Aug. 20, 2025

Mortal Kombat (2021) Fatalities, Fandom, and Fighting for Legacy (Crossover with Challenge Accepted)

Episode Summary:
This special crossover episode brings together The Fandom Portals Podcast and Challenge Accepted Podcast as Aaron was a special guest to Frank as they stepped into the bloody arena of Mortal Kombat. From its arcade origins and groundbreaking fatalities to film adaptations and modern fighting game culture, the crew unpacks why this franchise still holds such brutal staying power. With debates on favorite fighters, the balance of violence and storytelling, and the upcoming Mortal Kombat 2 film hype, this episode is packed with nostalgia, laughs, and hard-hitting fandom insights.

Topics:

The legacy of Mortal Kombat in gaming history
First experiences with the arcade classic and its cultural shockwave
Why fatalities changed gaming forever
Comparing Mortal Kombat film adaptations: highs, lows, and guilty pleasures
Upcoming Mortal Kombat 2 movie excitement and predictions
Favorite fighters and dream matchups across generations
Violence, censorship, and the ESRB rating system origins
How Mortal Kombat built a loyal, multi-generational fanbase
The crossover between fighting games and pop culture
Fandom Fact Face-Off: brutal trivia edition

Key Takeaways:

Mortal Kombat was more than a game—it reshaped the industry through controversy and creativity.
Fatalities and character designs made the series unforgettable, but its storytelling keeps fans returning.
Film adaptations vary wildly, but each leaves a unique stamp on fandom.
The franchise thrives because it adapts—across games, films, and fan communities.

Quotes:

“When Scorpion yells ‘Get over here!’—that’s not just a move. That’s a generation’s memory.”
“Fatalities weren’t just gore—they were artistry, coded rebellion in pixels.”
“Every fan has that one character they spammed just to annoy their friends.”

Call to Action:
If you loved this crossover, make sure to check out the Challenge Accepted Podcast!

Don’t forget to subscribe, leave us a review, and join our mailing list at fandomportalspodcast.com

Apple Podcast Tags:
Mortal Kombat, Fighting Games, Fatalities, Video Game History, Mortal Kombat 2 Movie, Crossover Episode, Challenge Accepted Podcast, Gaming Fandom, Pop Culture Podcast, Movie Adaptations, Scorpion and Sub-Zero, Gaming Controversy, ESRB Origins, Geek Freaks Network, Fandom Portals Podcast

Contact Us:
Website: https://www.fandomportalspodcast.com/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@FandomPortals

Instagram: instagram.com/fandomportals/?locale=en
Threads: threads.net/@fandomportals
Email: fandomportals@gmail.com
Letterboxd: https://letterboxd.com/fandomportals

00:00 - Introduction to Special Episode

03:35 - Fandom Portals Podcast Overview

06:21 - Mortal Kombat Movie Selection

08:37 - Two-Minute Plot Rundown

10:55 - Pandemic Release Context

15:00 - Video Game Origins and Memories

21:09 - Cole Young and New Characters

25:33 - Arcana Powers and Character Development

33:01 - Character Performances and Stereotypes

42:40 - Scorpion vs Sub-Zero Rivalry

50:12 - Soundtrack and Visual Effects

55:46 - Australian Filming Locations

01:03:06 - Fun Facts and Nostalgia

01:10:31 - Final Thoughts and Upcoming Content

WEBVTT

00:00:00.080 --> 00:00:00.581
Hi everybody.

00:00:00.581 --> 00:00:02.850
It's Aaron here from the Fandom Portals podcast.

00:00:02.850 --> 00:00:05.568
This week we have a very special episode in store for you.

00:00:05.568 --> 00:00:09.288
We are showcasing some of our network's talent.

00:00:09.288 --> 00:00:14.351
That is the Geek Freaks Network, and one of the podcasts on our network is the Challenge Accepted podcast.

00:00:14.351 --> 00:00:29.725
That podcast is hosted by Frank and Thomas, but on this occasion Thomas was actually at the San Diego Comic Con, so I got the opportunity to guest on our sister show on our network, Challenge Accepted, and Frank was a wonderful host.

00:00:29.725 --> 00:00:34.167
We talked everything to do with Mortal Kombat and we hope you enjoy this episode.

00:00:34.167 --> 00:00:34.509
Guys.

00:00:34.640 --> 00:00:49.168
Our regular programming will resume in a week's time where you will hear the episode we've promised you on Zombieland, but we thought we would share this amazing episode that we have done as part of our network to you now of the challenge accepted podcast.

00:00:49.168 --> 00:00:53.845
Remember, if you love them, you can go and find them anywhere you find your podcasts at challenge accepted.

00:00:53.845 --> 00:00:56.601
They're also on instagram, so make sure you go and show them some love.

00:00:56.601 --> 00:01:04.509
Both thomas and frank have both guested on our podcast before, so if their voices sound familiar, that is exactly why.

00:01:04.509 --> 00:01:05.591
So go and show them some love.

00:01:05.591 --> 00:01:32.394
We definitely appreciate them sharing this episode with us so we could share it with you and we hope you enjoy hey all welcome to Challenge, Accepted the podcast where we challenge each other to do a movie or TV show every week.

00:01:32.795 --> 00:01:36.016
I am Frank and I'm joined by a very special guest, Aaron, from Fandom Portals.

00:01:36.016 --> 00:01:36.516
How are you doing, Aaron?

00:01:39.900 --> 00:01:45.871
Hello everybody.

00:01:45.891 --> 00:01:46.313
and how are you, frank?

00:01:46.313 --> 00:01:47.314
It's Aaron here, I'm doing really good, alright.

00:01:47.314 --> 00:01:59.677
So for some some crazy reason, if somebody's listening to challenge accepted and they have not listened to fandom portals, break down your show for them uh, fandom portals is a podcast where we explore fandoms to help us learn and grow as people.

00:01:59.736 --> 00:02:14.182
we look at a movie pretty much every week and we talk about our most valuable takeaway, which can be anything from talking about generational trauma to anxiety or even something like familial relationships.

00:02:14.182 --> 00:02:27.331
That is examined in the movie, and sometimes it's in a movie that you would expect, like you know the secret life of walter midi, which obviously has a lot of different sort of themes and sometimes it's from something that you don't really expect, like Sinbad or the Road to El Dorado.

00:02:27.331 --> 00:02:32.586
So we look at those different kinds of movies and we pull out the lessons that you can learn, and we don't try to do it in like a preachy way.

00:02:32.586 --> 00:02:40.985
We try to do it in like a hey, this is kind of cool in that kind of way, but we also geek out about the movie as well at the same time.

00:02:41.205 --> 00:02:46.472
The other element about Fandom Portals is I like to talk to industry guests because that's the learning part for me.

00:02:46.472 --> 00:02:48.215
The growing part is when we break down movies.

00:02:48.215 --> 00:03:00.703
The learning part for me is talking to some industry experts and fellow podcasters about their experience how they take movies, but also their experience on set and also the way that they sort of interact with stories and character and things like that as well.

00:03:00.703 --> 00:03:04.469
So it's a good little passion project and it's great to be part of the geek freakers network.

00:03:05.091 --> 00:03:08.324
Oh yeah, and you're working with a brash on this right?

00:03:08.344 --> 00:03:09.770
Yeah, that's right, he's the cohost there.

00:03:09.770 --> 00:03:11.847
He is a good friend of mine.

