Mortal Kombat (2021 film)

Mortal Kombat is a 2021 martial arts fantasy film based on the video game franchise of the same name and a reboot of the Mortal Kombat film series. The film stars Lewis Tan, Jessica McNamee, Josh Lawson, Tadanobu Asano, Mehcad Brooks, Ludi Lin, Chin Han, Max Huang, Joe Taslim, and Hiroyuki Sanada. It is directed by Simon McQuoid (in his feature directorial debut), from a screenplay by Greg Russo and Dave Callaham and a screen story by Russo and Oren Uziel. The film follows Cole Young, a washed-up mixed martial arts fighter who is unaware of his hidden lineage or why assassin Sub-Zero is hunting him down. Concerned for the safety of his family, he seeks out a clique of fighters that were chosen to defend Earthrealm against Outworld.
Following the critical and commercial failure of the 1997 film Mortal Kombat: Annihilation, a third Mortal Kombat film languished in development hell for a period of nearly two decades. In late 2010, Warner Bros. Pictures and New Line Cinema (whose parent company acquired the franchise from Midway Games in 2009) began developing a new film, with Kevin Tancharoen serving as director from a script written by Uziel in the wake of their Mortal Kombat: Rebirth short film. James Wan was announced as a producer in August 2015 and McQuoid was hired as director in November 2016. Production took place at Adelaide Studios in Adelaide and at other locations in South Australia. Principal photography occurred from September to December 2019.
Mortal Kombat was released theatrically internationally on April 8, 2021, and was then released in the United States on April 23, simultaneously in theaters in IMAX and on the HBO Max streaming service. The film received mixed reviews from critics, who praised its action sequences, musical score, acting (particularly Lawson, Taslim and Sanada), visual effects, and faithfulness and references to the source material, but criticized its screenplay, pacing and the introduction of a new lead character (unrelated to the games' lore). The film has grossed $83.6 million worldwide. It became HBO Max's most-successful film launch to date.
Category:Films