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Really fun movie, good fight scenes. Dialogue was silly and bad at times but who cares, it's basically what you'd want out of a MK movie. Cole was okay, his power is a little lame though, Liu Kang or Sonya Blade probably would've worked better as the main protagonist. Was sorta hoping he'd end up being younger good Sub-Zero or something but oh well, we'll probably see that guy next movie along with Noob Saibot. Kano stole the show every time he was on screen and I hope they bring him back in the sequel.
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Apr 24, 2021 18:34
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Megaman's Jockstrap posted:This movie kost 95 million and looks like it kost in the mid 60s. The lack of kharacter in the setting and the studio mandating a dull kardboard kutout of a leading man really hurt this film. The fight kinemotography was also uneven.  So far, it seems the general reaction has been pretty positive. If the AT&T deal with HBOMax would finally come through, I'd love to check it out!
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Apr 24, 2021 19:10
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Vince MechMahon posted:They used the same trailer set twice because it's the same location. I stopped reading after that because if you're going to just be a cinemasin and not actually pay attention to the movie that's a you problem. Whoops, I meant the trailer for Sonya and Kano seems to be a not very well redressed set of the house Cole's family is stashed at. I did not have a problem with them warping back to Sonya's trailer in the conclusion. DeNomolos fucked around with this message at 19:31 on Apr 24, 2021 |
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Apr 24, 2021 19:28
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This was good and campy, and perfect for HBO Max. But man... whoever said this movie feels like it ends at the end of the second act is correct. Maybe it’s because I paused the movie at the Johnny Cage poster, saw there was 22 minutes left, came back and then the credits rolled. I expected at least 10 more minutes of movie at that point. I definitely wanted to see the tournament aspect that the original movie had, but it seems like a sequel won’t even go down that path.
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Apr 24, 2021 20:03
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Thinking about it more, the movie felt a bit empty to me because most of the characters didn't have much motivation or character growth. Let's compare character arcs between MK95 and the new one: MK95 Liu Kang: Wants to avenge his brother -> Avenges his brother (and learns to respect his elders along the way) Sonya Blade: Wants to stop Kano -> Stops Kano Johnny Cage: Wants to show that he's not a washed-up fraud -> Shows that he's still got it (to himself at least) MK21 Cole: Wants to protect his family, I guess. However, they're only really in danger because of him. Sonya: ??? Jax: ??? Scorpion had the clearest motivation and character arc in the movie (avenging his family) which is why his scenes seemed meaningful and satisfying. Kano was the other standout, because he clearly just wanted to get rich and have a good time, which are things that he actively pursued. Anyway, I think the lack of character arcs made his feel more like a TV show premier than a movie to me. I still enjoyed the things the movie did well (which is why I keep chatting about it), but it could have been much better with a better script. DorianGravy fucked around with this message at 20:46 on Apr 24, 2021 |
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Apr 24, 2021 20:41
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Yeah hopefully they just learn from their mistakes and put in more of the good and less of the bad in the sequel. Unfortunately, I don't think they'll be able to ditch the worst part (Cole) because of how integral they made him. Just focus on another story and cut his screen time in at least half.
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Apr 24, 2021 20:53
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DorianGravy posted:Thinking about it more, the movie felt a bit empty to me because most of the characters didn't have much motivation or character growth. Let's compare character arcs between MK95 and the new one: Honestly a TV series based on the franchise would be phenomenal, it would give them a chance to explore the whole roster and let the characters breathe. Trying to chip off part of it to fit in one movie just makes it too small. I said it before and I stand by it, give it to Stephen S DeKnight, he can handle a stylish, violent franchise just fine.
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Apr 24, 2021 20:57
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Grimdude posted:Yeah hopefully they just learn from their mistakes and put in more of the good and less of the bad in the sequel. Unfortunately, I don't think they'll be able to ditch the worst part (Cole) because of how integral they made him. Just focus on another story and cut his screen time in at least half. They should start the second one where Cole gets murdered immediately. Johnny cage steps in and the mortal kombat yell happens.