00:03:11.847 --> 00:03:46.200
We've been friends for a while and we started out playing a D and D campaign together and we just found out that we had'm really analytical and sort of facts driven, but sometimes he'll throw an opinion my way that it was something that I just didn't really see or didn't expect, because he comes at a lot of things that we watch or see as a very big fan and, yeah, I think our brains work in two different ways and I think that it's really good for the podcast, because our opinions are either very similar or very diverse, but it makes for a good conversation either way.

00:03:46.241 --> 00:03:56.683
So, yeah, he's jumped on and it's gone really good it's my favorite combo of podcasts is generally there's like the guy who has the research, the numbers, the knowledge, and then the person who's just like.

00:03:56.683 --> 00:03:58.754
This is what I visually saw this, how it made me feel.

00:03:58.754 --> 00:04:01.364
So when you combine the two it makes for a really good conversation.

00:04:01.364 --> 00:04:04.171
I love the podcast and it is a lot of fun.

00:04:04.171 --> 00:04:12.554
It's not super analytical and stuff like that, so totally worth your guys time and before we leave the show, a couple of your recent guests have been really interesting.

00:04:12.554 --> 00:04:13.781
Can you share a couple of your recent guests?

00:04:14.483 --> 00:04:20.120
yeah, so we've had jeffrey reddick on, who was the creator of the final destination franchise.

00:04:20.120 --> 00:04:23.041
He was a really great guest to talk to, but not only that.

00:04:23.041 --> 00:04:23.802
I've said it a times.

00:04:23.802 --> 00:04:25.242
He's a really awesome human being.

00:04:25.242 --> 00:04:46.197
Like we spoke about things not only about Final Destination, but just about how the horror genre is a little bit more than what you expect in terms of being able to express story and character, and just a little bit about his life growing up in Kentucky and how that influenced his writing and his upbringing in the arts and how important the arts are for kids growing up in schools as well.

00:04:46.740 --> 00:04:52.990
And then, most recently, we had Stephen Kepfer on, who is a stunt performer who worked on various different titles.

00:04:52.990 --> 00:04:57.048
Most notably he was a stunt performer and double in the TV show Ray Donovan.

00:04:57.048 --> 00:05:00.550
But he's also done some consulting work on John Wick 2,.

00:05:00.550 --> 00:05:07.214
John Wick 3, because he is very well versed in Sambo Russian fighting, which is the style of fighting that is prominent through John Wick.

00:05:07.214 --> 00:05:19.286
John Wick 3, because he is very well versed in Sambo Russian fighting, which is the style of fighting that is prominent through John Wick, like John Wick's the Sambo guy and a lot of the kids that were performing those martial arts moves in those movies were actually sort of trained by him and guided by him.

00:05:19.286 --> 00:05:21.312
So he gave us a little bit behind the scenes on that.

00:05:21.379 --> 00:05:42.081
But he's also working towards becoming a stunt coordinator, which is just like a bit of a trajectory for him, and he's just sort of finished his first official feature as a as a stunt coordinator in a movie coming out called eugene and the machine, which he's excited for and, yeah, he shared his story with us and also very passionate about safety on sets.

00:05:42.081 --> 00:05:46.252
So he talks to us about how stunts can be dangerous.

00:05:46.252 --> 00:05:50.189
But there's a big process that people go through and it's important to follow that process.

00:05:50.189 --> 00:05:59.860
And it was a good behind the scenes look at that side of it because all the flashy and action-packed stuff that you see on the screen, sometimes there's a human being doing that and you know it can be dangerous.

00:05:59.860 --> 00:06:05.894
So hearing from someone like that and just knowing what goes into your favorite scenes in the movie was eye-opening and awesome.

00:06:06.740 --> 00:06:10.605
Yeah, it adds so much context to some of the movies that we love, so make sure you guys check that out.

00:06:10.605 --> 00:06:13.067
I'll have links in the description for everybody to follow up on.

00:06:13.067 --> 00:06:16.869
You should already be subscribed, and after you listen, make sure you drop a review as well.

00:06:16.869 --> 00:06:19.649
Fandom Portals Podcast with Aaron and Brasher.

00:06:19.649 --> 00:06:22.069
Okay, today we're going to be talking about Mortal Kombat.

00:06:31.680 --> 00:06:31.997
We today we're gonna be talking about mortal combat.

00:06:31.997 --> 00:06:32.588
We went back and forth on a couple different movie options.

00:06:32.588 --> 00:06:33.196
Why did this one, why is this one we landed?

00:06:33.196 --> 00:06:33.593
Why is this the movie we landed on?

00:06:33.593 --> 00:06:42.040
Well, I think we started talking about different kinds of australian movies that we could talk about, and there are some australian movies that are like hit and miss in terms of likability.

00:06:42.040 --> 00:06:48.749
You might say some are very culturally relevant to us as Australians, but not really so for the rest of the world.

00:06:48.860 --> 00:06:54.665
So there are a lot of movies that are filmed in Australia, because I'm going to humbly brag here and say we have a very beautiful country.

00:06:54.665 --> 00:07:06.201
It's got lots of different, diverse environments and ecosystems that people can shoot in and for that reason we draw a lot of big sort of movies here to be shot here, like pirates of the caribbean.

00:07:06.201 --> 00:07:07.444
Some of those movies were shot here.

00:07:07.444 --> 00:07:12.666
The aquaman movies were shot here and also mortal kombat was shot here in australia as well.

00:07:12.666 --> 00:07:18.117
We also landed on this one because a lot of the performers in this movie are australian, the director's australian.

00:07:18.117 --> 00:07:26.880
We want to kind, kind of wanted to highlight the, an australian film, because you have obviously me on, who's an Australian person as well, but not only that.

00:07:26.880 --> 00:07:31.105
Mortal Kombat 2 is coming out, frank Coming out very soon, and we got the trailer drop.

00:07:31.872 --> 00:07:33.262
What did you think of that trailer when you saw it?

00:07:34.026 --> 00:07:34.528
I liked it.

00:07:34.528 --> 00:07:43.161
I think that it's a very not that this wasn't a good movie, in my opinion, but I think it's a very big upgrade from the this one.

00:07:43.161 --> 00:07:44.345
I think it's a very big upgrade from this one.

00:07:44.345 --> 00:07:47.291
I think it's a very big upgrade in terms of production value.

00:07:47.291 --> 00:08:12.954
In terms of, obviously, casting We'll have to see how dialogue goes but I think they're going back to their roots here in Mortal Kombat 2, because it looks like it's very much centered around the titular tournament, the Mortal Kombat tournament, whereas if you've seen this movie, mortal Kombat it's obviously about the tournament is referenced and mentioned, but we don't explicitly see a tournament between Otherworld and Earthworld.

00:08:13.675 --> 00:08:13.836
Yeah.

00:08:13.836 --> 00:08:16.446
So I agree with you.

00:08:16.446 --> 00:08:24.007
I do think it's got more polish to it and stuff like that, and I think when we're going over this movie, it might help us to kind of think of that Like this is something that they can prove and what we saw, you know.

00:08:24.007 --> 00:08:27.723
So let's keep that in mind as we go along, Before we get too far.

00:08:27.723 --> 00:08:30.865
We got to do our two-minute rundown and you're in charge of that this time.

00:08:30.865 --> 00:08:31.708
Are you ready for that?

00:08:32.941 --> 00:08:34.063
I am ready for that.

00:08:34.765 --> 00:08:35.368
All right, go for it.

00:08:35.368 --> 00:08:36.331
I got your timer and start.

00:08:37.340 --> 00:08:37.660
All right.

