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1. It Nails The Source Material<\/b><\/h2>\n
Watching video game films without much video game in them feels like eating Lucky Charms. You have to tolerate a lot of crap (the crunchy, non-gamey stuff) to get to the good stuff (the sweet and colorful video game goodness). Remaining wholly faithful to the source material is easier said than done, but Mortal Kombat<\/i> enthusiastically leans into its source material in a way similar movies often feel afraid or ashamed to. Every stupid (read: amazing) thing that makes Mortal Kombat work as a game is present. It has a mystical death tournament for the fate of entire realms; explosive, over-the-top gore; and ninjas, ninjas, and more ninjas! It even has the four-armed Goro himself. That\u2019s particularly impressive, as I could easily see the Shokan prince being cut in the name of being too fantastical\/challenging to pull off, especially back then. Yet here he is in all his nightmare-inducing glory<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Besides retaining tangible elements of the franchise, Mortal Kombat successfully replicates the series\u2019 amazing tonal balance of self-serious badassery and self-aware silliness. You go from being terrified of Goro\u2019s mere presence to laughing at him when Johnny Cage famously low-blows him \u2013 and somehow, it works! Capturing the look of a video game on film isn\u2019t necessarily hard; the 1994 Street Fighter<\/i> film certainly resembles Capcom\u2019s fighter at a glance<\/a> (and with the volume on mute). But it\u2019s another thing to actually capture the vibe and atmosphere of the source material. In that sense, Mortal Kombat<\/i> achieves a flawless victory.\u00a0<\/p>\n Some diehards may explode into 47 rib cages when they read this but it must be stated: The best adaptations accommodate even the most clueless watcher. Despite catering to the fans, Mortal Kombat<\/i> also takes its time laying out its absurd premise so that no one watching gets left behind. The film does a great job introducing the main characters, their motivations, and the stakes of the tournament long before the opening bout begins. Here\u2019s Sonya Blade, a soldier obsessively hunting an international killer named Kano. Meet Johnny Cage, a narcissistic actor looking to prove his martial arts legitimacy. Even new fighters are introduced (like what’s-his-face above)\u00a0to give someone we can all ask “who dat?”\u00a0The film never assumes its viewers know a Brutality from a Friendship just because they bought a ticket.\u00a0<\/p>\n One big reason it pulls this off is by keeping its scope relatively simple. Mortal Kombat III launched months before the movie\u2019s release, but the film pretty much sticks to the small cast of the first game (plus Kitana, of course). By doing this, Mortal Kombat<\/i> doesn\u2019t fall into the trap that some adaptations have (including its own terrible sequel<\/a>): Trying to cram in as much fan service as possible and saying, \u201cHey nerds, y’all know what this is right? Good, \u2018cause we\u2019re not tellin\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n Film adaptations of any property inevitably deviate from the source material in some form or fashion. Quite literally in the latter sense: Shang Tsung\u2019s leather jacket ensemble manages to make him appropriately menacing without looking as flamboyant as his in-game counterpart. But beyond that, Mortal Kombat<\/i> tweaks its weirdness in the right ways to make it work in a new light. Johnny Cage fights in expensive dress clothes instead of his trademark fighting gear because he\u2019s a pretty boy no matter what. He also ruined his luggage exiting a canoe but you get the idea. Changing Liu Kang\u2019s original motivation of fighting purely out of duty to having him avenge his slain brother adds a more personal reason to connect to him emotionally.\u00a0<\/p>\n Perhaps the best, and most surprising, change-for-the-better is the film’s interpretation of Raiden. Portrayed by Christopher Lambert, the cinematic Thunder God is a dry, charming smartass instead of a stoic deity who obsessively consults with his brethren. This should have been a disaster but Elder Gods above is this version of Raiden awesome. The most enduring change to come from this film, though, is Kano\u2019s Aussie accent. That just worked<\/i>, to the point that the character has remained a canonical Aussie ever since. Mortal Kombat\u2019s changes feel logical and subtle and not merely for the sake of change unlike so many other films.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Hopefully films like the upcoming Monster Hunter<\/a>, Uncharted<\/a>,\u00a0<\/em>and the farther-off\u00a0animated Mario film<\/a> can nail these principles. Video games films overall have mostly risen into the \u201cacceptable\u201d category of late. But let it be known that Mortal Kombat<\/i> was and is the video game film that all others should climb the ladder to reach.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n \t It\u2019s the summer of 1995. I anxiously fidget in a movie theater seat alongside my parents and equally excited brothe…<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":983,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"slim_seo":{"title":"3 Simple Reasons Mortal Kombat Remains A Perfect Video Game Movie - ITTeacherITFreelance.hk","description":"It\u2019s the summer of 1995. I anxiously fidget in a movie theater seat alongside my parents and equally excited brothe..."},"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/itteacheritfreelance.hk\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102377"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/itteacheritfreelance.hk\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/itteacheritfreelance.hk\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/itteacheritfreelance.hk\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/983"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/itteacheritfreelance.hk\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=102377"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/itteacheritfreelance.hk\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102377\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":102378,"href":"https:\/\/itteacheritfreelance.hk\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102377\/revisions\/102378"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/itteacheritfreelance.hk\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=102377"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/itteacheritfreelance.hk\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=102377"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/itteacheritfreelance.hk\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=102377"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.gameinformer.com\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/body_default\/public\/2020\/10\/21\/64d12d89\/mortal_kombat_movie_liu_kangs_first_opponent.jpg\")
<\/p>\n<\/article>\n2. It Appeals To Non-Fans<\/b><\/h2>\n
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<\/p>\n<\/article>\n3. The Changes Are Actually Good<\/b><\/h2>\n
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