Mortal Kombat is an enjoyable piece of cheese that has the unenviable position of being based on the trashiest of childrens' entertainment that is being judged by picky adults. The plot is an absolute mess, the characters don't make any sense, and the effects are absolutely over the top, but it is gleeful in how it does so. This cannot and will not please everyone, but if you watch it in the right frame of mind you may very much enjoy the cheap martial arts flick.

Getting into the details of the story would be a waste of time. It wasn't important in the games the movie is based on and it's not important in the movie. Even if you like the movie you'd forget what the plot was after a week. The good guys are gathering together their most talented fighters in order to fight for the fate of the Earth from otherworldly forces. Their training involves trying to identify and bring about from inside of them their "special powers" as an excuse to have them execute the moves they're known for in the game the film is based on.

You won't be at all surprised to hear that none of these pieces really work. They're tossed together haphazardly in a near meaningless jumble. Any time the movie stops to tell its story it slows to a painful crawl. No one came here for that.

Fortunately, the action is fun. Every fight is joyfully over the top. Director Simon McQuoid knows what you came here for, and it's just a shame that they weren't better at distilling this film into more of that.

My biggest impediment for enjoying this 2021 reboot was that the original Mortal Kombat film from 1995 was just so much fun for me as a kid. I was young and excited and absolutely primed for trash aimed right for me. After re-watching the original, this 2021 remake is absolutely in good company.

Mortal Kombat (2021) is a bad film. But it's supposed to be. You're not here for Shawshank Redemption (which bombed when it came out, anyway). You're here for Mortal Kombat, and Simon McQuoid delivers the type of trash you ordered. Don't let people make you feel bad for enjoying your cinematic version of carnival food. Shut your brain off and enjoy the fights.