‘Fantastic, gory, action-packed’ movie flies up Amazon Prime charts ahead of sequel release

A 2021 action/fantasy epic has shot up Amazon Prime Video’s charts ahead of its highly anticipated sequel.

Based on the video game series created by Ed Boon and John Tobias, Mortal Kombat was directed by Simon McQuoid and was an instant hit with audiences.

Following its box office success, which saw it gross over $84million (£62.5m) against a $55m (£41m) production budget, the first instalment became HBO Max’s most successful film launch to date, having been streamed in 3.8m households within the first three days.

Reviews went on to praise the ‘action-packed’ story, ‘awesome’ fight scenes, and ‘amazing’ graphics.

A sequel was confirmed in January 2022, with McQuoid set to return to direct once more.

What happens in the first Mortal Kombat movie?

Mortal Kombat (2021) came after the video game franchise was already adapted for the silver screen with two movies: Mortal Kombat (1995) and Mortal Kombat: Annihilation (1997).

It wasn’t a sequel, though, but rather a reboot.

The plot follows new character MMA fighter Cole Young (Lewis Tan), who is unaware of his lineage, and he is being hunted by Outworld’s Emperor Shang Tsung’s (Chin Han) best warrior, Sub-Zero (Joe Taslim).

As the high-stakes battle for the universe becomes clear, the fighter goes in search of the Earth’s greatest champions and trains with other experienced warriors in the hopes of unlocking his ultimate powers – and defeating Outworld once and for all.

Alongside lead actor Tan, 39, also a martial artist, the cast includes Jessica McNamee as Sonya Blade, Josh Lawson as Kano, Mehcad Brooks as Jax, Ludi Lin as Liu Kang, Max Huang as Kung Lao, and Tadanobu Asano as Raiden.

How was it received?

By the end of its first month, Mortal Kombat had been streamed in over 5.6m US households.

At the start of 2022, in fact, tech firm Akamai reported that it was the fifth most pirated film of 2021, proving just how eager people were to watch it.

It has proven more popular among audiences than critics, however, sitting with an 85% score on Rotten Tomatoes, while reviewers rank it with 55%.

Within the 5,000+ audience comments, there’s plenty of praise, even if there is a ‘crazy’ amount of blood and gore.

‘There is no way to hate this movie’, declares @Hoagie1013, while @RT03084549 calls it the ‘best movie [they’ve] ever seen’.

‘Although it is a lil’ bit violence [sic], that film is incredibly interesting and thrilling. Anyone who likes thriller or action films must see it!’, says @AnHoa.

@Fr8ght_Trian also calls it ‘awesomely violent’ and compliments the film for how it ‘gets everything important right’.

‘Love this movie been the action is so awesome and the characters are so cool and I’m so excited for the second one’, raves @gsburcham13.

‘That is the reason why I play mortal kombat’, states @Xris13.

As for film critics, the consensus was mixed, with Mark Kermode of Kermode & Mayo’s Film Review writing: ‘It could have been much much worse. I went in with particularly low expectations but kind of enjoyed it. The thing I did enjoy most was the gratuitous gore…’

In a more scathing comment, Kevin Maher of The Times slated: ‘It’s half Avengers wannabe, half martial arts exhibition match, but, alas, all dull.’

‘It’s very silly but very self-aware about it, which makes it very enjoyable for what it is’, argues Angie Han of FilmWeek.

K. Austin Collins of Rolling Stone calls it ‘solid entertainment’, while Johnny Oleksinski of the New York Post admits: ‘It’s just plain, unrepentant fun.’

When is Mortal Kombat 2 out?

Fans don’t have long to wait, as Mortal Kombat 2 is set for release on May 15, 2026, via Warner Bros.

Speaking previously about a follow-up, Kano actor Lawson told People that the ‘franchise potential is massive’.

‘There’s so much you could explore, not just from the characters we haven’t met, but also the characters we have,’ he said. ‘Even in the games, those characters have evolved … There is evolution in the game, so why not in the films, as well?’

McQuoid, who made his directorial debut with the 2021 film, also said last March that he and screenwriter Jeremy Slater were ‘maximising everything’ for the next outing.

‘Just build on where we were and then make it significantly more intense, bigger in scale, bigger in variation, bigger across the board, really as a cinematic experience,’ he teased to Entertainment Weekly.

As for the plot, Mortal Kombat 2 will focus on the Mortal Kombat tournament, which sees warriors from different realms go head-to-head in, you guessed it, another bloody battle.

The cast welcomes The Boys star Karl Urban, who will play Johnny Cage.

Mortal Kombat is available to stream on Amazon Prime Video.

Mortal Kombat 2 will be released on May 15.

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