Originally Posted by
strtfghtr
Can't wait to watch this tonight. I hope it's mindless, violent, and fun as hell.
Credits are literally rolling as I type this, and IMO, you got two out of three. Totally mindless, very violent, but man, what a slog. After the strong opening in feudal Japan setting up the rivalry between Scorpion and Sub-Zero, it goes downhill really fast and pretty much stays there. Lots of fan service, lots of CGI gore, some decent if unspectacular choreography, but zero characterization and the writing is IMO even worse than the original MK flick from '95, which, all kitschy nostalgic value that movie might have notwithstanding, was pretty sub-standard itself. The pacing is all over the place as well. Also...
Spoiler...
I still don't quite understand what Cole's unlocked power is supposed to be. He develops a magical hide that not only resembles Black Panther's vibranium suit (with all the lines and cross-stitching to boot, though it's gold-ish instead of black) but also seems to have the same ability to absorb force and then redirect it. But no effort at all is made to explain exactly what it is, and its effects are inconsistent.
For me, the best thing about the flick is Aussie actor Josh Lawson as Kano, and even though he's playing your typical foul-mouthed, tough-talking arrogant prick, it's so amusing to me to see him as this kind of character after only having ever seen him as the dorky pharmacist on the sitcom "Superstore." Between that show and this movie, he clearly has range as an actor.
Anyway, as far as big HBO Max premieres go, they're now 1 for 3 for me this year (between this, Kong vs Godzilla and the Justice League Snyder Cut, which is the only one I actually enjoyed to any real extent). But if all you're hoping for is the aforementioned digital splatter, a bit of fan service, a very clear intent to establish its own MCU-style film universe, truly awful dialogue and characters written so thin they're nearly transparent, you'll get all that and less. A huge swing and a miss, IMO. CGI Goro isn't too bad, though. 3/10