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Apr 24, 2021 21:00
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They should have just put Liu Kang in the Cole role. It's fine if he's related to Scorpion. Did we ever get a reason why a Chinese ninja clan wants to wipe out a specific Japanese family? Did Shang Tsung just pay them? Seemed like it was personal.
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Apr 24, 2021 21:15
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Just saw it in theaters, thought it was pretty bad. Did not like all the quick cuts and bad cgi in the fight scenes. Hopefully they can get The Raid guys to choreograph the next one because I'm sure they will make at least one more. Senator Drinksalot fucked around with this message at 21:24 on Apr 24, 2021 |
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Apr 24, 2021 21:20
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Halloween Jack posted:They should have just put Liu Kang in the Cole role. It's fine if he's related to Scorpion. With the fire powers, that would have worked even better. I got nothing on why the clans hated each other, even more reason why this movie should have focused only on Scorpion and Subzero.
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Apr 24, 2021 21:30
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Yeah nothing about the plot made sense even within the framework of MK's already nonsense world. Why can't they just rip off Enter the Dragon like the first movie and the games did?
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Apr 24, 2021 21:40
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As Nero Danced posted:Honestly a TV series based on the franchise would be phenomenal, it would give them a chance to explore the whole roster and let the characters breathe. Trying to chip off part of it to fit in one movie just makes it too small. Its not like they got any big movie stars for the project, they could probably just do TV series with that cast.
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Apr 24, 2021 21:53
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Movie was kinda bad but the action scenes were fine so really that's all I wanted. I agree this would be a killer tv series though. The Kung Lao actor seemed pretty awesome
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Apr 24, 2021 22:09
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Am I misremembering or did Sub-Zero very oddly decide to suddenly speak English to say "for the Lin Kuei" in the opening scene? Is this like an MK universe thing where Outworlders speak English to link them with evil colonizers or is it just goofy nonsense?
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Apr 24, 2021 22:24
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Martman posted:Am I misremembering or did Sub-Zero very oddly decide to suddenly speak English to say "for the Lin Kuei" in the opening scene? Is this like an MK universe thing where Outworlders speak English to link them with evil colonizers or is it just goofy nonsense? He says it at the end of the final fight.
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Apr 24, 2021 22:32
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I couldn’t stop laughing when sub zero told the audience that his name was sub zero.
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Apr 24, 2021 22:33
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hiddenriverninja posted:He says it at the end of the final fight. e: as a maybe-intentional little gag reference to MK 95, I liked that Hanzo Hasashi puts down a water bucket on his way to fight Sub-Zero. I was like "dude that's how Robin Shou beat him oh no!!" Martman fucked around with this message at 22:37 on Apr 24, 2021 |
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Apr 24, 2021 22:35
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The_Rob posted:I couldn’t stop laughing when sub zero told the audience that his name was sub zero. "I am going to become The Sub Zero"
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Apr 24, 2021 22:42
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Halloween Jack posted:They should have just put Liu Kang in the Cole role. It's fine if he's related to Scorpion. Scorpion is part of a whole clan too, and Chinese ninja clan vs Japanese ninja clan is just an old standby of martial art movies. Someone pissed someone off years ago and clans fight boom you got a movie.
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Apr 24, 2021 22:43
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Cole could also easily have been replaced by Cage. Make him a B-movie actor at the end of his rope. That would be a totally different personality from the bland sad sack we got. Cole could also have been replaced by Takeda. The arkana would have made perfect sense.
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Apr 24, 2021 23:15
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Halloween Jack posted:Cole could also easily have been replaced by Cage. Make him a B-movie actor at the end of his rope. That would be a totally different personality from the bland sad sack we got. I actually think saving Johnny for the sequel was smart, it looks like they’re pretty happy with early BO returns so they might be able to get a bigger name, plus he might have made Kano’s role as comic relief smaller. You’re absolutely right about Takeda though, I don’t know why they wouldn’t just use that name and history.
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Apr 24, 2021 23:26
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Kinda shocked this was a theatrical release, felt like a B-movie throughout. Not that that's necessarily a bad thing.
