Mortal Kombat (UHD) review

[David Vaughn]

Studio: Warner
Release Date: June 13, 2021
Rating: R
Film: 3/5
 
Plot
MMA fighter Cole Young (Lewis Tan), accustomed to taking a beating for money, is unaware of his heritage—or why Outworld's Sorcerer Shang Tsung (Chin Han) has sent his best warrior, Sub-Zero (Joe Taslim), an otherworldly Cryomancer, to hunt him down. Fearing for his family's safety, Cole goes in search of Sonya Blade (Jessica McNamee) at the direction of Jax (Mehcad Brooks), a Special Forces Major who bears the same strange dragon marking Cole was born with. Soon, he finds himself at the temple of Lord Raiden (Tadanobu Asano), an Elder God and the protector of Earthrealm, who grants sanctuary to those who bear the mark. Here, Cole trains with experienced warriors Liu Kang (Ludi Lin), Kung Lao (Max Huang) and rogue mercenary Kano (Josh Lawson), as he prepares to stand with Earth’s greatest champions against the enemies from Outworld in a high stakes battle for the universe. But will Cole be pushed hard enough to unlock his arcana—the immense power from within his soul—in time to save not only his family, but to stop Outworld once and for all?
 
My Thoughts
Back in the 90s I used to play Mortal Kombat with a friend of mine whenever we got together with our wives. They would go off and talk in one room and we would have a blast playing the game. I loved all of the one-liners in the game and whenever one of us would lose a game we’d get the first choice of fighters in the next game. We always had a saying whenever we’d choose Sonya Blade— “Bring on the bitch!” Juvenile? Yes. Fun? You bet.
 
I vaguely remember watching the original movie back in the late 90s and found it to be too campy for my liking and completely forgettable. To be completely honest, I wasn’t really looking forward to watching this other than for the A/V presentation since I didn’t think the actual story would be very good. On the A/V front, there was no disappointment at all—especially with the audio. For what it’s worth, the story is serviceable and provides a good backstory on the legend of the battle between realms. No, this won’t be up for Best Picture or any other acting awards, but it’s a fun check your brain at the door action flick with a bit too much violence and gore. Thankfully, Mrs. Vaughn was out of the house and I got to watch it alone and was able to listen at near reference volume, which is the best way to experience the film.
 
Video 8.5/10
 
Audio 9/10 (Dolby Atmos)
 
Special Features:
·        Deleted Scenes From Game to Screen: The Making of Mortal Kombat
·        Mortal Kombat: Fan Favorite Characters
·        Fight Koreography
·        Into the Krypt: Easter Eggs of Mortal Kombat
·        Anatomy of a Scene
·        UHD + Blu-ray + Digital Copy
 

 
 
Conclusion
This isn’t a deep emotional experience that will inspire you to be a better person. Nope. It’s a balls to the wall action flick with plenty of action, competent acting, and a serviceable story. The Atmos track is really impressive with only one flaw. The dialog is recorded a tad lower than it should be and gets overpowered by other effects, but you don’t watch this type of movie for the dialog anyway so just turn up the volume and enjoy the LFE track, which is quite powerful.  
 
 
Reference Review System:
JVC DLA-RS2000 4K Ultra High-Definition Front Projector
(Calibrated with Portrait Displays CalMAN color calibration software & C6-HDR Meter from Portrait Displays)
Stewart Filmscreen - Firehawk 88” 16x9 Fixed Screen
Trinnov Altitude 16 Audio/Video Processor
ATI AT527NC Powering Bed Channels
ATI AT524NC Powering Atmos Speakers
Panasonic DP-UB820 Ultra HD Blu-ray Player
System Controller: URC MX-990
M&K S-150 THX Ultra (R-C-L Speakers)
M&K SS-150 x4 (Surround Speakers)
Atlantic Technology IC6-OBA x 4 Overhead Speakers
SVS PC-Ultra Cylinder Subwoofer
HSU VTF-15H MK2 Subwoofer
JL Audio Dominion F110 Subwoofer x 2
Mini DSP HD controlling all subwoofers
Audioquest and Monoprice - Audio/Video/Speaker Cabling

PureAV PF60 Power Conditioner

[bmoney]

Another popcorn flick I enjoyed. Thanks for the review