Not gonna lie, I am obsessed with this movie. My hopes weren't too high for this one as so many video game adaptations seem to be absolute garbage, but this was everything I could ask for in a Mortal Kombat movie. It's just overall good time from the beginning to the end. It has it's flaws (weird editing at times, the movie kinda ends before it fully starts) but despite them I think MK 2021 is a great movie
My favorite thing about it is that it feels fresh - it's not trying to be MK 1995 film or the newest video games. The film is its own thing, but it has a lot to offer to old fans and to people who are not familiar with the MK franchise at all. I know some fans are unhappy with its diversion from MK canon (Arcana being an explanation for their superhuman skills, that the kombatants are marked with the dragon symbol etc.) but I like it that they took a different approach.
It also has my favorite iterations of Kano, Sonya and Shang Tsung. I've never liked Kano that much but the way he was written and portrayed were brilliant. Kano in this movie is both hilarious and pathetic, and one of those characters you love to hate and hate to love. I adore Sonya and I really like it that she doesn't stick out as a "woman in a man's world who hates being called a girl" because I feel like that's her character arc so, so often (one of the reasons why I didn't like her in Scorpion's Revenge). Like... Sonya is just a character in this movie, she's allowed to be silly and ugly and crack stupid jokes and kick ass like any other character.
And I love the casting, I think every character had the right actor. It's great seeing so many talented Asian actors playing Asian characters (you guys have no idea for how long I've been waiting for a Japanese actor to play a Japanese thunder god lol), and the addition of other languages other than English was awesome too. I don't think there has ever been proper Mandarin or Japanese in the games or other movies, so this was a nice surprise, especially in the opening scene with the Lin Kuei and Shirai Ryu (also also a small detail, but I love how Bi-Han is the first character ever to pronounce the Shirai Ryu properly in any MK media, ever).
The costume design is great, the fight scenes are great, the soundtrack is great. The only thing I wish is that they had included the a few of the deleted scenes (they can be found on youtube), because they would've made the plot flow a bit more seamlessly and expand lore and character relationships. I also appreciate it how much they tried to use real locations and practical effects instead of CGI, and you can see from the actors that they are interacting with the environent and each other.
I really wish there will be a sequel, especially if it's by the same team who made the first one. You can clearly see that people who love Mortal Kombat made a movie for other people who love Mortal Kombat.