00:08:37.660 --> 00:08:57.626
So we open up with a brutal flashback from Hanzo Hasashi, who is actually Scorpion, and his family, and they're in a nice little garden and you know, everything's peaceful and awesome until bump, bump, bump Sub-Zero comes through the nether portal and he is setting up this centuries old rivalry and this is going to happen a lot in this rundown.

00:08:57.626 --> 00:09:07.663
But they fight and when they do so, sub-zero actually ends up spoiler, spoiler alert killing scorpion's family, which starts their rivalry and feud.

00:09:07.663 --> 00:09:12.975
Uh, b-han or sub-zero, wants to end the bloodline of hanzo hasashi.

00:09:12.975 --> 00:09:20.251
However, raiding comes in at the last minute and obviously rescues uh, the prodigy son of scorpion.

00:09:20.631 --> 00:09:26.243
Uh, we cut years later and we're introduced to cole young, who is a washed up mma fighter who is not from the video games.

00:09:26.243 --> 00:09:33.807
Uh, he's a introduced character and he's got this birthmark on his body, which is a clue to his true lineage.

00:09:33.807 --> 00:09:40.504
We learn that earth realm is in danger and, uh, we have lost, as earth realm, nine mortal combat tournaments in a row.

00:09:40.504 --> 00:09:42.366
So outworld, actually.

00:09:42.366 --> 00:09:54.721
If they win their 10th, then earth falls to uh, the outworlds and shang sun I believe his name is is the leader of the outworld fighters and they got some badasses on their team.

00:09:55.342 --> 00:10:07.758
Uh, and we have for earth realm a ragtag bunch of people sonja blade jacks, kano lu kang, kung lao, and obviously raiden as well, some of them empowered by what in this movie they call Arcana.

00:10:07.758 --> 00:10:10.104
30 seconds, and how many?

00:10:10.104 --> 00:10:10.927
30.

00:10:10.927 --> 00:10:11.950
30.

00:10:11.950 --> 00:10:18.405
Okay, jax gets cyber arms, kano gets a laser eye, cole gets golden armor.

00:10:18.405 --> 00:10:25.269
I guess when the Arcana unlocks, the key deaths are like Kung Lao he dies heroically, of course, and Kano betrays the team.

00:10:25.269 --> 00:10:40.369
They finally fight in a battle at the end where Kohl's and Scorpion team up against Sub-Zero, revealing Kohl to be Scorpion's descendant, and Earthworm wins for the day, but only for now, and we end with Kohl setting off to Hollywood where we meet Johnny Cage.

00:10:40.990 --> 00:10:41.892
There we go.

00:10:41.892 --> 00:10:45.721
Very good, that last part.

00:10:45.721 --> 00:10:55.778
When you find out how much time you have left, you're like oh no, I'm still setting things up yeah, here's a lot of backfill and there's like one, two, three, all right, all the way down yeah so a big part of this movie, actually twofold.

00:10:55.798 --> 00:10:56.942
There's two big parts of this movie.

00:10:56.942 --> 00:11:05.470
When I'm watching this again is first off, it takes me back to the pandemic, because this was one of those first like oh hey, we're gonna have to release it on the streaming service instead of theaters.

00:11:05.470 --> 00:11:08.154
Did that come back to you when you watched it this time?

00:11:09.623 --> 00:11:35.070
I think so because actually I watched this movie in cinemas and it came out just when australia was reopening their theaters and you know it, it's not a Titanic-like masterpiece, but it was the first time people were starting to come out of their homes again during this time to actually be in a social space and enjoy a movie in the theater-like experience again.

00:11:35.070 --> 00:11:45.288
So this was actually one of the most active theater experiences that I've had in terms of like people whooping at the screen and it's a kind of fun movie that you're able to do that with as well.

00:11:45.288 --> 00:11:50.532
So obviously the Marvel titles are really sort of active cinema experiences.

00:11:50.532 --> 00:11:59.527
I didn't expect it from a Mortal Kombat movie but coming out of that pandemic when everybody was sort of locked up for so long, I think it was just what the doctor ordered everybody out for a bit of popcorn fun.

00:11:59.527 --> 00:12:08.929
And obviously you know Kano strikes a very awesome vibe with us Australians, so it was just good to get out and laugh again after so much bad news on the TV.

00:12:10.160 --> 00:12:14.620
And yeah, the film was definitely hindered by the COVID pandemic.

00:12:14.620 --> 00:12:42.427
I know it coincidentally or not coincidentally, but conveniently wrapped up filming just before Australia really locked down, tightened up its borders, so post-production was really the only thing that I could see that it was affected by and that was them trying to go through different sort of workflows to do post-production CGI and obviously reshoots and things like that had to be scheduled around actors' schedules but also when the borders would open up again.

00:12:42.427 --> 00:12:47.532
So a lot of complications that came to making this movie come to the big screen.

00:12:47.532 --> 00:12:56.166
But I think that it was a really good one to come to the cinema because it just gave us a lot of joy here in Australia when we were able to come out and see it again.

00:12:57.059 --> 00:13:03.888
And despite that as well, it actually did make $80 million, I think as well, which is more than what its budget was.

00:13:03.888 --> 00:13:11.529
So it's marginally profitable and it didn't have any marketing, obviously because they couldn't travel around the world and do the press junket.

00:13:11.529 --> 00:13:22.510
So with that and with this outstanding IP, I'm very interested to see how number two goes when they can obviously do that and they have a big star attached in the name of Carl Urban.

00:13:22.510 --> 00:13:24.605
Thank you, I just brain farted on his name.

00:13:24.605 --> 00:13:28.327
But attached in the name of Carl Urban, thank you, I just brain farted on his name, but yeah, I think that.

00:13:28.327 --> 00:13:29.592
I think I'm interested to see how that will go.

00:13:29.613 --> 00:13:31.259
Yeah, it almost feels like the sequel.

00:13:31.259 --> 00:13:52.931
So this to me feels like a prequel, frankly, to what the sequel is, uh, which is, you know, the actual tournament with bigger, with bigger cast and it really it's like the pandemic, I think, almost kind of gave everybody like we understand it might not be the best movie, but it came out in these times we couldn't do this or this or this, so everybody's a lot more forgiving for this movie and I think that helps a bunch.

00:13:52.931 --> 00:14:02.904
And boy, like, my first theater going experience post-pandemic was spider-man, no way home, and we left that theater just being like we'll never have that experience again.

00:14:02.904 --> 00:14:04.849
But it was this moment of.

00:14:04.849 --> 00:14:06.490
I think we might be past this.

00:14:06.490 --> 00:14:11.559
You know this entire shutdown thing so it will live rent free forever.

00:14:11.559 --> 00:14:16.760
You know in you that that first time going to the theaters again, that's good yeah, yeah, I definitely agree.

00:14:17.283 --> 00:14:38.383
I did read somewhere that greg russo, who's the writer of this mortal kombat or the screenplay at least for this mortal komb Kombat he originally intended there to be three Mortal Kombat movies one that was held before the tournament, this one number two that's coming out is is at the tournament, and the third one, hopefully, that comes out, will be the, the post tournament movie.

00:14:38.383 --> 00:14:50.149
So I definitely agree with you that this is the, the prequel to that tournament, because it's referenced throughout but not shown done yeah, yeah.

00:14:50.509 --> 00:14:56.513
The other thing about this movie, of course, is the video game, so how familiar are you with, like the mortal kombat video games?

00:14:57.557 --> 00:15:00.610
so the first time I played a mortal kombat video, I think I was about eight years old.

00:15:00.610 --> 00:15:08.947
It was on a sega mega drive and it was my cousin's, and my cousin's house had less strict rules than what my house did which I think everybody has, that cousin.

