Mortal Kombat
Short description
Mortal Kombat follows Cole Young, a mixed martial artist whose career has stalled and who does not know that his family line carries a secret. When Sub-Zero, a warrior serving the emperor Shang Tsung, comes after him, Cole goes looking for Earth's champions and trains alongside them. He joins fighters including Liu Kang, Sonya Blade and Jax against the forces of Outworld in a contest that will decide the fate of the realms. The film is based on the long-running fighting game series.
Simon McQuoid directed the film, his first feature, from a screenplay by Dave Callaham and Greg Russo. It was produced by James Wan, Todd Garner and E. Bennett Walsh, and stars Lewis Tan as Cole, Jessica McNamee as Sonya Blade, Mehcad Brooks as Jax, Josh Lawson as Kano, Ludi Lin as Liu Kang and Max Huang as Kung Lao. Around 32 cast members and 279 crew are credited.
The film was released in April 2021 and runs 110 minutes. Made for about 20 million dollars, it took in roughly 84 million dollars worldwide, a strong return against its budget. On IMDb it holds 6 out of 10 from more than 186,000 votes, while on TMDB it has 7 out of 10 from over 7,000 votes. A critics' rating of 5.4 out of 10 from 299 reviews places it below both audience scores.
What's left behind the scenes
- To prepare for the role of an MMA fighter, Lewis Tan watched videos of UFC welterweight fighter Jorge Masvidal. Tan himself is a professional kickboxer and Muay Thai fighter, and he used his experience in the ring (especially his losses) for the role of Cole.
- Darren Shahlavi was expected to reprise his role as Kano from the television series "Mortal Kombat: Conquest," but the actor passed away before production began while filming the movie "Kickboxer".
- Benjamin Wallfisch began working on the film's soundtrack before his official appointment to the project.
- Raiden's iron helmet was made of fiberglass.
- To play an MMA fighter, Lewis Tan watched videos of UFC welterweight fighter Jorge Masvidal.
- Filming began in September 2019 in Australia.
- The film was initially given an NC-17 rating for excessive violence. Director Simon McQuoid hired another editor to cut several of the most bloody and brutal scenes in order to achieve the commercially desirable R rating.
- The first Mortal Kombat film to feature an actor of Asian descent, Japanese actor Tadanobu Asano, as Raiden.
- Hanzo Hasashi uses a kunai (Japanese knife) as a weapon in his garden. Originally, Japanese peasants used the kunai as a versatile gardening tool.
- Looking at a photo that says "Mortal Kombat," Cole remarks that the word "combat" is misspelled. When the original Mortal Kombat (1992) game was in development, it was intended to be titled "Mortal Combat," but the creators encountered difficulties in obtaining the copyrights for that name.
- Darren Shahlavi was originally intended to play Kano, a role he played in the television series “Mortal Kombat: Legacy” (2011), but the actor died before production began while filming “Kickboxer”.
- Hiroyuki Sanada knew nothing about the Mortal Kombat game series when he received the role in the film. While preparing for the role, he played the game to familiarize himself with the plot and characters.
- The original voice recording of the phrase “Get Over Here!” in the trailer caused a mixed and predominantly negative reaction from fans. The phrase was re-recorded for the film and run through a different filter, so it sounded more like how it is pronounced in the game with Edward Boon's voice.
- Looking at a photograph with the words 'Mortal Kombat' on it, Cole points out that the word 'combat' is misspelled. When the original Mortal Kombat (1992) game was in development, it was originally intended to be called 'Mortal Combat,' but the creators encountered difficulties in securing the copyright for the name. Video game designer Steve Ritchie suggested renaming the game 'Mortal Kombat.' Later, the game's creator, Ed Boon, admitted that the intentional misspelling in the title helped attract even more attention to the game.
- Lewis Tan did not use stunt doubles during the filming of the action scenes.
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
