Joe Taslim’s casting for Mortal Kombat managed to lock down the main antagonist, which is a little surprising since there are so many other villains in the franchise, and because at one point, Sub-Zero did eventually join the heroes. But the lean to the villainous side is interesting since the character is insanely deadly thanks to his freezing powers and the many different ways he can use ice to his advantage. One might have thought that Shang Tsung or Goro, or even Shao Khan might have been the ultimate baddie and we hadn’t seen a lot of them yet for a reason. But it sounds as though Sub-Zero is going to be the guy that will dominate the villain role and will be the person to beat, which is interesting. This character has been pretty tough throughout the history of the franchise, but he’s also been far more than just a villain. Seeing Sub-Zero vs. Scorpion in live-action this time around is already dividing fans a bit since Mortal Kombat: Annihilation still leaves a bad taste in the mouths of a lot of people considering that it mangled the franchise so horribly. The Sub-Zero in Annihilation was kind of a joke by comparison since he spent only a little bit of time on screen and he didn’t feel like an appropriate match for the equally lame Scorpion that was used in the movie. This kind of feud is something that a lot of people are hoping will finally culminate in something great when this movie is released in April since the trailer already looks good enough to get a lot of people excited.
The casting looks like it’s on point in the trailer, but one thing that appeared to be needed was to get the primary villain down pat, and Joe Taslim obviously fits the bill since he’s not a huge guy but he’s not a skinny, whip-thin individual either, which is perfect since as an average individual that’s in good shape he fits the role perfectly. Even better is that his character’s nemesis, Scorpion, will be played by Hiroyuki Sanada, who’s great in his own right. The fact that Sub-Zero is seen as being the reason that Jackson Briggs, aka Jax, will be given his customary metal arms is pretty cool, as is the nature of Sub-Zero’s power, which is just as impressive in the trailer as it’s been in the games. Jax’s metal arms have been given a couple of different backstories over the course of the franchise, as Ermac wounded him in one game and the arms were little more than add-ons in Annihilation since he hadn’t lost his original arms yet. The way Jax is going to lose his arms in this movie is just brutal, but then it fits since it gives the character a little more depth and attitude that people will be able to understand. The fact that Kano appears to be on the same side as Sonya though, that’s something that’s hard to believe since the two have been opposed since the beginning, so it means that there had better be one damn good story to this pairing.
People are still a bit upset that Johnny Cage won’t be making an appearance and it’s easy to understand since the character has been around for so long that it’s hard to see a movie happening without him. But given that there are so many other characters entering the fray it feels as though he might not be as missed as everyone thinks he will be. Plus, without really seeing the entire thrust of the movie yet it’s fair to say that a lot of people are going to be guessing and making theories until April, and it’s even worth saying that a few of them might turn out to be right since some people are really good at guessing and can make educated theories based on what they’re seeing. The rest of us would rather be surprised but to each their own. The epic fight is no doubt going to be between Scorpion and Sub-Zero since their feud has been one of the strongest and the longest in the franchise and it’s been well documented over the years no matter that they’ve actually been able to reconcile now and again. There’s bound to be no reconciliation this time around since it’s going to get bloody and it’s going to an event that some of the combatants won’t be walking away from so easily, if at all. The hope of course is that it might be good enough to spawn a sequel, which would mean that enough characters would have to survive in order to make it happen.
All we really know at this time is that come April, a lot of us are going to be ready to hear those two words, “MORTAL KOMBAT!”. Oh yeah.
Follow Us
