Mortal Kombat appears in an aspect ratio of approximately 2.40:1 on this 4K UHD Disc. The movie looked great.
At all times, sharpness appeared positive. I thought the image seemed accurate and well-defined from start to finish, with virtually no signs of softness on display. I noticed no signs of shimmering or jaggies, and the movie lacked any print flaws.
Like most other modern action flicks, Kombat favored stylized colors, and as usual, those colors tended toward teal and orange. Actually, the palette broadened at times, so while it stayed heavily oriented toward orange/teal, at least some reds emerged.
Given the visual choices, the hues looked positive. The 4K’s HDR added impact and heft to the tones as well.
Blacks were always deep and tight, and I saw good contrast as well. Shadows seemed clear and appropriately opaque.
HDR added range and power to both whites and contrast. The 4K UHD became a strong reproduction of the film.
Downconverted to Dolby TrueHD 7.1, I felt just as pleased with the impressive Dolby Atmos soundtrack of Kombat. A movie packed with mayhem and action, the mix used all the channels in a lively, involving manner. Various violent elements popped up from all around the room and delivered a smooth, engrossing soundscape.
This meant nearly constant material from the surrounds. The back speakers delivered a high level of information and created a great sense of place in that domain. All of this melded together in a vivid, satisfying manner.
Audio quality was also strong. Music seemed full and bold, while speech was consistently natural and crisp.
Effects became the most prominent component, of course, and packed a solid punch, with positive clarity and range. The audio of Kombat delivered the goods.
How did the 4K UHD compare to the Blu-ray version? Both offered the same Dolby Atmos audio.
On the other hand, the native 4K production looked sharper here than on the Blu-ray, and colors/blacks felt stronger as well. The 4K UHD became a nice upgrade visually.
No extras appear on the 4K disc, but the included Blu-ray copy provides a mix of featurettes, and From Game to Screen runs 21 minutes, 30 seconds. It includes comments from writer Greg Russo, director Simon McQuoid, prosthetics makeup supervisor Larry Van Duynhoven, costume designer Cappi Ireland, supervising location manager Jacob McIntyre, production designer Naaman Marshall, visual effects supervisor Chris Godfrey, special effects supervisor Peter Stubbs, and actors Lewis Tan, Matilda Kimber, Mehcad Brooks, Jessica McNamee, Joe Taslim, Ludi Lin, Max Huang, and Chin Han.
“Screen” looks at the source video games and their adaptation to the 2021 movie as well as costumes, sets and locations, and various effects. “Screen” becomes more effective than I’d expect, as it brings a pretty good overview of some production choices.
Fan Favorite Characters breaks into 11 segments, each of which looks at a specific Kombat role. All together, these occupy 16 minutes, 51 seconds and involve McQuoid, Tan, Russo, McNamee, Taslim, Brooks, Ireland, Han, Lin, Huang, and actors Josh Lawson, Tadanobu Asano, Hiroyuki Sanada, and Sisi Stringer.
We get quick summaries of these 11 characters. These tend to remain brief and rudimentary, though a handful of insights emerge.
Next comes Fight Koreography, a nine-minute, five-second featurette with info from McQuoid, Brooks, Taslim, Sanada, Huang, McNamee, Lawson, Lin, Stringer, Tan, Russo, 2nd unit director/stunt coordinator Kyle Gardiner and fight choreographer Chan Griffin.
As expected, “Koreography” looks at the design and execution of the movie’s battle sequences. It offers a mostly engaging discussion of the subject matter.
Into the Krypt goes for four minutes, 11 seconds and involves McQuoid as he goes through the film’s Easter eggs. This offers a fun look at some hidden elements.
Finally, Anatomy of a Scene splits into seven featurettes with a total running time of 11 minutes, 57 seconds. Across these, we hear from McQuoid as he provides his thoughts on some specific scenes. It’s too bad McQuoid didn’t give us a commentary, as he provides some good info.
Four Deleted Scenes span a total of four minutes, 13 seconds. These tend to offer brief character expansions, none of which seem especially compelling.
26 years after the franchise’s initial big-screen foray, Mortal Kombat reboots in a moderately satisfying manner. While the film could fare better, it does enough right to keep the audience generally engaged. The 4K UHD boasts excellent picture and audio as well as a decent set of supplements. I suspect fans of the series will like this cinematic revival.
To rate this film visit the prior review of MORTAL KOMBAT
