Mortal Kombat

Mortal Kombat is currently streaming in Australia on Netflix and Amazon Prime Video, and in the US on HBO Max Amazon Channel and YouTube TV, and it earns its premise rather than just borrowing genre trappings. A tight runtime that never overstays its welcome. With 6,874 viewer ratings on TMDB, this is not a title flying under the radar. Watch it for Lewis Tan — the performance elevates material that could easily tip into self-seriousness. Put it on tonight on Netflix and see for yourself.

Part of the current wave of titles people are actually watching, Mortal Kombat earns its spot. What makes Mortal Kombat work is that the ideas never crowd out the people having them. Washed-up MMA fighter Cole Young, unaware of his heritage, and hunted by Emperor Shang Tsung's best warrior, Sub-Zero, seeks out and trains with Earth's greatest champions as he prepares to stand against the enemies of Outworld in a high stakes battle for the universe. Lewis Tan and Jessica McNamee lead a cast that keeps the bigger ideas grounded in something human. Mortal Kombat came out in 2021. Mortal Kombat resists the temptation to explain everything, trusting the audience to sit with ambiguity. It knows exactly what it is, and does not try to be anything else.

Mortal Kombat is satisfying on multiple levels — something to watch and something to think about after. It stands on its own even without an obvious comparison point. A contained runtime means every scene is doing real work. Lewis Tan grounds the bigger ideas in something human. Once you are in, you will want to talk about it.