Normally, I'm kind of against the whole reboot/franchise revival thing when it comes to movies, because it seems to be happening all the time these days and is frankly just getting annoying. With Mortal Kombat however there was still some ground left to be covered. Namely, the addition of blood and guts in order to be more faithful to the video games. So when I heard the property was going to be resurrected on the big screen with a liberating R-rating I was completely onboard and must say that the added brutality does lead to a lot of exciting fight scenes. Still, I'd be hard-pressed to call this is better than the 1995 original, and that's due to some pacing issues. Say what you will about the Paul W.S. Anderson film, but the action came front and center there as it should have. Here though, after some exciting fights in the beginning we are treated to a middle section that takes too much time explaining the mythology of the tournament and emphasizes training montages designed to flesh out protagonist Cole Young for the audience, before reaching the final act that somewhat rushes through what should have been the most exciting battles and culminates in an anti-climactic, "wait for the sequel" ending. Bit of a bummer for those of us who just wanted to see nothing more than a bunch of fantastical warriors beat the crap out of and kill each other in gory ways the entire time. As for Young, the film exclusive original character has been a point of controversy for some time now. Many fans have pointed out how his role in the story could have easily been filled by Johnny Cage who is actually from the source material, and viewed his inclusion as nothing more than another case of Hollywood unnecessarily changing elements from the games. Something that has led to the majority of video game adaptations falling short in the past. Personally, I understand why he was created, as he serves as more relatable proxy to introduce newcomers to the world of Mortal Kombat than a loudmouth movie star who would have spent the whole time hitting on Sonya Blade anyways would have been. Plus, they already had Kano as the comic relief. It doesn't help that Cole is about as interesting as a block of wood though and that Lewis Tan is responsible for most of the worst dialog and acting. If they find a way to not bring him back for the sequel I won't complain. Writing woes aside though this was still a really good time. It does a respectable job of portraying fan-favorite characters (Mileena is questionable...) to the point I was even a little sad when some of them died. The action is also very fun and suitably grisly. Showing that, while these things still aren't getting the best reviews from professional critics, the video game movie curse has definitely come to an end. At least in terms of providing entertaining experiences that can be enjoyed by wider audiences that is.