The trailer for the 2021 Mortal Kombat reboot movie reveals a whole lot to get audiences excited, including a new design for Liu Kang's dragon fatality move, fixing the worst moment from 1997's Mortal Kombat: Annihilation. The reboot of the Mortal Kombat movie franchise shows off blockbuster acting talent, special effects, soundtrack, and script, which are all promising signs of the film being a huge leap in quality over previous installments. It's also prompted viewers to come up with all sorts of theories for what's in the trailer.
The Mortal Kombat universe has a dedicated following across its films and many video games, but fans haven't always been satisfied with the way their favorite characters have been depicted. The original Mortal Kombat movie, released in 1995, has a 57 percent audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, and Mortal Kombat: Annihilation, released in 1997, has a 25 percent audience score (and a critic consensus of just 2 percent). At the very least, however, Mortal Kombat: Annihilation was memorable – who could forget the terrible CGI depiction of Liu Kang's dragon fatality move that looked like it was designed and rendered on an Amiga?
For those who've written it out of their memory, Mortal Kombat: Annihilation features a whole sub-plot where Liu Kang is required to find Nightwolf, another fighter from the Kombat universe, and learn how to complete the move, called an "Animality." The move then becomes key to Liu Kang's final confrontation with villain Shao Kahn – though for some reason it proves hardly effective.
Fans forever scarred by watching the 1997 depiction of the move were flooded with relief upon catching a glimpse of the same move's design in the new trailer for the Mortal Kombat reboot. It's a remove from the depiction in many of the games – where Liu Kang himself transforms to become the dragon – and instead has Kang controlling the fiery beast from a distance away, reflecting more closely the style of the most recent video game installment, Mortal Kombat 11. The rendering looks incredible and shows the promise this new movie could offer the franchise. Perhaps most importantly, it fixes the terrible mistake made in Annihilation once and for all, offering a satisfying take on what should be an impressive move.
The intensity of the depiction in the new Mortal Kombat trailer reveals much more promise. Audiences are excitedly hoping the dragon fatality move will more accurately reflect the devastation in the game series, even though the character of Liu Kang takes a smaller role in the film, supporting new hero Cole Young. With any luck, the move shown in the trailer is only a taste of what viewers can expect when Mortal Kombat releases later this year.