00:15:08.947 --> 00:15:21.650
So you know this was obviously a game that was not for eight year olds, but playing fighting genre games before and also I think they're pretty universal on the button mashing sort of side of it.

00:15:21.991 --> 00:15:27.225
So if you randomly get a fatality at the end of it, you're like, oh my gosh, like it actually happened, yeah.

00:15:27.225 --> 00:15:29.630
So that was my first sort of experience of it.

00:15:29.630 --> 00:15:36.886
I always knew the character of scorpion through this and it was, you know, really awesome to know that he sort of descended into hell and pulled off his mask and had a skull there.

00:15:36.886 --> 00:15:38.581
That was a really badass for an eight-year-old.

00:15:38.581 --> 00:15:39.523
Um.

00:15:39.523 --> 00:15:47.259
But then, as we went on, I didn't really touch mortal komb Kombat again until they pulled out the Mortal Kombat versus DC for the Xbox 360.

00:15:47.559 --> 00:15:47.700
Yeah.

00:15:47.980 --> 00:16:00.231
Yeah, and then Injustice by the same company that sort of made it, and I think that I honestly think that they're within the top tier of fighting games for console in terms of Mortal Kombat, if not the best.

00:16:00.231 --> 00:16:05.599
It's only competitor really for me is Street Fighter, maybe Tekken, but Mortal Kombat, I think, just has a really rich and deep lore.

00:16:05.599 --> 00:16:11.398
It's only competitor really for me is street fighter, maybe tekken, but mortal combat, I think, just has a really rich and deep lore, which I think is in regards to this movie.

00:16:11.398 --> 00:16:18.379
Something that a lot of critics talked about was how well that was represented or how well it was misrepresented.

00:16:18.379 --> 00:16:31.296
Um, so yeah, I think for me the video games are something that I have little seeds in my brain for, but it's not something that I really dove into and am absolutely enamored by and know everything about.

00:16:31.296 --> 00:16:31.942
What about you, frank?

00:16:31.942 --> 00:16:33.869
Did you ever play Mortal Kombat?

00:16:34.721 --> 00:16:36.445
Like you, as a kid I played it a bunch.

00:16:36.445 --> 00:16:38.730
Street Fighter was the one that parents knew you were playing.

00:16:38.730 --> 00:16:42.845
Mortal Kombat was the one they didn't know you were playing and just smash all the buttons.

00:16:42.845 --> 00:16:46.205
Try to remember what the heck you just did, because that was cool, one of the things.

00:16:46.205 --> 00:16:52.506
I grew up with two other brothers, so all video games diddy kong racing, mario kart this we had like those are my characters.

00:16:52.506 --> 00:16:53.570
You're not allowed to use my characters.

00:16:53.570 --> 00:16:54.351
Yeah, yeah.

00:16:54.351 --> 00:16:58.386
So for me, sub-zero was definitely my character.

00:16:58.386 --> 00:16:59.970
Was that yours too?

00:17:00.490 --> 00:17:01.173
yeah, me too.

00:17:01.173 --> 00:17:01.953
Yeah, absolutely.

00:17:01.953 --> 00:17:03.806
I loved his ice wall move.

00:17:03.806 --> 00:17:11.009
Um, I've forgotten what version it was in, but he would make this ice wall and as soon as the other player smashed it, sub-zero would come in from the other side of the screen.

00:17:11.009 --> 00:17:13.361
Just act him with an ice sword, yep, and you know.

00:17:13.361 --> 00:17:15.887
Once you find something that works in a fighting move, what do we do?

00:17:15.928 --> 00:17:17.771
Frank, yeah, just repeat it, we spam it.

00:17:19.448 --> 00:17:20.733
Yeah, we spam it.

00:17:20.733 --> 00:17:28.026
That was definitely the one that I I used all the time with.

00:17:28.026 --> 00:17:28.848
It was sub-zero and yeah, he was just.

00:17:28.848 --> 00:17:31.217
He was almost like the, the badass version of of scorpion, so I really liked him.

00:17:31.357 --> 00:17:47.381
He was cool, yeah which, seeing luke hang my littlest brother, jonathan, which you've probably talked um geek freaks, his thing was luke hang and he had a little like and they did it in this movie I was like, oh, I'm tired to see that move so much where he does a little kick through the air, because when you're playing against your little brother can do that move.

00:17:47.381 --> 00:17:49.906
You're like son of a gun, do something different.

00:17:49.906 --> 00:17:56.491
And there's even a little reference to that, like when kano just kept getting, you know, kicked the ran has kicked on the floor.

00:17:56.612 --> 00:18:06.452
Yeah, and I was like that is so video games yeah yeah, those were the references and the nods where you watch this movie and you're just like, oh my god, they're actually playing, playing some reference to that.

00:18:06.492 --> 00:18:14.503
So these guys are fans, or at least know of the source material, which is great, because you know you don't want a video game adaptation where there's there's no reference at all.

00:18:14.503 --> 00:18:16.188
So that's like a tongue-in-cheek.

00:18:16.188 --> 00:18:20.464
We all knew what was going on in that and it was just, yeah, not taking itself so seriously.

00:18:20.464 --> 00:18:35.571
But also it kind of mixed well with it, because mortal combat is a very sort of dark toned movie and ip when you think about it, but mixing things in it like that, like that comedy aspect and also just inserting kano in there just for a bit of levity every now and then.

00:18:35.571 --> 00:18:44.807
The way they represented him was also a good shift in the because otherwise you'd sit in there and it would be a very sort of dark movie after coming out of a pandemic, which is a very dark time.

00:18:44.807 --> 00:18:46.932
I don't think it would have hit as well as it kind of did.

00:18:47.212 --> 00:18:55.586
You know that tone is important for for mortal kombat as in general, because I think, yes, dark you know, oh, we got this other world, we got this blah, blah, blah.

00:18:55.586 --> 00:19:06.731
But I think a lot of the comedy too that comes from mortal kombat is in its overkill, the fatalities that are so ridiculous, which is like you're laughing at it because he just ripped his skeleton out or something.

00:19:06.731 --> 00:19:20.461
I think the fact that the movie made sure to kind of show some of that we were like, okay, you know was fun, and I and I don't know if I think they need to further embrace that going forward because there were moments in this movie where they were just doing like to come over here.

00:19:20.461 --> 00:19:25.973
Or fatality, we're like that line 100 does not fit, but man, I'm happy I just heard it.

00:19:26.441 --> 00:19:33.644
Yeah yeah, it was almost like, or the two that I can remember, the fatality where kano fights reptile and rips his heart out.

00:19:33.644 --> 00:19:34.025
That's it.

00:19:34.025 --> 00:19:36.833
That's straight from the, the mortal kombat game.

00:19:36.833 --> 00:19:44.362
Uh, and as he pulls that heart out, you know josh lawson says that line you know kano wins and he's like yes yeah, okay, we know where that comes from.

00:19:45.505 --> 00:19:48.071
That's the narrator in his deep, macho voice saying that.

00:19:48.071 --> 00:20:04.625
And then the other one obviously was the over-the-top buzzsaw kill from Kung Lao with the Frisbee hat, as Kano likes to say, and he's obviously sliced that person in half and it's just playing back to that over-the-top nature.

00:20:04.625 --> 00:20:12.095
But I would have liked to have seen and I'm not usually a guy that likes horror or gore, but I think in Mortal Kombat it fits because it's so ridiculous.

