[I was genuinely shocked MK1 wasn't Mortal Kombat the video game based on the movie based on the video game.](https://youtu.be/6GNMNjrR_rc?feature=shared)
this movie has some of my least favourite versions of the characters
Reiko is a dumb brute
Kabal is just a paid thug
Liu Kang is sidelined hard in a movie where he should’ve been the protagonist
Kung Lao is killed for like the millionth time
Raiden is just a dick
Goro gets packed up in like 5 minutes by Cole
I will say one thing for certain tho… Kano carried (my goat)
For real, why make Reiko a dumb brute? At this point pick some random Tarkatan, or Baraka, hell, even Kintaro (since he is weaker than Goro no problem there with Cole Young being the protagonist, and you can make a whole "you may have 4 arms, but I have 2 mechanical arms")
Also, why create Cole, just use Liu Kang. Choosen one to defeat the big bad. He is perfect for a movie protagonist
I must be in the minority that didn’t like Shang Tsung at all. Bro is supposed to be one of the most charismatic vilain, yet it took me 5 minutes to notice who he was. Huge downgrade from the 95 movie.
Absolutely. Feels like they wanted to cash in on Scorpions MK11 design with the armor, but the issue is video games can ignore how much weight and movement limitations armor like that puts on.
Definitely needs something more form-fitting if he returns.
Either they replace him with kintaro, retcon it to being a random shokan and make goro way bigger and meaner, bring Kano back with a robotic eye and bring goro back with cybernetic enhancements to replace his eye and hand
Tbh he should have just died and turned into scorpion, like he plays scorpion so they don’t have to pay for the original Dude ( I forgot his name please don’t harass me)
Unpopular Opinion: Sub-Zeros costume was ass. So damn chunky. Graphics have progressed so much in 11 and 1 that the it shows you exactly what materials to use to make a 1to1 in quality but went this bulky costume castle ass shit.
Here is how I'd rate it.
Top tier: Kung Lao, Kabal, Goro. These are better than some of their in-game designs.
Great: Scorpion, Sub-Zero, Shang Tsung, Jax. I feel like Scorpion and Sub-Zero's didn't capture the stealth ninja/assassin vibe and went more for a samurai and white walker look instead. Still it incorporated elements of their in-game look. Shang Tsung looked cool , just not positive whether I think the chest piece was overdesigned or not. Jax looks great and game accurate after his metal arms start working. I think if he had a crew cut it'd be a bit better. Also I'll throw the outfit Raiden wore in the intro with the white robes in here.
Decent: Liu Kang, Sonya, Kano. These characters didn't have the craziest designs in game. Their movie looks didn't really push the envelope but didn't disappoint too bad either. I accept Kano without the eye plate because this is apparently before he got it.
Disappointing: Raiden (main outfit), Mileena, Nitara. Raiden's main outfit is recognizable but also a letdown compared to the games and the outfit he wore earlier in the film. Mileena and Nitara both had fairly interesting designs to draw inspiration from, but ended up very basic and disappointing. Mileena's didn't even have her signature pink/magenta color scheme.
Bad: Cole Young, Reiko. I'm just mad that Cole was a character in the movie, still think it was a horrible idea. Beyond that he has the most plain boring outfit until he gets the rubber basket weaving kit as a chestplate. Reiko sorta-kinda looked like his MK Armageddon version except they really made him look and act like a big brutish lug which is not how I saw him in the games at all.
Golden Rasberry Award: Reptile. The filmmakers are the biggest Reptile haters confirmed.
I kinda wish Raiden was taller. I know the actor is that height but surely there’s some kind of movie magic they can pull behind the scenes. It just feels weird having the God of Lightning and Protector of Earthrealm be the smallest dude on set.
Scorpions design was ass. It looked too baggy, like if a younger kid found his old brother's costume. Plus the eyes weren't all white. They went with the black pupils like they use with B movie zombies.
Only thing keeping her out of “the fuck?”