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Apr 24, 2021 23:34
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Mechafunkzilla posted:Kinda shocked this was a theatrical release, felt like a B-movie throughout. Not that that's necessarily a bad thing. Here’s the thing. The original felt like a b movie too. Which is fine because mortal kombat is based on b movies. This one just felt super incompetent and cheap though. It really felt like no one was trying.
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Apr 25, 2021 00:00
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Halloween Jack posted:They should have just put Liu Kang in the Cole role. It's fine if he's related to Scorpion. Quan Chi impersonated a member of Scorpion's clan and killed a bunch of Lin Kuei, Bi-Han retaliated and killed Hanzo. Shenanigans ensue throughout the entire series, Bi-Han's younger brother becomes a good guy, Scorpion gets his chill back, Bi-Han becomes Noob Saibot. At least I think I remember all that right. Movie related: The last 20 minutes are pretty good and make up for a chunk of the badness throughout the rest. Kano ruled, Cole ended up being better than expected but they'd better ditch him ASAP if this turns into a franchise because he is not carrying this series going forward. His arcana was kinda cool at first? Suit that stores kinetic energy and can distribute it/redirect it back was neat. He immediately used it to boost his strength and do cool grappler poo poo against Goro, but then as soon as he gets the tonfas its like they forgot he's a grappler and the kinetic poo poo literally doesn't happen again from that point onward. Extremely stupid choice, just make him able to take a beating and roll around on people how hard is that. There were a few pretty funny one liners, but every time they referenced what the announcer says during fights it is absolutely awful.
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Apr 25, 2021 00:08
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Halloween Jack posted:They should have just put Liu Kang in the Cole role. It's fine if he's related to Scorpion. It seems like they have this tournament and the bad guys have to win 10 of them for some reason. But they also cheat by coming to earth and just killing off the competitors before the tournament. That’s the weird thing. Winning the tournament to save earth wasn’t even a concern for the good guys. Their whole motivation was “you’re being hunted, kill them before they kill you”
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Apr 25, 2021 00:14
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Well this silly film has made me want to play a Mortal Kombat game which... Is not an impulse I've had ever. I hope MK11 is fun
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Apr 25, 2021 00:14
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Nazzadan posted:Quan Chi impersonated a member of Scorpion's clan and killed a bunch of Lin Kuei, Bi-Han retaliated and killed Hanzo. Shenanigans ensue throughout the entire series, Bi-Han's younger brother becomes a good guy, Scorpion gets his chill back, Bi-Han becomes Noob Saibot. At least I think I remember all that right. Close enough; the Lin Kuei's grandmaster paid Quan Chi to kill the Shirai Ryu (apparently without the the rest of the Lin Kuei knowing it was Quan Chi impersonating them; Good Guy Sub Zero finds this out via a computer). Scorpion either was killed by Quan-Chi-as-Sub Zero or by Sub-Zero himself, QC resurrected him as the classic angry ghost ninja who wants to murder blue ninjas (until GGSZ makes amends). At least, thats my understanding of the current lore.
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Apr 25, 2021 00:25
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Nazzadan posted:every time they referenced what the announcer says during fights it is absolutely awful. Counterpoint: the announcer references were cool and funny and good.
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Apr 25, 2021 00:25
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Xenomrph posted:Counterpoint: the announcer references were cool and funny and good. Yeah I was also okay with them.
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Apr 25, 2021 00:29
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Another unintentionally funny thing was at the end, after Scorpion has killed Sub-Zero, he turns and speaks in Chinese to Cole, who would have no idea what he's saying. So Cole is standing there while this undead demon ancestor who has risen from hell is telling him to protect his bloodline but actually doesn't know what in the world he's being told. It takes away any sort of pathos when you realize the one guy has no idea what the other guy said.