00:20:12.095 --> 00:20:16.397
And the best thing they introduced in the games was when they did that x-ray cam.

00:20:16.397 --> 00:20:19.298
Do you remember that when they introduced the x-ray cam for the games?

00:20:19.318 --> 00:20:30.482
Yes, yeah, once you get a certain amount of hits on or a certain amount of like like fatalities or special moves, it actually zoom into the neck that you were like snapping with your fist or where the ice shard would go into the neck.

00:20:30.482 --> 00:20:31.806
And yeah, it was just.

00:20:31.965 --> 00:20:37.026
You know, it's literally teenage boys dream seeing that kind of thing as you're playing.

00:20:37.528 --> 00:20:41.064
But yeah, I think that they they did that really well in the movie, but they did kind of.

00:20:41.064 --> 00:20:42.830
I feel like they held back a bit in terms of that as well, but maybe they did kind of.

00:20:42.830 --> 00:20:50.951
I feel like they held back a bit in terms of that as well, but maybe they did that again to appeal to a wider audience, with it already being an R rated movie.

00:20:51.853 --> 00:20:54.729
Yeah, actually, one of my fun facts coming up is it is actually rated NC 17.

00:20:54.729 --> 00:20:59.205
So it was beyond R and then they had to bring it back down a notch, cause they're like we got to be able to sell this thing.

00:20:59.205 --> 00:21:01.641
So, yeah, I think there was a lot of that going on.

00:21:01.641 --> 00:21:02.961
Yeah, I agree.

00:21:02.961 --> 00:21:08.165
Looking at the story for this thing, what did you think about them bringing an entirely new character with Cole Young?

00:21:09.507 --> 00:21:23.277
So I think the story behind that was that Simon McCoy and Greg Russo, the director and screenwriter, they wanted a character that could serve as the audience's surrogate.

00:21:23.277 --> 00:21:32.204
So Cole Young was created for this, because he was experiencing the world of mortal kombat fresh and new, just like a lot of the audience members would.

00:21:32.204 --> 00:21:42.845
Because, as we said before, mortal kombat does have a quite extensive lore and people die and people come back and this is actually someone's twin brother and sub-zero has like three different versions of himself.

00:21:42.845 --> 00:21:45.672
So there is that deep sort of lore and rabbit hole that you can dive into.

00:21:45.672 --> 00:21:57.006
But I think they definitely introduced Cole Young, who's played by Louis Tan, into this movie to act as that for the audience, as that new person that's coming in asking all the what do you mean?

00:21:57.006 --> 00:22:02.068
Questions, so they can be answered in exposition for the audience to understand.

00:22:02.068 --> 00:22:05.587
Fun fact about him this was his first major motion picture role.

00:22:05.587 --> 00:22:10.387
He did go on then to play the Black Power Ranger in the Power Rangers movie reboot as well.

00:22:10.387 --> 00:22:12.326
So good old Louis Tan.

00:22:12.948 --> 00:22:23.727
Yeah, one of the things that they added to this movie that I thought was a good job as well and introducing new people to this world is giving the term arcana to the idea of, like, why do these people have magic abilities?

00:22:23.727 --> 00:22:36.105
And that little Macguffin ended up, I think, enhancing the story, because the entire time you're like, oh, this one's special because they have an arcana, oh, you can steal the arcana, and it's all done by that symbol, which, of course, is the logo for the video game.

00:22:36.105 --> 00:22:37.750
I thought that was a really good addition.

00:22:37.750 --> 00:22:39.974
Did you feel like that was needed or overkill?

00:22:41.320 --> 00:22:58.380
I think it's definitely an awesome addition because it allows audiences to see that they could bring in a lot of new characters, because whoever kills somebody with that mark or the marker of the chosen will then become somebody who's chosen and develop their own arcana.

00:22:58.380 --> 00:23:06.394
But I've always really been fond of and liked movies where there is a hidden power inside somebody and they have to unlock it and you're just waiting to see how it manifests.

00:23:06.394 --> 00:23:19.689
And I think in this movie it was really well done because the powers that they've manifested, they kind of made them manifest during a moment of the character's personality, that sort of really portrayed who they are.

00:23:19.689 --> 00:23:27.324
So if we talk about, for example, the kano scene, his powers manifest with his laser eye, which is completely new from the video game.

00:23:27.324 --> 00:23:30.153
Usually it's cybernetics, but in this one it's a.

00:23:30.153 --> 00:23:32.119
It's a arcana laced laser eye.

00:23:32.681 --> 00:24:08.951
He's taking some heat from lu kang and kung lao and he's he seems like he's a very sort of macho and bravado driven character, but he's obviously getting very triggered by these very surface level attacks and because his anger just sort of swells in him and anger being a very prominent emotion in his toolkit, that heightened state really triggered his arcana and I found that really interesting as well, whereas if we combine that with, like a character like Cole Young, he's a very protective person in terms of his family.

00:24:09.031 --> 00:24:23.266
He's very much doing a lot of the things that he's doing to protect those people, and at the start of the movie, when he was talking about his MMA career, the trainer that was there was saying you know, oh, if you're going to be a fighter, you actually have to attack and defend, like that's part of the deal.

00:24:23.767 --> 00:24:40.335
So he actually got a power in arcana that allowed him to take a lot of punches and then redirect that energy back to people, um, not only denoting his fighting style, where he does take a lot of punches because he has no defense, but also sort of use that as his strength and his weapon to then redirect.

00:24:40.836 --> 00:24:47.380
And the armor surrounding him can be metaphorical in terms of his, his protective nature and the nature of him as a person.

00:24:47.380 --> 00:25:07.092
So I think it actually enhances the characters and gives them a little bit of depth, as opposed to them just being like a really cool warrior from Earth that just happens to have cybernetic eye that shoots lasers and stuff, and there was always that suspension of disbelief that you have to go through with a Mortal Kombat character because you're like, oh, why does this human have metallic arms that can beat the crap out of people?

00:25:07.092 --> 00:25:33.154
Um, whereas if you serve it like and it is a very fancy explanation, but I think they've deepened it enough to give it that sort of belief system for the audience when you say that it's like, okay, he's got those arms because he's like he's strong, offensive, he's very protective of everybody that's around him, and yeah, I think when they've aligned it with the character's personality, it serves purpose as opposed to just having it there for coolies, you know.

00:25:33.555 --> 00:25:49.569
Yeah, well, and there is a metaphorical part of it, right, which I really do enjoy, and I think, when Liu Kang and Kung Lao are talking to Kano, because their intention of doing this arena is to unlock those abilities, I think they're purposely like, you know, what this guy's fueled by anger that's definitely how we're gonna do this.

00:25:50.141 --> 00:25:59.981
Just like I think the reason Raiden says you need to go home is not because he doesn't want his help, it's because he's like the only way to get this guy to fight is if he has to protect his family, and that's.

00:25:59.981 --> 00:26:12.929
I think that was just smart move on rating with rating probably my favorite character of the of the movie, and so it's funny that this movie, when watching it as a whole, I get a vibe of like this is probably a cheap movie.

00:26:12.929 --> 00:26:15.471
You know I enjoy it for what it is Fireworks.

00:26:15.471 --> 00:26:20.744
You know it doesn't need anything crazy, but there are moments that kind of stand out like that were like that was actually well thought of.

00:26:20.744 --> 00:26:21.240
I liked that.

00:26:21.240 --> 00:26:23.867
They added, put, added that little extra mustard to this.

00:26:23.867 --> 00:26:24.568
That was good.