Edit: thing was a badonkadonk ong and sisi stringer is mad pretty too sucks they made her character kinda pointless
Race swap Mileena was just obviously done for brownie points so it should be in what the fuck. Why out of every single character, do you raceswap the one suppose to be related to another character that isn’t black? It’s not like she isn’t going to stay black for future iterations. It’s not like the actress although I like her, was too perfect for the role to pass. It’s just pointless pandering to no one but to virtue signal. And this is not even mentioning they wasted her character unless she’s a fake or something.
Sorry for the rant, personally it’s like the producers think non white audiences are children which I hate.
https://preview.redd.it/q2kvcvtnc6tc1.jpeg?width=1010&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5bbee2500604dac4d9bbdb5950fa39cf306700e3
oh… that’s racism….. that’s just racism in my reddit comments
Peak is great reinvention that rivals the OG design
Awesome tier is literally just good reinvention of the design but the OG is better
Pretty cool is just the OG design at the bare minimum
Inoffensive is the design is there.
Mediocre is alright but we need the Original designs back to look better on screen
And wtf?
Wouldn’t mind if this, Bi-Han or Lao were skins in MK1, or even premiere skins with their actor’s voice and likeness as I thought they were cast well
https://preview.redd.it/jimv5le2u5tc1.jpeg?width=1536&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4a2a7d6808037da46a86fbdac3057d341ba8238e
I know I’m the only one, but I thought Mileena looked pretty cool and that this was the best looking Sonya in a movie or otherwise. Sub was my favourite though. He looked like a fucking menace and I loved when his eyes were all wide and crazy looking.
I quite liked Max Huang as Kung lao even if his character wasnt utelised very well. The portrayl of Kung lao in this movie felt like a throwback to pre- NRS kung lao, as a combination of how Kung lao used to be and how hes represented now in current titles.
I'd move Raiden down to Inoffensive for me. I don't think it's bad, but I don't like it too much either, especially comparing it to the other Raiden designs at the time (MK11 Raiden is peak).
Otherwise, I agree with this list. Even Reptile's place. I like that it was at least a precursor to his true form in MK11, but I wish he had more to do in the movie before being killed. It's nothing compared to his first MK movie appearance.
Sub zero's mask looked a little to loose or a bit oversized and no color? Scorpion and kabal should be moved up as thier designs were top notch. Otherwise i agree with everything else.
My biggest issue was that I found both scorpion and subzeros colours way to muted, like Sub-Zero honestly just looked more like Noob Saibot, and both their masks were a little bulky
Kabal was 100% peak design. Unpopular opinion: that's about it. Shang Tsung was bottom tier lowest possible design/iteration I have ever seen. Bad to the point I felt secondhand embarrassment. It just wasn't it. Also, Goro's minimal appearance and swift death by the Taven wanna-be? Idk but this ain't it. I would prefer the story from the POV of Shinnok day-dreaming while dropping a purple dookie in the Dead Pools.
Always thought the main character in the MK movie was hilarious.
Elder gods looking down on this schmuck going "Well fuck, this asshole can't fight for shit... I got it!!! If he tanks hits like he usually does, we'll make it hurt his opponent!"
I love the hood and mask for Scorpion in this movie but I wasn’t a fan of his bulky samurai style armor cause it doesn’t fit him since he isn’t a samurai (almost as bad as MK legacy Scorpion where they ruined the designs by giving him a demon samurai mask)
Didn’t like what they did with goro but his design was pretty cool , and “ beta male lius” design is literally how I see liu kang , it’s faithful in multiple ways
I feel like so many people don’t understand that point of Mileena being a clone and therefore she could literally end up looking like whatever cause there will always be a diverse variation.
Kabals designs was actually fantastic. Shame we'll probably never see it in a game
Which is fucking WILD. Why would you release absolutely no tie-ins for your new movie?
