While early reactions to Mortal Kombat appear to be mixed, to say the least, several aspects of director Simon McQuoid’s feature-length debut have garnered universal praise for perfectly capturing the essence of NetherRealm’s source material. Character interactions – especially those between mascots Sub-Zero and Scorpion – have been labeled runaway high points of the adaptation, as too, have the movie’s Fatalities.
For folks not familiar with the games, the term refers to gruesome cinematic finishers which players can perform at the conclusion of a match. Pulling these off usually requires memorization of a specific string of button presses and more often than not results in the unfortunate recipient losing several limbs, or worse. As an iconic part of the franchise’s identity, the film’s crew knew they needed to be included, even if that meant the MPA dishing out an R-rating to account for gallons of the red stuff being spilled on screen.
Suffice it to say, then, the Fatalities depicted haven’t failed to impress and fan reception has been overwhelmingly positive. Check out just some of the reactions for yourself below:
If you know the storyline of Mortal Kombat this movie stick to it most of the time. They got all the moves and fatalities down pack
— 🦑 x ♠️ (@ChrisCheats) April 23, 2021
As far as video game movies go, #MortalKombat delivers gory fan service fun. While its narrative is mostly perfunctory gibberish, McQuoid & co. nail the look of impressive MK roster on display, along with the brutal fatalities to back them up. An adequate update on a classic. pic.twitter.com/fnY0UYe7ct
— Jay (@NotFunnyJ) April 23, 2021
#MortalKombat 2021 is probably the best video-game movie ever. Characters are well written and casted, story fits the lore, fights are well made and fatalities are #flawless. 8.5/10
— J. P. GNIAZDOWSKI 🐻 (@s23ryf) April 23, 2021
Glad I woke up early to watch the New Mortal Kombat Movie ! Story was super silly and blood was to CGI but the Fights kept on getting better and better as movie went on which was awesome
11/10 -would watch all those Freaking Awesome Fatalities again #MortalKombatMovie
— LionHeart (@LionHeart6667) April 23, 2021
Just Watched #MortalKombat, Fight scenes were great. The fatalities were great. The story was mediocre. The characters were mediocre. I think I would have enjoyed it more if I was more familiar with the games.
All things considered, a Great movie, looking forward to the sequel.— XLR!1 (@XLRQ11) April 23, 2021
finished watching the Mortal Kombat movie. It was fucking awesome how everyone had their fatalities happen normally and then they’d say “Victory” to themselves. Lots of blood so that made it better too. Recommend if you like the video game series.
— Brian (@fairlyoddnutz) April 23, 2021
Mortal Kombat was a blast! Was it a great movie? Nah. But it was very much the movie I wanted from a Mortal Kombat film in 2021. The fatalities are pretty great and some of the character interactions were actually pretty well done. A worthy start in my book. #MortalKombatMovie
— YourBoyGor (@GorTheMovieGod) April 23, 2021
https://twitter.com/lejjjji/status/1385618067565125633
https://twitter.com/FilmCriticKurt/status/1385617048269574151
@noobde Just watched the Mortal Kombat movie @wbpictures and it was a flawless victory with many fatalities!
— Ian Wade (@TheeIanP) April 23, 2021
Absolutely loved #MortalKombat, especially how it respects the lore while going insane with fireballs, laser eyes and fatalities straight out of the games.
Hopefully we'll see a true tournament in a sequel since they basically spent the whole movie world-building.
— Poe (@FoggyGlassEye) April 23, 2021
#MortalKombat was good. Had a lot of references and Easter eggs in there. Not the best with character development and the overall story was ok. The fight scenes were good. The fatalities were great. Definitely interested in seeing where and if the movies continue
— 👑 (@TURANN_H) April 23, 2021
https://twitter.com/tehubertaco/status/1385519864303947777
As for where Mortal Kombat‘s future on the big screen lies, it’ll ultimately be down to how well it performs at the box office and on HBO Max. Several critical markets, including the UK and Europe, have yet to relax lockdown restrictions to the extent that theaters are able to properly reopen, meaning it’ll be some time until Warner Bros. is able to make the call on whether Earthrealm is worth a second and potential third revisit.
Joe Taslim, who plays Sub-Zero, revealed earlier this week that he’s been contracted to appear in multiple installments, so there’s certainly already a plan in place to expand the universe. But do you think sequels are warranted, or is Mortal Kombat a one-and-done affair as far as you’re concerned? Let us know in the usual place below!