Mortal Kombat (2021): The 10 Best Characters

The 2021 Mortal Kombat movie brings a lot of beloved characters to life on the big screen, these 10 are the best.

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Given that Mortal Kombat is one of the most beloved video games of all time, it’s not surprising that there is so much excitement surrounding the new movie reboot. Fans have been eager to see a bloody take on this story featuring some of their favorite characters from the game and the movie delivers on both fronts.

Every fan has their personal favorite characters from the games, but the movie might change so minds about who is the most likable fighter in the franchise. From the heroes to the villains, there are some characters who are disappointments as well as some who exceed expectations.

10 Shang Tsung

As the big bad of the movie, it makes sense that Shang Tsung is the easier character to hate. After all, his whole goal is to conquer and enslave Earth and he doesn’t even follow the rules of Mortal Kombat, choosing to attack Earth’s fighters whenever he chooses.

However, apart from being evil, Shang Tsung is also not a very interesting character. He just stands around threatening people while sending his minions to do all the fighting. Perhaps if he got a little more into the action it would be easier to be invested in him.

9 Kano

The Australian mercenary Kano is a bit of a hard character to pin down. He is meant to be unlikable and vulgar but in a funny way. Indeed, he does prove some much-needed comic relief in the movie and delivers some genuine laughs. But sometimes his constant quips get annoying.

Apart from being a bit of an obnoxious jerk, Kano turns into a full-blown villain by the end, stabbing his former comrades in the back. In that sense, he is a pretty easy guy to hate by the end and no amount of jokes can redeem him.

8 Cole Young

In a bit of a surprising move, the main character of the story is a young man named Cole Young who is an original character created for the movie. He serves as the audience surrogate as he is introduced to the world of Mortal Kombat.

While it’s possible an original character could have worked for this movie, it’s a shame that Cole is such a painfully dull protagonist. He is given no personality or motivation that is interesting, his origin is obvious and adds nothing to his character. His only good trait is that he is heroic.

7 Raiden

While Shang Tsung is unlikable for being a bad guy who just stands on the sidelines the entire movie, Raiden is frustrating because he is a good guy who just stands on the sidelines. He is a powerful protector of Earth, yet he is pretty inactive about the whole thing.

To his credit, he does bring the fighters of Earth into his temple and uses his powers to form a shield around them. But while Shang Tsung freely breaks all the rules about the tournament, Raiden just sits back and tells him “You’re not allowed to do that,” which is not very helpful.

6 Liu Kang

Though he was the main character of the 1995 movie, Liu Kang is pushed to a supporting role this time around. However, he is still a very heroic and capable fighter who is easy to cheer for. In many ways, he serves as the heart of the movie, being the only optimistic member of the good guys.

Liu forms a nice pairing along with his cousin Kung Loa. The two are badass mentors of the other fighters with Liu being the more encouraging teacher with an interesting backstory. The only thing holding him back is that he doesn’t have as big of a moment as some of the other heroes.

5 Jax

Jax is another fan-favorite from the video games who makes a nice transition to the big screen. He establishes himself as a real hero early on in the movie when he chooses to take Sub-Zero on alone and handles himself relatively well.

It is a bit disappointing how much he is sidelined in the first half of the movie and watching him struggle with his new, less-than-impressive arms was not all that exciting. But he rebounds in the second half of the movie, further proving himself as a hero and delivering a pretty memorable fatality.

4 Kung Lao

Kung Lao’s entrance into the movie is sort of random and almost feels like the movie forgot that they didn’t introduce this character. However, he is quickly able to establish himself as a pretty integral member of the team and one of the most heroic characters.

He is probably the most skilled fighter out of all of Earth’s heroes and he is even quite effective at motivating the others to achieve their true potential. He gets a sacrificial death that spurs on the other heroes and also delivers the best moment in the movie with a “flawless victory” with his razor hat.

3 Sub-Zero

Many of the villains in the movie are forgettable and feel like they are only there to be killed by the heroes. However, Sub-Zero is the exception as he is an effective menacing presence in the movie from the opening sequence that establishes his history with Scorpion.

Along with his very cool powers, Sub-Zero is an incredibly skilled fighter which makes for some of the best action sequences in the movie. Though he is a villain who is responsible for some pretty terrible things, the movie is more interesting whenever he is on screen.

2 Sonya Blade

The character arcs in this movie are really nothing special, but Sonya Blade’s is simple and clear enough that she is a character worth rooting for. Despite her obvious skills, she is an underdog of sorts as she was not one of the chosen fighters.

Despite just being an ordinary person, Sonya is one of the best fighters in the movie, the one who discovers the history of the Mortal Kombat tournament, and someone who is constantly willing to put her life on the line. It really feels like she should have been the protagonist.

1 Scorpion

Scorpion is certainly one of the most beloved characters in the games and he gets his due in this movie, even if his screen time is tragically limited. The opening sequence establishes his past as Hanzo and the death of his family gives him the strongest character motivation in the movie.

It’s disappointing that he is missing for most of the movie following that, but when he shows up for the final fight as the true Scorpion, it is a lot of fun. Hopefully, any future movies will know to feature him more heavily.

Link Source : https://screenrant.com/mortal-kombat-2021-best-characters/