dmlucifer

I will admit the only Mortal Kombat game I have played is MKX which I liked. The animation of this movie is worse than current cutscenes in that game. Cutscenes which I might add are freely accessible from Youtube. This would've been acceptable if there was a new story to tell. There is not. The plot is a retread of the 90s movie with Linden Ashby and Christopher Lambert, albeit somewhat expanded and with big emphasis on Scorpion and with some classic MK chracters added as cameos. That's why this movie is pointless, it doesn't tell a story better than the games do, it doesn't show it better either. I also didn't like the female (over)empowerment overtones or that it contains a pretty significant break of the rules. But it's not offensively bad, it's just so mild, even with the blood flowing everywhere, that in the end I ended up asking where the hour and a half of my life went.

While the setting and the historical source of the movie is that of the late 17th century, don't be fooled, this is a movie about communism. More accurately, about the wretched logic the communist justice system has used to imprison and kill hundreds of people in the Czechoslovakian 50s. The forced confessions, self-accusal, torture and naming of innocent accomplices were all part of communist processes in which such as Milada Horáková perished.

There are plenty of analogies in the movie which I don't intend to spoil. The atmosphere is crafted masterfully, giving the film a bleak and dark look and amplifying the effects of its story. The performances are very good, however I don't know how well does the original czech translate into the subtitles. What keeps this from being a 10 out of 10 is the pacing. In a certain point of the movie, the end becomes obvious and the rest is just a hammer that drives the nail of absolute despair into your brain.

Some of you view this as a straight-up comedy, I view it as a study of humankind. With some funny bits thrown in because life is often funny. Not to get too melodramatic but I think this film captures realistically both the magnificence and ugliness of the feral human spirit. It shows what humans are able to do in packs, what the mob mentality is like, what humans are capable of when unleashed. Undoubtedly inspired by incidents like Corey Worthington's party or Gemma Anscomb's, this movie is not carried by its predictable plot or simple love story. It's the experience of the party that carries it.

If you've ever stumbled on a drunk unconscious teen and drawn a giant sausage on his forehead, this is the movie for you. If you've handed the permanent marker to your friend with words:"Hey, you know what would be fun ?", this is the movie for you. If you just thought that a giant permanent marker sausage would look great on his forehead, this still is the movie for you. If however you thought "That's disgusting, he shouldn't be allowed to drink in that age." then this movie is definitely going to bore you at least but it's more likely to upset you.