1.) Authenticity - Characters look and behave like we know them to, NOT like whatever the directors and writers think would make a good movie to the point that they screw everything up.
2.) Atmosphere - Things must look and feel like whatever the latest best MK game looks and feels like.
3.) Story/Scripting - I dunno why so many of them fudge on this. But I think by now we should be able to have a game-based movie that can be followed from the games, into and through the movie, and back into the games as cannon material.
There's plenty of opportunity for other things as well.
Also, good actors and intelligent character scripting is key. It's unacceptable to have good character portrayals through the actors that they pick, but then have to sit through a bunch of neanderthal-like speech impediments, awkward pauses, segues and so on. All because the writers suck. Or, because whoever influences how the characters speak think they should adhere to stereotypes and so on. Mis-communication between teammates kills me when I'm watching a good film. Intelligence and the presumption of common sense on the basis of "team" is vital.
4.) Screenplay and Computer Graphics - I cannot stand to be puzzled as to why one scene connects to another one without making sense to be the way it is. Quirky miss-matching cuts between scenes and story progressions just makes the movie feel stupid. There's a prime example of this but I can't think of the name of the film right off hand.
- Also, it's getting easier to end up with really good CG stuff. What was great before, is now the norm, and it's cheaper. So I don't see why they'd slack here. The more crisp and realistic things look according to the visual branding the movie establishes the better. They know this, and I hope that with the WB lable, stuff like this is fixed right out. Spend the money on great effects. Even for brief scenes. I mean, there's t.v. shows out there now with pretty good looking CG stuff now. "Heros" is one of them, right?
Choreography and Director - Mortal Kombat needs fantastic choreography. *shrugs* It's a fighting movie. So, if we can tell the actors are on strings the whole movie, it's a wash. If there are those odd, but "maybe they could get away with it because of the camera angle" shots in the movie....it's a wash. We can see all that crap man. MK needs the pros...John Woo for example = Action + Martial Arts director.
The people associated with the 1st MK movie were good. But better is needed now.
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Alot of things make a good movie in general, because there is alot that can make or break a film. What can happen is that one thing that they fudge on can ruin the whole experience, so I have respect for the craft. I'm just a bit more unforgiving considering everything MK is about, and how common it is now to see other movies accomplish what MK is about now.
Some movies that are heavy on CG and Story stuff are like:
The Mummy series - it's not bad for what they had to work with.
The Forbidden Kingdom - Jet Li + Jackie Chan + Alot of Story + Alot of CG
In the future, I think a cross between a couple types of movies would do MK well.
Horror, Martial Arts Action, Drama, Fantasy, Thriller.
It should be a scary, fight for your life, consuming, fantasy, roller coaster.
Or something to that effect. Like a Martial Arts action flick with Jason, Freddy Kruger, Michael Myers, and Hellrasiser in it, with a Star Wars or Lord of the Rings backdrop. Like one of these Comic book based movies, but obviously scarier, and more mature because of the relationships and consequences in the film.
mmm...yea, something like that.