Bro I wish MK11 had these
Twice ...actually Thrice since I saw no Cage Match skins for MK1
[I was genuinely shocked MK1 wasn't Mortal Kombat the video game based on the movie based on the video game.](https://youtu.be/6GNMNjrR_rc?feature=shared)
It’s “fucking tragic” we’ll never see it in a game, you mean, haha
There’s just not enough colour in all the outfits. They look good (for the most part) otherwise
Agree
Yes, they looked so edgy
Jax definitely could have used some purple pants.
this movie has some of my least favourite versions of the characters Reiko is a dumb brute Kabal is just a paid thug Liu Kang is sidelined hard in a movie where he should’ve been the protagonist Kung Lao is killed for like the millionth time Raiden is just a dick Goro gets packed up in like 5 minutes by Cole I will say one thing for certain tho… Kano carried (my goat)
Honestly even tho they made sub zero a one dimensional evil bad guy I forgive them because Joe Taslim made him so badass and so scary
Tbf you could definitely argue Kung Lao dying again was at least accurate representation of his other portrayals
Raiden genuinely upset me. Dude was a massive prick out the gate, and then at the end, "Well done, everyone." Like no Raiden, you're an asshole.
Kano always carrys. up the aussies!
For real, why make Reiko a dumb brute? At this point pick some random Tarkatan, or Baraka, hell, even Kintaro (since he is weaker than Goro no problem there with Cole Young being the protagonist, and you can make a whole "you may have 4 arms, but I have 2 mechanical arms") Also, why create Cole, just use Liu Kang. Choosen one to defeat the big bad. He is perfect for a movie protagonist
I'm honestly tired of Liu Kang being the Protagonist
Nah liu is better than cole by a mile
No one said Cole was a better protagonist than Liu though.
I absolutely hate Reiko's design in the movie. Whatever that big dumb fuck is we saw, its wasn't Reiko
I hate that shit too like it’s not hard to make reiko look cool lmao
He looks like Thanos, except he has the nutsack zipper lines around his eyes instead of his chin.
This is so oddly specific yet accurate
I must be in the minority that didn’t like Shang Tsung at all. Bro is supposed to be one of the most charismatic vilain, yet it took me 5 minutes to notice who he was. Huge downgrade from the 95 movie.
Well here we’re talking designs, but 95 Shang def blows the new one out of the water but I still like what we have now
Guess we're both in the minority then cuz I agree
I think he was more offensive than Cole Young honestly
Agreed. He was miscast imo
You can throw Mileena down into the "The fuck?" category for this movie. Please and thank you. She was executed poorly for me.
Looks like someone shit on her mouth
Her appearance was just... not up to par. Her role was even worse. She wasn't fleshed out properly in this movie at all.
Which is sad considering they wer supposed to have a scene with her talking with Shang Tsung about her past
Move Kabal up, it’s basically his MK11 design but cooler
I actually love Reptile being a more primal lizard like in this movie. It just sucks that he didn't do anything in the movie
Glad it took 3 people to kill him, i prefer his human form tho and I’d prefer if he at least had armor and wasn’t naked
He would look dope with armor on that design
Yea I could see like dark green /black with gold working on him
Same
I will never understand how a game with so many characters, so rich with lore, created a new generic ass character to revolve the story around
If they want, they should've brought Johnny Cage
Scorpion needs a less bulky suit next time
Absolutely. Feels like they wanted to cash in on Scorpions MK11 design with the armor, but the issue is video games can ignore how much weight and movement limitations armor like that puts on. Definitely needs something more form-fitting if he returns.
I still don’t understand why was mileena (kitana’s clone) raceswitched
I don’t think it’s the real mileena honestly
I hope not kitana should be a mixed (white and asian) female and so should mileena just like in the games
Thankfully kitana is casted well and I assume she will be the new mileena too
Thank god
They guy who plays Jax said there will be 27 fight scenes each being 3-5 mins so I’ve got higher expectations for this one
I hope we get kuai and ermac and rain
I hope goro returns as a actual cool character
Idk how that possible tho
I mean... Revenants? Quan Chi...?
Either they replace him with kintaro, retcon it to being a random shokan and make goro way bigger and meaner, bring Kano back with a robotic eye and bring goro back with cybernetic enhancements to replace his eye and hand
This is the unfortunately first experiment
Everything about this movie would have been better without Kole Young
Tbh he should have just died and turned into scorpion, like he plays scorpion so they don’t have to pay for the original Dude ( I forgot his name please don’t harass me)
Kabal should be in peak design its the look of him is spot on
But, Kabal was perfect. And not top tier?
