‘Kombat’ Better Than What You Would Predict
A violent video game where characters mercilessly beat and hack at each other until one graphically executes the other hardly seems to be worthwhile inspiration for a movie.
But wait, this is Hollywood, the place where original ideas are short and talent is scarce. And it looks like the big boys in suits who green light such pictures as “Pocahontas” have been getting particularly desperate for material lately, so a film version of the popular bloodbath disguised as a video game, “Mortal Kombat,” also gets the go-ahead.
No doubt another reason this was produced is that the Hollywood leeches will surely see a box office return from the kids who play the game with religious fervor.
The surprising thing about this movie is that it is excellent entertainment. The story is average; it’s the style and energy of the production that pulls things together.
Nothing, from the constant stream of eye-popping special effects to the wondrous sets, can be improved upon. And the special effects are not of the “Forest Gump” all-the-goodparts-are-in-the-preview variety. There really are a lot of things we’ve never seen before.
The makers of “Mortal Kombat” really didn’t have to keep taking the film’s visuals to new extremes. But the extra effort has made this into a must-see film.
The script is standard, nothing particularly good or bad about it, and it doesn’t hamper the film any. More or less based on the video game, it has a martial arts tournament fought every century to decide who will rule the world: the forces of good or the emperor of the Altworld, an evil being who wants to enslave a new planet, Earth.
The emperor has sent his lieutenant, the brutal Shang Tsung, to make sure the evil contestants (like Sub-Zero and Scorpio) conquer (meaning kill) our heroes (Johnny Cage, Sonya and Liu Kang).
All of the fights are framed in neat sets or beautiful scenery. And the martial arts moves here are fast and furious, which is essential for a film like this. But it’s the visual elements that overpower even the bone-crunching action.
The best scene is in a serene forest that becomes the setting for a fight to the death between Scorpio and Johnny Cage. After a few minutes of cat-and-mouse games, the action moves to a hellish red-lit underworld where the victorious party is decided.
The acting is just good enough to not damage the film. Christopher Lambert, as Lord Rayden, is the only weak point. His sneer grows old quickly, and his one recurring line, “I don’t think so,” is overused.
As far as straight-up martial arts flicks go, this one is great. There’s enough plot to hold together the beatings, and things are wrapped up nicely with … another fight! But it’s the brilliance behind the camera that makes “Mortal Kombat” definitely worthwhile. The last film out of Hollywood with this much style was “Natural Born Killers.”
“Mortal Kombat” doesn’t limit itself by being a big-screen copy of the game; it goes above and beyond that, as well as most movies in theaters now.
Grade: A