00:26:25.310 --> 00:26:37.792
Yeah, I think one of the biggest things to me in terms of that element that you were talking about there was, yes, it had kind of a smaller budget but so much thought went into the costume designs of these characters as well.

00:26:37.792 --> 00:26:57.326
So, looking at some of the behind-the-scenes stuff, at characters like Shang Tsung, if you look at his breastplate, they've kind of designed his breastplate to look like it's got the forms of very tortured souls across his breastplate and shoulder pauldrons and that's obviously because his power, his arcana, is that he rips the souls out of people.

00:26:57.326 --> 00:27:02.865
So there was a lot of thought to combine the elements of the costume with the powers of the individual.

00:27:02.865 --> 00:27:13.670
In that sense, even when you're looking at like Sub-Zero and you're looking at his helmet, a lot of the things on his helmet are like the muscular sort of tendons sort of pull across as well.

00:27:13.670 --> 00:27:20.367
But there's also the very sort of muscular-like mask that sort of comes through to show that this is like a humanistic character.

00:27:20.367 --> 00:27:29.057
But he's void of all sort of human features and you know obviously the leather that's sort of portrayed through this and the various different masks that are through here.

00:27:29.076 --> 00:27:40.462
Just those details in the costume really serve the character and I think a lot of thought went into that as well and, that being said, it's very easy to look at these costumes and think it's very easy to make them look cheap and corny.

00:27:40.462 --> 00:27:44.343
But I didn't feel that way for this movie, at least for the costume side of things.

00:27:44.343 --> 00:27:54.733
I thought they all fit and they all looked pretty cool, and even the military characters that were kind of dressed down where they just had like tank top and and pants and boots and things like that still fit.

00:27:54.733 --> 00:27:57.788
So it was very creatively done, I'll say.

00:27:58.349 --> 00:28:03.952
Yeah, and it gives a vibe of the 90s action movies, which this is very much in line with.

00:28:03.952 --> 00:28:05.487
And then we see Johnny Cage coming up.

00:28:05.487 --> 00:28:13.306
He's a wash-up from a 90s action movie era, so it all lines up, especially with the played down characters.

00:28:13.306 --> 00:28:25.544
And then I really like sub-zero, because we first meet him he's all human, looking with light, ice powers, and then when we see him later on you can tell he's embraced the ice powers more and so he's now kind of like shelled himself off from humanity.

00:28:25.544 --> 00:28:37.590
And then at the end, that last fight, when he's about out of everything, he just sheds it all, just to kind of go back to his old roots and just kind of flails and I think is less powerful, ice wise again.

00:28:37.961 --> 00:28:41.530
But then he's fighting you know Scorpion hand to hand essentially.

00:28:41.530 --> 00:28:43.780
So there's something tied there Again.

00:28:43.780 --> 00:28:45.067
It's like one more layer of thought.

00:28:45.067 --> 00:28:47.849
You hand-to-hand essentially, so there's something tied there again, it's like one more layer of thought.

00:28:47.849 --> 00:28:50.373
You wouldn't think this movie needed to add, but if you want to find it it's there for you to check out.

00:28:50.393 --> 00:28:50.913
It's pretty.

00:28:50.933 --> 00:29:02.946
I yeah, I can definitely agree with that and that's literally what sort of that's the eye that I look through movies in and that's sort of why I created the phantom portals podcast, because I look for those sort of deep cuts in terms of sub-zero and scorpion.

00:29:02.987 --> 00:29:08.335
There's a lot of sort of messaging that you can take from that in terms of, like, generational trauma.

00:29:08.355 --> 00:29:28.002
For example, if you're looking at Scorpion specifically, like there is an absolute tragedy that happens to Scorpion, the original Scorpion, and through that tragedy obviously his ancestors go down through the time until Cole Young is born and he's obviously still a fighter which is in his blood, you could say.

00:29:29.426 --> 00:29:44.182
But there's a line at the end of the movie where scorpion sort of says to him protect the bloodline and it's almost like that's kind of like the, the burden on the family to continue on the legacy of what has come before you, which I think is very prevalent in some cultures more than others.

00:29:44.182 --> 00:29:53.444
But I think, if you wanted, you can kind of look at it and think that vengeance without discipline can lead to ruin.

00:29:53.444 --> 00:30:13.851
But Scorpion sort of looks at vengeance but he has this purpose and the purpose is obviously to get that retribution and to preserve the bloodline and make sure that his legacy and champions continue on to protect the earth realm and protect people from suffering the same sort of fate that he did.

00:30:13.851 --> 00:30:17.733
So it is there like you can sort of deep dive and look into those sort of deeper themes.

00:30:17.814 --> 00:30:41.121
But but yeah, I really like the and I always have like the relationship between sub-zero and and scorpion looking at that, yeah, yeah and then we're going to start going through these characters here, and I do want to touch on that then, because I the idea that he is fueled by vengeance, which is a big part of him in the video game, but also like he's couldn't protect his family, so he's wanting to use vengeance to protect cole's family.

00:30:41.461 --> 00:30:54.230
He sees the both, you know, frozen and ice, that kind of like knocked in next year and and then that goes into cole's powers too, like this whole, like that whole bloodline is protectors and the fact that that scorpion failed.

00:30:54.230 --> 00:30:58.364
He went to hell for that and fought his way back to continue to try to protect again.

00:30:58.364 --> 00:31:00.692
So it's not like he, you know, could have.

00:31:00.692 --> 00:31:04.625
I think if this was a poorly written character, he wouldn't have gone back to hell.

00:31:04.625 --> 00:31:09.949
He would have stayed now on Earth and like I'm Scorpion now, I'm going to be here all the time, but no, he went back to hell.

00:31:09.949 --> 00:31:11.265
I thought that was a smart move.

00:31:11.866 --> 00:31:25.486
Yeah, yeah, and I think with Scorpion it's wrath, but it's tempered by that legacy in terms of the fact that he's kind of honoring what matters, whereas there's family, there's memory, there's redemption there.

00:31:25.486 --> 00:31:30.953
And in the end he does end up teaming up with Cole Young and he does become that protector.

00:31:30.953 --> 00:31:51.663
Because when Cole Young is literally down to his last beat and Sub-Zero is about to sort of finish him, we get that amazing line from Scorpion that's truly iconic, you know, get over here and he has that, that weapon that's symbolic of scorpion as well just absolutely at the very right moment pulls in and he joins the fray in the fight as that protector as well.

00:31:51.663 --> 00:32:00.461
And it carries that weight because it's not just a line, it's like, it's him like reclaiming that power, it's a call to justice, it's it's not just that sort of senseless violence.

00:32:00.461 --> 00:32:08.162
He's there to actually not really punish but to sort of make peace with his place within that punishment, if that's made sense.

00:32:08.502 --> 00:32:16.045
So yeah yeah, I thought that the scorpion fight at the end with sub-zero and scorpion and cole.

00:32:16.045 --> 00:32:18.656
That was probably my favorite one yeah, I would agree.

00:32:18.676 --> 00:32:18.837
That's.

00:32:18.837 --> 00:32:19.820
That's definitely a highlight for me.

00:32:19.820 --> 00:32:27.246
Were there any major standout performances in this film that you wanted to make sure to highlight, like for jessica mcname, who plays Sonia Blade?

00:32:27.246 --> 00:32:35.568
I think you know playing this character who is almost shunned by everybody else around her, but it's still like no, I belong here, I'm a fighter, I'm going to keep pushing.

00:32:35.568 --> 00:32:41.488
And then when she gets you know, kind of this revenge on Kano, I really felt like I was rooting for her.