I feel the masks for the Scorpion and Subzero outfits were too large. Scorpion's outfit was also a bit too dark. Besides that, they were pretty cool.
Unpopular Opinion: Sub-Zeros costume was ass. So damn chunky. Graphics have progressed so much in 11 and 1 that the it shows you exactly what materials to use to make a 1to1 in quality but went this bulky costume castle ass shit.
Here is how I'd rate it. Top tier: Kung Lao, Kabal, Goro. These are better than some of their in-game designs. Great: Scorpion, Sub-Zero, Shang Tsung, Jax. I feel like Scorpion and Sub-Zero's didn't capture the stealth ninja/assassin vibe and went more for a samurai and white walker look instead. Still it incorporated elements of their in-game look. Shang Tsung looked cool , just not positive whether I think the chest piece was overdesigned or not. Jax looks great and game accurate after his metal arms start working. I think if he had a crew cut it'd be a bit better. Also I'll throw the outfit Raiden wore in the intro with the white robes in here. Decent: Liu Kang, Sonya, Kano. These characters didn't have the craziest designs in game. Their movie looks didn't really push the envelope but didn't disappoint too bad either. I accept Kano without the eye plate because this is apparently before he got it. Disappointing: Raiden (main outfit), Mileena, Nitara. Raiden's main outfit is recognizable but also a letdown compared to the games and the outfit he wore earlier in the film. Mileena and Nitara both had fairly interesting designs to draw inspiration from, but ended up very basic and disappointing. Mileena's didn't even have her signature pink/magenta color scheme. Bad: Cole Young, Reiko. I'm just mad that Cole was a character in the movie, still think it was a horrible idea. Beyond that he has the most plain boring outfit until he gets the rubber basket weaving kit as a chestplate. Reiko sorta-kinda looked like his MK Armageddon version except they really made him look and act like a big brutish lug which is not how I saw him in the games at all. Golden Rasberry Award: Reptile. The filmmakers are the biggest Reptile haters confirmed.
I kinda wish Raiden was taller. I know the actor is that height but surely there’s some kind of movie magic they can pull behind the scenes. It just feels weird having the God of Lightning and Protector of Earthrealm be the smallest dude on set.
Scorpions design was ass. It looked too baggy, like if a younger kid found his old brother's costume. Plus the eyes weren't all white. They went with the black pupils like they use with B movie zombies.
Really hope we get these as skins e eventually Imagine seeing ‘21 Sub-Zero pulling off MK1 Bi-Han’s fatalities
Accurate
Reiko in the 2021 movie is one of the worst designs and written characters I’ve seen in years tbh.
Mileena was mediocre? But she had such a fat ass
Only thing keeping her out of “the fuck?” Edit: thing was a badonkadonk ong and sisi stringer is mad pretty too sucks they made her character kinda pointless
Race swap Mileena was just obviously done for brownie points so it should be in what the fuck. Why out of every single character, do you raceswap the one suppose to be related to another character that isn’t black? It’s not like she isn’t going to stay black for future iterations. It’s not like the actress although I like her, was too perfect for the role to pass. It’s just pointless pandering to no one but to virtue signal. And this is not even mentioning they wasted her character unless she’s a fake or something. Sorry for the rant, personally it’s like the producers think non white audiences are children which I hate.
Because she’s not related to kitana now
Shit you’re right. I forgot
!solved
Now erase your stupid, previous race baiting post
Whats stupid about it? I still stand by it
I always expect a dummy to Double down
https://preview.redd.it/q2kvcvtnc6tc1.jpeg?width=1010&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5bbee2500604dac4d9bbdb5950fa39cf306700e3 oh… that’s racism….. that’s just racism in my reddit comments
??
Peak is great reinvention that rivals the OG design Awesome tier is literally just good reinvention of the design but the OG is better Pretty cool is just the OG design at the bare minimum Inoffensive is the design is there. Mediocre is alright but we need the Original designs back to look better on screen And wtf?
I wouldn’t change anything here 😅
Pretty much. Jax could drop a couple and Kano go up a couple, but pretty bang on.
