With the Mortal Kombat franchise getting another movie adaptation, audiences and players may wonder how the movie is just like the game, vice versa.
Video-game adaptations are always a slippery slope. Sometimes, the movies will add in too much of the video game, confusing casual viewers. Other times, they'll divert from the game altogether. Every movie needs to find its balance, and with the Mortal Kombat films, that is an understatement.
Based on the brutal, action games of the same name, Mortal Kombat for years has enraptured gamers and moviegoers alike. There are moments where the movies do feel like the game, where the players feel as if they're playing it again. Other times, it feels unrecognizable from the classic and gory action game.
Not all games need to have in-depth or wild stories that engage the viewer. Sometimes, all they need are the bare bones. Basic ideas that allow for the game to be playable, to be enjoyed with a very little story, like Mortal Kombat.
The bare bones of Mortal Kombat, at least the original arcade game, are just warriors battling in a tournament. There's no big overarching tale until later on in the series and the first movie embodies that for the most part, just making the movie about the tournament.
Of course, movies need a plot, the basic hero's journey that propels the characters forward. And while most of the games nowadays do have a plot and story to them, they are somewhat different than the very first Mortal Kombat movie.
For one, there are several subplots and plots added in, such as Liu Kang's brother dying by Shang Tsung's hand and a sizable amount of other cliché style points that fit into the story in ways that differentiate the movie from the original games in pretty big ways.
Getting adaptation characters to be just right is tricky. There's always going to be liberties taken and changes made to better them for the story at hand. Yet, Mortal Kombat does a decent job of adapting fan-favorite characters for the big screen.
Granted, they're not all going to hit the mark. But seeing classic characters like Scorpion, Sub-Zero, Goro, Sonya Blade, Johnny Cage, Liu Kang, Kung Lao, even the weird-looking Raiden, pop up on the big screen in somewhat accurate manners builds upon the love for the game from both studio and audiences.
Obviously, in a massive roster like that of Mortal Kombat, there are loads of characters that won't make the cut into the movies. Sometimes, it is for the best as some characters don't fit the story. But other times, the studios don't know when to stop and keep adding.
With Mortal Kombat: Annihilation, there were far too many characters added with very little time to cover them all. It made the movie feel empty and overstuffed, with classics like Nightwolf and Shao Kahn terribly used and without a doubt, mistreated.
In an action-oriented game, obviously action is always the priority. Action can be important for a game but also hard for the movie to pull off. In something like Mortal Kombat, the action is front and center and is on full display in-game and in movies.
From dropkicks to combos to all sorts of epic action that goes off the walls, the movies and games almost feel blended and alike. Whether it be Scoprion's knife throws or the epic tournaments, the action hits the mark despite a few areas of trouble.
Despite most of the action hitting the mark, some of it feels weak and unsatisfying in the face of the awesome game fans love all too much. Specifically, the fatalities, the highlight of the game. While the 2021 remake will lean to the R-rating, the original movies didn't.
The weak and bloodless fights and deaths took away from the brutal nature that made the games what they are. Yes, not everything needs to be R-rated. But something like Mortal Kombat? That deserves all the R-ratings it can get.
To make a game work on the big screen, somethings need to be kept in mind: rivalries and friendships. The rivalries and friendships between characters, especially Mortal Kombat, are key; allowing for the characters to hate one another and let the game influences bleed through in the best ways possible.
From the classic Scorpion and Sub-Zero the highly-anticipated 2021 remake will offer to Cage and Sonya's unlikely friendship and so many others, the connections between characters are stronger than ever in the films — good or bad, game accurate or otherwise.
Again, when crafting a movie, storytellers and filmmakers always pay attention to the character's motivation. Without motivation, the characters feel flat. So, there are moments when the writers have to create the proper motivation no matter how it feels.
With all sorts of characters in MK, the motivation isn't always the strongest. The motivation is always to win the contest. Adding in a revenge plot for Liu Kang and Shang Tsung sours the overall feel the classic games brought about for the series in one form or another.
Cheesiness in films is a slippery slope. There are times when the cheese can go way too far when it can become unbearable to watch and for audiences to see. Yet, there are times when cheese works in the best way possible and elevates the movies to new heights.
The very idea of Mortal Kombat is brutally cheesy; flashy warriors fighting to death and a booming voice proclaims "FATALITY" to a cheering crowd. The movies embody that cheese, reveling in it to the point where it feels like the game.
Then again, oftentimes, the cheesiness goes so far it's just over-the-top. So far that the movie becomes almost unwatchable. Although it could be said Mortal Kombat's cheese is so bad it's good, it does not work in a lot of places or age all that well.
From terrible line delivery to questionable CGI and not to mention a lot of the flips and choreography, the current MK films are a guilty pleasure for many despite the odd decisions made along the way.