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Apr 25, 2021 00:37
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Another thing bugged me about Cole's arc and everything: As others were saying, for a minute it seemed like his story was very naturally building up to him being a new younger Scorpion character. I got myself way too hyped up when Goro was about to kill his family, because it would have been setting up for easily one of the cooler possible moments... family about to die, Cole's struggle starts unlocking his arcana.... boom, Goro gets stabbed by a weird blade followed by "GET OVER HERE" as Cole unlocks his own Scorpion-inspired powers and yanks Goro away before wrecking him. (or if nothing else, the ghost of Hanzo could have helped in that way... ultimately his visions of his ancestor kinda went nowhere) Instead it was like... "hey Goro! stop killing my family! i have a cool shirt now"
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Apr 25, 2021 00:39
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Codependent Poster posted:Another unintentionally funny thing was at the end, after Scorpion has killed Sub-Zero, he turns and speaks in Chinese to Cole, who would have no idea what he's saying. So Cole is standing there while this undead demon ancestor who has risen from hell is telling him to protect his bloodline but actually doesn't know what in the world he's being told. It takes away any sort of pathos when you realize the one guy has no idea what the other guy said. I was thinking the same thing, funny callback to the opening fight where Scorpion says he has no idea what Subzero was saying either.
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Apr 25, 2021 00:41
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There was absolutely no reason for the story to focus on cole and should have just used Liu Kang and Kung Lao as the primary protagonists. For everything this movie does right it does about 3 things wrong and it's frustrating. What a missed opportunity. G-III fucked around with this message at 01:05 on Apr 25, 2021 |
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Apr 25, 2021 00:59
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I kept expecting Kung Lao to teleport during a fight since he made his entrance that way.
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Apr 25, 2021 01:00
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Good Soldier Svejk posted:Well this silly film has made me want to play a Mortal Kombat game which... Is not an impulse I've had ever. MK11’s story is head and shoulders above the story in this movie. There’s one atrocious voice actor that threatens to derail things but it’s easy enough to overlook because all of the others are good. It’s very clearly inspired by 80s action movies and the characters are all much more layered than you would expect from MK. The_Rob posted:Here’s the thing. The original felt like a b movie too. Which is fine because mortal kombat is based on b movies. This one just felt super incompetent and cheap though. It really felt like no one was trying. I keep hearing people say that this movie feels like a B movie and I don’t think that’s true. The first absolutely is, it’s super inspired by Kung-Fu movies of the 1970s which all slotted into that category. This movie doesn’t have that sense of fun or inspiration. It’s taking it’s story cues from anime or YA stories with the “group of chosen people have to unlock hidden power to save their families/world” and it’s visually way more reminiscent of an expensive tv show. Mortal Kombat as a franchise is heavily inspired by B-movies of all sorts but this movie wasn’t made like one and doesn’t feel like one other than it feeling a little cheap, which in this case reads less like Enter the Dragon and more Hercules with Kevin Sorbo.
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Apr 25, 2021 01:02
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It's just super weird in the context of mortal kombat lore as a whole because the deal is the winner(s?????) get functional immortality for 50 years until the next tournament while the loser is supposed to use those 50 years to scrap together a new winner???? Like I get that there's a prophecy and all that (where they think the prophesized bloodline is dead) but after 450 years of winning why at the last minute do you decide to skirt the rules of tue the tournament you've won out of hand the last 9 times and piss everyone off so hard that they flip your scam on you and beat you at your own game? Dumb, shang, dumb.
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Apr 25, 2021 01:10
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jax should've uppercutted that dude into a pit of spikes
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Apr 25, 2021 01:12
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romanowski posted:jax should've uppercutted that dude into a pit of spikes THANK YOU drat Chekhov's Pit
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Apr 25, 2021 01:36
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postmodifier posted:It's just super weird in the context of mortal kombat lore as a whole because the deal is the winner(s?????) get functional immortality for 50 years until the next tournament while the loser is supposed to use those 50 years to scrap together a new winner???? Shang implied that they've cheated in past tournaments too. Still, it's a little weird that he's not even subtle about it. Also, Reptile has big claws, acid, and is invisible, and all he can manage to do is claw Kano and bump people a couple times? Come on, Reptile, you need to raise your game.
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Apr 25, 2021 01:48
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