Cole Young (Lewis Tan), the descendent of Hanzo Hasashi/Scorpion (Hiroyuki Sanada), and reimaging classic videogame characters origin stories such as Jax (Mehcad Brooks) and Sonya Blade (Jessica McNamee). Yet despite looking to banish the bad taste left by a continually stalled project two decades in the making, Mortal Kombat 2021 understands the importance of its franchise's heritage, containing ample references to the 1995 Mortal Kombat movie as a result.
The original 1995 Mortal Kombat movie is now a beloved piece of cinema whose quality and significance have seen several increasingly positive re-evaluations since its initial release. In particular, Paul W. S. Anderson's original movie contains some seminal performances that have since come to define Mortal Kombat franchise characters, with both Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa's Shang-Tsung and Christopher Lambert's Raiden now synonymous with their respective personas. However, the movie's sequel did not fare so well, with Mortal Kombat: Annihilation's lack of redeeming features casting the Mortal Kombat movie franchise into exile for 26 years.
Although Mortal Kombat 2021 is undoubtedly designed to banish the demons and ill-will lingering in Annihilation's wake, Simon McQuoid and his team have been careful to ensure they pay homage to both the original movies and videogames that made their film possible. Mortal Kombat 2021 pays deference to its movie predecessors in several ways, from subtle nods using original character mannerisms to full-blown upgrades on the 1995 film's elements. Here's every original movie callback in Mortal Kombat 2021.
Kano's Casting
Mortal Kombat 2021's Kano pays homage to this history, with Australian comedy actor Josh Lawson nailing Goddard's now-iconic swagger-filled drawl.
Goro
One of the most interesting stories to emerge following Mortal Kombat's 1995 release was director Paul W.S. Anderson's ission on just how difficult it was to bring the classic videogame villain Goro to life. Special effects technician for the film Tom Woodruff Jr. wore a specially-made "Goro torso" over his shoulders, ensuring Tom's head remained concealed inside Goro's chest and Tom's arms served as Goro's lower arms. Above Tom's head rested a specially built Goro frame that ed a pair of mechanical arms, as well as a fully articulated Goro head controlled by offscreen puppeteers. The effect was completed with the addition of life-like foam rubber skin, but even these lengths could not stop the final Goro version from appearing cumbersome and rigid in the original Mortal Kombat movie.
In fact, the only element of the original Goro reviewed fondly is Kevin Michael Richardson's voice-work for the hulking character. As a result, Mortal Kombat 2021 heeds its predecessor's warnings by CG'ing Goro in his entirety, circumventing the physical prop issues that plagued the original Mortal Kombat production. Moreover, Mortal Kombat 2021 chooses to leave its version of Goro mute in a fitting tribute to the quality vocal acting of Richardson in 1995.
Mortal Kombat 2021's Soundtrack
When discussing Mortal Kombat 1995, one of the film's standout elements is its pulsating soundtrack which draws many sounds from the original videogames. Impressively, Mortal Kombat 1995's soundtrack and score went platinum in the year following the movie's release, highlighting the quality of work by its composer George S. Clinton. The majority of Mortal Kombat 2021's score, therefore, is almost completely different from the original 1995 movie's soundtrack, with Benjamin Wallfisch remixing several original Clinton tracks, which are peppered throughout the film's runtime. The most memorable of these is Wallfisch's exclusive remix of "Techno Syndrome," which blasts as Sub-Zero (Joe Taslim) battles Scorpion and his descendant Cole in the film's final showdown. An unedited version of the original Mortal Kombat theme also plays at the beginning of Mortal Kombat 2021's closing credits in a final homage to the original film's iconic sound.
Flawless Victory Fix
Fans of Paul W. S. Anderson's original movie have very few gripes to bear, but Liu Kang's "Flawless Victory" line is undoubtedly one of them. In Mortal Kombat 1995, Liu Kang (Robin Shou) declares his flawless victory after defeating Shang Tsung despite taking an absolute pummeling from the sorcerer prior to turning the tables on him. In the original Mortal Kombat games, however, a flawless victory is only achieved if the player has not been hit through the entire bout by their opponent, which rendered Liu Kang's proclamation false - sticking in the craw of Mortal Kombat audiences for 26 years.
Mortal Kombat 2021 rectifies this issue, however, by giving Kung Lao (Max Huang) a truly flawless victory in a callback to the 1995 original's error. Kung Lao handily recreates his classic “buzzsaw” Fatality, splitting Nitara (Mel Jarson) down the middle with his razor-sharp brimmed hat as she charges. Kung Lao did not suffer a single strike from his opponent en route to her death, fixing the 1995 film's glaring flawless victory mistake.
Shang Tsung's Mannerisms
In Mortal Kombat 2021, the nefarious sorcerer Shang Tsung is played by Chin Han, with many quarters questioning McQuoid's decision not to bring back Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa in his iconic role. Yet audiences need not have been worried, with Han's performance as Tsung dripping with the mix of broadway overtures and inherent menace that Tagawa originally brought to the character. Han himself stated in an interview with Shang Tsung truly shine through in Mortal Kombat 2021, with the outworld sorcerer feeling very close indeed to his original 1995 counterpart.
