning of the film, why did he even end up in Hell? I don't think this was explained in the film.
 
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