00:32:41.488 --> 00:32:43.471
She wasn't like overly done.

00:32:43.471 --> 00:32:47.422
I don't think she was overly pushed upon the rest, everybody around her.

00:32:47.422 --> 00:33:06.392
I think she was fighting for her place and then earned it at the end in a way that I feel like really counters kano, who felt like oh, I should be here because I'm the best, and you guys don't even know it, and she's like I might not be the best, but I will eventually try to be the best, and those two really played off each other in a nice way on screen I agree.

00:33:06.432 --> 00:33:26.561
I think um sonja blade's character, jessica mcnamara, australian actress too, she she plays this sort of understated loyal character that kind of glues the rest of the team together and she's constantly being shat on excuse my french, but they're always looking at her and saying you know, you don't have a mark, you don't have a mark, you don't belong.

00:33:26.561 --> 00:33:28.530
Uh, but she still sticks around.

00:33:28.530 --> 00:33:36.263
Obviously she's got that loyalty to her family, which I think why she gets the symbolic representation of a unit which is like a ring, an unbroken ring.

00:33:36.263 --> 00:33:38.515
You see it in marriages, you know, that's the symbol of unity.

00:33:38.515 --> 00:33:41.943
That's what she gets when she, her powers sort of emerge.

00:33:41.943 --> 00:33:45.490
There's those rings that come and she uses them as an offensive weapon.

00:33:45.490 --> 00:33:51.039
So I think that her, her power is that she's able to keep a group together, fight for the just cause.

00:33:51.220 --> 00:33:54.548
And she does juxtapose well with kano because they're completely opposite.

00:33:54.548 --> 00:33:59.988
Kano will break a, a loyalty if the price is right.

00:33:59.988 --> 00:34:09.210
And I think, in terms of characters that are played and performance wise, I think Josh Lawson did an absolutely amazing job playing Kano.

00:34:09.210 --> 00:34:19.485
He was given the job of playing the stereotypical Aussie larrikin, which is like loud, crude, anti-hero, mocks authority, thrives on his own rules.

00:34:19.485 --> 00:34:22.460
We usually call it the pub guy here in Australia.

00:34:22.460 --> 00:34:24.367
It's like a pub star kind of bravado.

00:34:24.929 --> 00:34:25.128
Yeah.

00:34:25.340 --> 00:34:35.951
And it's this brash confidence that this devil may care attitude and he's just like a classic boorish, unrefined but kind of charming Australian male character as well.

00:34:36.500 --> 00:34:41.909
You can see it through Australian cinema or if there's an Australian, to varying levels of degree.

00:34:41.909 --> 00:34:44.389
Obviously this has turned up to 11 in Kano.

00:34:44.389 --> 00:34:48.735
But another lesser example of it might be Mick Dundee from Crocodile Dundee.

00:34:48.735 --> 00:34:50.005
He's sort of very similar.

00:34:50.005 --> 00:35:01.030
He's very unrefined and he juxtaposes in various different sort of more refined situations as somebody who's a bit of an outsider but also very charming, someone who you might want to go for a beer with.

00:35:01.070 --> 00:35:06.030
Basically, and there's kind of a couple of different ways that people viewed kano.

00:35:06.030 --> 00:35:10.802
I think obviously australians kind of looked at him and said yeah, we're on screen, we love it because we love it when that happens.

00:35:10.802 --> 00:35:20.780
Ign, for example, I read they highlighted that kano was like the mvp of mortal combat and josh lawson brought a raucous kind of almost deadpool like energy to the character.

00:35:20.780 --> 00:35:34.829
But then there are other people that sort of criticized that and said he, he like he flirted with a line of self-parody for australians and it's like it's a lazy stereotype and that that's how we're being represented and it's not always a good thing and all that kind of thing.

00:35:34.829 --> 00:35:43.485
But I I think either way, any way you slice it, any way you look at it, I think josh lawson embodied the character of kano well and played him really well.

00:35:43.485 --> 00:35:47.586
And some of those lines that he played, those one-liners, they were all improvised as well.

00:35:47.586 --> 00:35:49.827
So, yeah, yeah.

00:35:49.827 --> 00:35:53.668
Simon McCoy, the director, said you know, lean into the absurdity of the character.

00:35:53.668 --> 00:35:56.465
And Josh Lawson said you got it, buddy.

00:35:56.465 --> 00:35:58.771
Yeah, so yeah.

00:35:58.960 --> 00:36:00.126
I think he did a great job.

00:36:00.126 --> 00:36:24.806
So, from my perspective as an American, I think I recognize him as like he's above and beyond, like we know, like when we watch Crocodile Dundee, we know that's not you guys are all walking around like that, but you know it's fun, just like, presumably, when you see an American who's just like you know all these guns and da da da you know and like, yeah, that's not us.

00:36:24.806 --> 00:36:27.329
Like well, there's some of us, but I've got an uncle like that, but yeah, that's that us Like.

00:36:27.349 --> 00:36:27.931
Well, there's some of us.

00:36:27.931 --> 00:36:32.077
I've got an uncle like that, but yeah, that's exactly it too, and some of us here in Australia are very much like that as well.

00:36:32.077 --> 00:36:35.797
As I was talking to you off stream before, there's a small little strip along the east coast of Australia that everybody lives in because it's safe to do so.

00:36:35.797 --> 00:36:37.164
None of the deadly animals go there.

00:36:37.164 --> 00:36:45.092
But anywhere west of that, where you start to get into a bit more country sort of territory of Australia, you get more and more levels of Kano until you reach the centre.

00:36:45.092 --> 00:36:50.030
It's like the more centre of the centre of Australia you get, the more towards the Kano side of things you get.

00:36:50.030 --> 00:36:58.230
But I think it's very interesting that both Crocodile Dundee, mcdundee and Kano both have extremely massive knives.

00:36:58.289 --> 00:37:10.891
Yes, I don't know where that came from as an Australianism, but I think some truck drivers have pocket knives and things but they use it as a tool utility I don't know where the big, massive knife thing came from.

00:37:10.911 --> 00:37:12.239
I think that, yeah, that was just an over-exaggeration.

00:37:12.239 --> 00:37:17.744
But yeah, I think that it was a fun character to insert, and you know Kano from memory as well.

00:37:17.744 --> 00:37:22.204
From the 1995 ones I think Kano was represented as like a British person as well.

00:37:22.204 --> 00:37:27.565
So I think it slowly transitioned into, like maybe Cockney, british and then Australian somehow.

00:37:27.565 --> 00:37:34.811
Yeah, but yeah, I think Josh Lawson deserves a bit of a shout out because he he did portray a really good Kano.

00:37:35.501 --> 00:37:38.965
One more I'd like to say Max Huang, who played Kung Lao.

00:37:38.965 --> 00:37:45.623
He hadn't acted in a lot of things and he did, you know, have that heroic death, kung Lao being the guy with a frisbee hat.

00:37:45.623 --> 00:37:55.646
Um, for those of you tracking he's, he's usually a stunt performer by trade and he was actually part of the jackie chan school of stunt performers as well.

00:37:55.646 --> 00:38:04.327
So he was there and actually consulted on a lot of the martial arts that were happening there to make sure that was kind of in line with whatever style that character wished to play.

00:38:04.327 --> 00:38:07.873
For example, h Hanzo Hisashi Scorpion.

00:38:07.873 --> 00:38:20.086
He does a lot of sort of ninjutsu and kenjutsu sort of fighting moves, and they've tried to make it as authentic as possible, weaving it into those Mortal Kombat moves as much as they possibly could, as well.

