MORTAL KOMBAT (2021)

Name: MORTAL KOMBAT (2021)
Item: MORTAL KOMBAT (2021)
Author: Tess Farrand

"Marred by Excess and False Religion"

Family Content: -3 Excessive sex, violence, immorality, and/or worldview problems. (Sometimes excessive content such as violence is in otherwise redemptive movies.)

Entertainment Quality:

	None	Light	Moderate	Heavy
Language
Violence
Sex
Nudity

Credits →

What You Need To Know:

MORTAL KOMBAT is a new adaptation of the popular video game franchise. Cole Young, an aspiring MMA fighter, isn’t accustomed to winning fights. However, he discovers he comes from an ancient bloodline of powerful fighters. The evil sorcerer of Outworld sends his best fighter, Sub-Zero, to kill Cole and his family and end the bloodline. Cole escapes and hides his family. While on the run, he meets other fighters and visits the temple of Lord Raiden, the protector of Earth. Lord Raiden trains fighters to defend Earth against Outworld in a deathmatch tournament. Can Cole unlock his potential as a fighter, or will he buckle under the pressure?

MORTAL KOMBAT is full of action and adventure, but it contains graphic violence, strong foul language, and false religion where fighters must unlock their magical energy to receive their superpowers. MORTAL KOMBAT has some positive elements. For example, Cole’s willing to do whatever it takes to save his family. The movie also has good triumphing over evil. MOVIEGUIDE® advises extreme caution for MORTAL KOMBAT due to excessive, unacceptable content and false religion.

Content:

(PaPa, OO, FRFR, B, LLL, VVV, N, A, D):

Dominant Worldview and Other Worldview Content/Elements:

Strong pagan, mixed worldview, where characters with special powers must combat evil characters in a deathmatch tournament to decide the fate of Earth, with elements of occult false religion such as a focus on a person’s inner magical energy as the source of their fantasy superpowers, plus some moral elements such as protecting family at all costs, good triumphing evil, and a character goes to Hell but returns

Foul Language:

At least 41 “f” words and roughly 10 other obscenities and profanities

Violence:

Very strong and strong, graphic and bloody violence throughout includes swordfights, fights to the death, dismemberment, and mangled bodies in graphic detail

Sex:

No sex

Nudity:

Upper male nudity

Alcohol Use:

One character drinks beer and says it tastes bad

Smoking and/or Drug Use and Abuse:

One character smokes and no drugs;

Miscellaneous Immorality:

More Detail:

MORTAL KOMBAT is a new adaptation of the popular video game franchise where an aspiring MMA fighter joins a group of fighters with magical powers to win a deathmatch tournament against a group of evil fighters trying to take over Earth. MORTAL KOMBAT is full of action and adventure and has a good message of the power of family and good over evil, but it has lots of graphic, bloody, brutal violence, strong foul language, and false religious elements about where the fighters get their magical powers.

The movie opens in 17th Century Japan, in a remote and seemingly peaceful Japanese village. Hanzo Hasashi and his wife live with their two children. The idyllic setting turns frightening when Bi-Han, a Chinese warrior with superpowers, and his men appear and murder the entire village. Hanzo hears the screams while he’s out collecting water and rushes to their aid. Unfortunately, it is too late. He puts up a good fight against Bi-Han, who has turned Hanzo’s wife and son into a block of ice, but he’s eventually defeated and sent to Hell. However, their baby is hidden by Lord Raiden, the protector of Earth, thus protecting Hanzo’s bloodline.

Fast forward to present day. Cole Young is training to become an MMA fighter. Although he often loses, he fights to provide for his wife and daughter. After a tough loss, Cole is visited by Jax, a Special Forces Major, who notices Cole has a birthmark shaped like a dragon on his chest.

Cole and his family are getting dinner after the fight but are attacked by the same man from the beginning of the movie, except now he goes by the name Sub-Zero. Jax helps Cole and his family escape and tells them to find Sonya Blade while he stays to fight Sub-Zero.

Cole leaves his family in a safe house. He manages to find Sonya Blade, who’s interrogating a prisoner, a wanted mercenary named Kano. However, when the trio is attacked by an invisible reptile, they release Kano, who ends up helping them defeat the monster. After some persuasion, Kano agrees to show them to Lord Raiden’s Temple.

Upon arrival, Lord Raiden reveals that everyone there has the same dragon marking Cole has and must be trained to fight in a tournament to protect Earth from Outworld, an evil realm ruled by a wicked tyrant. Cole struggles to find his “arcana,” the internal magical source of each fighter’s power. However, after a betrayal, Cole must discover his full potential as a fighter to protect his bloodline and save the universe.

MORTAL KOMBAT is full of action and adventure, including nods to the video game of the same name. However, it contains graphic violence, strong foul language, and some false religion where the fighters must unlock the magical power inside them before receiving the superpower to battle the Outworld’s champions. MORTAL KOMBAT has some positive elements, though. For example, Cole’s willing to do whatever it takes to save his family. The movie also has a sense of good triumphing over evil. MOVIEGUIDE® finds MORTAL KOMBAT to have excessive, unacceptable content and false religion.