I believe that I'm speaking for most fans when I say that I was expecting this to be loyal to the original storyline - a thought that the movie trailer ended right away. Instead we were presented with lots of deviations, and a sort of "prequel" that states a hope to build a cinematic universe around Mortal Kombat for the coming years, which don't get me wrong, is a very good thing. What I do think it's bad is the general acting - regarding some exceptions - along with character build up. Outworld characters appear to fall from the sky with little to no storyline attached to who they are and where they came from, when there was a lot to tell, especially about Shang Tsung, Mileena and Kabal. Actors playing Liu Kang, Kung Lao and particularly Raiden were close to average, along with their argument which was little to none. Kabal's voice was also not adequate to its figure. The guy's breathing through a metal mask and is stuck in an "iron lung" and sounds like a young wannabe highschool bully.
Now the big elephant in the room, Cole Young. Adding a new character isn't that bad, but a new protagonist... that's an entire different thing. It's a very risky move, mostly because not only shatters the whole storyline, but also because a main character needs to be likeable to the general audience in order to stand. Personally, I found him closer to indifferent than good or bad, just kind of there. Fortunatly we can see that at the end, there's an intention to bring Johny Cage, who should already be present nonetheless along with Kitana (how can we have Mileena without Kitana?).
Also there were some unecessary scenes, like Nitara (totally random choice by the way) literally appearing on screen just to die in the following second, following the footsteps of Rain in MK Anihalation. One way to get around that and other unsuited scene changes would be to increase the movie's lenght or simply not screening the character at all.
On the upside, Kano's role is incredibly well performed and gives the movie its whole humour, bringing balance and a reality feeling to it. The fighting sequences are good, well shooted from a nice different set of angles, with a lot of movement variety. It's also noticeable they gave enourmous attention to Sub-Zero's special effects, which I think is one the best things in the movie along with some easter eggs like Shinnok's Amulet or Kitana's Fan. Goro's animation is also on a good note.
Last but not least, the final standoff between Scorpion and Sub-Zero didn't let down. Very well shooted with an original choreography, and still managing to be loyal to some of the most iconic original moves from the game characters.
To summarize, it's a generally well done remake. Although needing a lot of work, mostly on actor's performance and argument, has potential to set the foundations for an upcoming cinematic universe to be explored, which after all these years, MK absolutely deserves.
Now the big elephant in the room, Cole Young. Adding a new character isn't that bad, but a new protagonist... that's an entire different thing. It's a very risky move, mostly because not only shatters the whole storyline, but also because a main character needs to be likeable to the general audience in order to stand. Personally, I found him closer to indifferent than good or bad, just kind of there. Fortunatly we can see that at the end, there's an intention to bring Johny Cage, who should already be present nonetheless along with Kitana (how can we have Mileena without Kitana?).
Also there were some unecessary scenes, like Nitara (totally random choice by the way) literally appearing on screen just to die in the following second, following the footsteps of Rain in MK Anihalation. One way to get around that and other unsuited scene changes would be to increase the movie's lenght or simply not screening the character at all.
On the upside, Kano's role is incredibly well performed and gives the movie its whole humour, bringing balance and a reality feeling to it. The fighting sequences are good, well shooted from a nice different set of angles, with a lot of movement variety. It's also noticeable they gave enourmous attention to Sub-Zero's special effects, which I think is one the best things in the movie along with some easter eggs like Shinnok's Amulet or Kitana's Fan. Goro's animation is also on a good note.
Last but not least, the final standoff between Scorpion and Sub-Zero didn't let down. Very well shooted with an original choreography, and still managing to be loyal to some of the most iconic original moves from the game characters.
To summarize, it's a generally well done remake. Although needing a lot of work, mostly on actor's performance and argument, has potential to set the foundations for an upcoming cinematic universe to be explored, which after all these years, MK absolutely deserves.