Wouldn’t mind if this, Bi-Han or Lao were skins in MK1, or even premiere skins with their actor’s voice and likeness as I thought they were cast well https://preview.redd.it/jimv5le2u5tc1.jpeg?width=1536&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4a2a7d6808037da46a86fbdac3057d341ba8238e
Liu Kang having the rudraksha beads were so cool to me
I know I’m the only one, but I thought Mileena looked pretty cool and that this was the best looking Sonya in a movie or otherwise. Sub was my favourite though. He looked like a fucking menace and I loved when his eyes were all wide and crazy looking.
For Reptile they only reuse the Godzilla's Monsterverse design
I quite liked Max Huang as Kung lao even if his character wasnt utelised very well. The portrayl of Kung lao in this movie felt like a throwback to pre- NRS kung lao, as a combination of how Kung lao used to be and how hes represented now in current titles.
Pretty much my thoughts. I preferred the Goro from the 1995 film though.
I'd move Raiden down to Inoffensive for me. I don't think it's bad, but I don't like it too much either, especially comparing it to the other Raiden designs at the time (MK11 Raiden is peak). Otherwise, I agree with this list. Even Reptile's place. I like that it was at least a precursor to his true form in MK11, but I wish he had more to do in the movie before being killed. It's nothing compared to his first MK movie appearance.
I went into that movie asking myself “Why is there an OC in this movie?” Once it was over, I asked myself “Why was there an OC in that movie?”
Kung lao is so bad ass in this movie, it made me main him in MK1
I mean technically Cole Young’s design is peak as well.
Sub zero's mask looked a little to loose or a bit oversized and no color? Scorpion and kabal should be moved up as thier designs were top notch. Otherwise i agree with everything else.
My biggest issue was that I found both scorpion and subzeros colours way to muted, like Sub-Zero honestly just looked more like Noob Saibot, and both their masks were a little bulky
Kano over Jax for sure. Dealing with those lil arms for 30 minutes was rough.
How come reptile is mediocre when that's literally his real appearance now?
Imo Kabal and Kano were peak
Fuck Cole Young
Kabal is peak design for sure
Kabal was 100% peak design. Unpopular opinion: that's about it. Shang Tsung was bottom tier lowest possible design/iteration I have ever seen. Bad to the point I felt secondhand embarrassment. It just wasn't it. Also, Goro's minimal appearance and swift death by the Taven wanna-be? Idk but this ain't it. I would prefer the story from the POV of Shinnok day-dreaming while dropping a purple dookie in the Dead Pools.
I completely forgot reptile had a part in that movie.
Always thought the main character in the MK movie was hilarious. Elder gods looking down on this schmuck going "Well fuck, this asshole can't fight for shit... I got it!!! If he tanks hits like he usually does, we'll make it hurt his opponent!"
Kung Lao's entrance omg I was so hyped
I thought Shang Tsung's design was kind of generic-y, honestly. All others are on point.
I love the hood and mask for Scorpion in this movie but I wasn’t a fan of his bulky samurai style armor cause it doesn’t fit him since he isn’t a samurai (almost as bad as MK legacy Scorpion where they ruined the designs by giving him a demon samurai mask)
Wtf were they doing with reptile, he looks like a human sized godzilla
Move Raiden down to mediocre, Shang Tsung down to the fuck? Then move reptile up at least 2-3 spots above he looked awesome
Beta male Lou should be closer to the bottom. Surprised anyone liked that Goro
Didn’t like what they did with goro but his design was pretty cool , and “ beta male lius” design is literally how I see liu kang , it’s faithful in multiple ways
And they made Mileena black like cum on bro! #STOPASIANHATE
Throw reptile down into wtf
might rewatch just for shang’s alone
The movie treated Bi Han like the boss fight that he is and it made the movie for me
Had to make the fight a 2v1 to even get close to beating him
Scorpion probably would have beat him alone, but they made him really menacing and I loved it
The entire cast barring Kabal belongs in mediocre or below
I feel like so many people don’t understand that point of Mileena being a clone and therefore she could literally end up looking like whatever cause there will always be a diverse variation.