The problem with all these reboots based on fighting games...

Now this is just my opinion and I'd like to start off by saying I am a Mortal Kombat fan. And one of the things that I love the most about it is the ridiculous, OTT gore and more pertinent to my post- the OTT physiques of the fighters.

This might sound weird and whether or not the same points can be made across the games and live-action production is up for debate, but playing the most current game, all the characters have ridiculously muscle bound ripped bodies. The moves that those characters can do, both male and female, can seem feasible albeit barely.

This could never be the case in the movies and TV shows and webseries. They certainly tried and one of the reasons why the 1995 film worked so well for me, is that the personality traits, Liu Kang's guilt over his brother, Johnny Cage's pseudo arrogance/insecurities etc. came to the fore away from the supernataural (out/netherworld) aspect of Mortal Kombat.

Which is a reason why I think this webseries hasn't been the success it could have been. This has to be either sincere to the original concept, or a whole new rebranding. And I believe it's shown some inclinations to move away from how it started but MK is MK because of its OTT nature. Otherwise it's losing what makes it special. And granted, you won't have the visual clout of the games because it's not a game, you can't have Kung Lao using his hat as a buzzsaw and cutting someone in half with it.

Which for me, I watch the cutscenes from MK9, which together makes a cracking MK movie.

I feel similar points can be made with the Street Fighter films. The van Damme version which was, fun. Or the animation from the same year, which I assume (I'm not really into Street Fighter) a lot more like the games because of the ease in which a 7'5 Sagat and Ryu and Ken muscle bound can be portrayed.

And there is an upcoming Splinter Cell movie with Tom Hardy as the lead Sam Fisher. Now in the games, Sam Fisher can hang off ledges, move between windows, can jump and shimmy up pipes. There isn't a chance in hell a human being could actually do the things that Sam (and Ezio/Altair etc from Assasins Creed) can do in the games.

It isn't me saying a live action version of MK will never work, nor it is saying I think we should just get hulked up fighters to portray the characters because there is a lot of great acting talent in Legacy.

I guess I'm trying to say the expectations of such ventures based upon the games is futile because noone would ever be able to look and do the things they do in the games.


The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled off was convincing the world he doesn't exist.