00:38:20.186 --> 00:38:20.608
Right right.

00:38:21.081 --> 00:38:22.873
I think that's worth a nod as well.

00:38:23.599 --> 00:38:31.981
Yeah, and there's a distinction between Hanzo and Baihan Sub-Zero being Chinese too, I did like how?

00:38:31.981 --> 00:38:37.132
Because you know the American move would be just like, oh, they're speaking Japanese, and then we'll throw it.

00:38:37.132 --> 00:38:43.949
But the fact that they were saying, no, this one's speaking Chinese, this is speaking Japanese, and that little difference too, and you can see it in their movements.

00:38:43.949 --> 00:38:53.782
I just love when we see it with, like Avatar, the Last Airbender, stuff like that, like the idea that there's so many other cultures within one culture that oftentimes get lumped together.

00:38:53.782 --> 00:38:55.083
It's beautifully done and it's subtle in this movie.

00:38:55.123 --> 00:39:11.708
But again, it's like if you want to see there's more context here, you can look for it there yeah, and I think that also translates to Kung Lao as well, because he, through his costume and through his fighting, he he is very Chinese in his orientation, but the hat that he uses and is so traditional for his character is of Korean design.

00:39:11.708 --> 00:39:16.367
So there's those two sort of cultures mixed in the one character and you could dive deep on that as well.

00:39:16.367 --> 00:39:20.110
You could say maybe that's an iteration of his sort of heritage and his bloodline.

00:39:20.110 --> 00:39:31.480
Because, yeah, kung Lao does have a very big lore and history through Mortal Kombat and in this movie it's mentioned that lord kung lao was the one who sort of led earth realm to a victory in the past.

00:39:31.480 --> 00:39:34.025
So he's a very honorable character as well.

00:39:34.025 --> 00:39:40.768
So just goes back to those details that you can find if you want to, even in a beat-em-up popcorn flick like, uh, mortal combat.

00:39:40.788 --> 00:39:50.541
So yeah, it's, it is a fun flick and I think these characters there's so many times where it's like, oh yeah, I could see playing this character on in the video game or whatever you want to explore more of them.

00:39:50.541 --> 00:39:53.489
And then, yeah, I just go back to, of course, sub-zero.

00:39:53.489 --> 00:39:57.907
Don't pick my sub-zero kind of thing too, so there's always those that are just like born into us.

00:39:57.907 --> 00:40:00.280
You talked about the last fight scene.

00:40:00.280 --> 00:40:01.461
You're being your favorite fight scene.

00:40:01.461 --> 00:40:02.643
What about that scene?

00:40:02.643 --> 00:40:04.586
Do you stands out to make it your favorite?

00:40:05.768 --> 00:40:06.309
I think it's.

00:40:06.309 --> 00:40:09.934
It's the one that I waited for the whole movie, for one but for two, I think it's.

00:40:09.934 --> 00:40:15.980
It's just like that rivalry, that history, you know there's always the two characters pitted together.

00:40:15.980 --> 00:40:40.471
But you could also dive really deep into those two characters and see where that sort of rivalry started and both of their fighting styles being so brutal in nature and two fighters at the top of their game as well, like, I think, scorpion and Sub-Zero best characters in the game, not only just with how cool they are to play in video games but also, you know, lore-wise, they're very powerful fighters.

00:40:40.471 --> 00:40:58.697
So seeing two of them fighting each other and then with the added layer of the story element in this being that you know the bloodlines at risk and Cole Young being there to sort of fight in in amongst as well, I think there was just some really great sort of set pieces and a really good callback to the start of the movie.

00:40:58.697 --> 00:41:01.349
I mean the story in this is very thin, like we can admit it.

00:41:01.349 --> 00:41:02.442
The story in this is very thin.

00:41:02.442 --> 00:41:04.764
It's basically an excuse to get people together to fight.

00:41:04.764 --> 00:41:13.909
But I think that that callback to the start where Hanzo sees that Cole is suffering in the same sort of manner that he did and not wanting to continue on.

00:41:13.909 --> 00:41:21.793
That sort of that pain for his ancestor was what fueled those people to sort of come to the next level and fight Sub-Zero even harder.

00:41:22.172 --> 00:41:33.268
But also, I don't know what this says about me, but I always tend to pivot towards the villain as a favorite sort of character of mine, not because I sympathize with them but because I think they're interesting to look at and watch.

00:41:33.268 --> 00:42:00.289
So Sub-Zero for me it's interesting to see a character from Earthrealm that's obviously aligned themselves with Otherworld, and I kind of want to see a bit more of that later on, as to know sort of why that happened and why he aligned himself that way and why he turned against earth realm in that space to to to side with shang tsun and I hope that they do it later on, because they definitely do it in the law for the video games because sometimes sub-zero is seen as a good guy and sometimes he's seen as a bad guy, and that's another thing.

00:42:00.289 --> 00:42:08.885
That sort of that flip around for me is interesting where two characters can be seen on two sides of a coin yeah, even scorpion's like morally gray.

00:42:08.925 --> 00:42:11.150
He's never, always a good guy.

00:42:11.150 --> 00:42:15.385
Yeah, he is from hell 100 yeah to me.

00:42:15.425 --> 00:42:15.646
I thought.

00:42:15.646 --> 00:42:20.204
I thought a standout fight was the kano sonya, one that we saw like it was back in her, her home.

00:42:20.204 --> 00:42:22.753
And we have kano coming in.

00:42:22.753 --> 00:42:24.177
He's returning to this scene.

00:42:24.177 --> 00:42:28.271
Last time we saw him here he got scratched in the face and, you know, beaten pretty badly.

00:42:28.271 --> 00:42:31.907
When he returns now he's got the laser eye and he feels confident and overpowered.

00:42:31.907 --> 00:42:34.271
Sonya is here, it's in her element.

00:42:34.271 --> 00:42:47.485
She has no power, like she has no arcana, and she uses her wit, she uses her intelligence to outsmart him, something that we already knew that she had over kano.

00:42:47.485 --> 00:42:48.773
But this is her element, this is where she could really do it.

00:42:48.793 --> 00:43:04.329
She does like a home alone stuff like different trap doors and stuff like that and he's just shooting randomly like cyclops, losing his mind, and so I really enjoyed how she eventually took him out it was her choke, choked him out in the end or whatever and beat him and then with the subtle like just she gets the mark and is like oh's got powers now.

00:43:04.610 --> 00:43:06.914
They didn't even bother showing her powers in that moment.

00:43:06.914 --> 00:43:13.206
They let her save the day later on and then with her powers coming in, but something about that fight, it felt raw.

00:43:13.206 --> 00:43:20.030
It felt so claustrophobic because it was in that hallway for the most part and just the way that like debris was falling everywhere.

00:43:20.030 --> 00:43:24.150
It felt very real in a world where we saw a bunch of magic powers happening.

00:43:24.150 --> 00:43:32.394
This felt like a very real in a world where we saw a bunch of magic powers happening.

00:43:32.394 --> 00:43:32.802
This felt like a very real fight in a way.

00:43:32.802 --> 00:43:34.918
And his, his laser eye to the way that red just kind of like reflects everywhere as it's going off.

00:43:34.918 --> 00:43:37.152
It just seems so dangerous and out of control, like kano is it was.

00:43:37.119 --> 00:43:48.271
It was well done, well done, yeah I I agree because I think that the audience, for example, gets really invested in a fight like that because there is a clear underdog, like Sonya Blade is a clear underdog when it comes to Kano.

00:43:48.271 --> 00:44:01.146