Mortal Kombat Movie Review and Castlevania Season 1

This movies week we talk video movie adaption from Mortal Kombat the Movie (2021) to Netflix's tv series Castlevania Season 1. Remember as always spoilers.

Mortal Kombat is a 2021 American martial arts fantasy film based on the video game franchise of the same name and a reboot of the Mortal Kombat film series. The film stars Lewis Tan, Jessica McNamee, Josh Lawson, Tadanobu Asano, Mehcad Brooks, Ludi Lin, Max Huang, Chin Han, Joe Taslim, and Hiroyuki Sanada. It is directed by Simon McQuoid (in his feature directorial debut), from a screenplay by Greg Russo and Dave Callaham and a screen story by Russo and Oren Uziel. The film follows Cole Young, a washed-up mixed martial arts fighter who is unaware of his hidden lineage or why assassin Sub-Zero is hunting him down. Concerned for the safety of his family, he seeks out a clique of fighters that were chosen to defend Earthrealm against Outworld.

Following the critical and commercial failure of the 1997 film Mortal Kombat: Annihilation, a third Mortal Kombat film languished in development hell for a period of nearly two decades. In late 2010, Warner Bros. Pictures and New Line Cinema (whose parent company acquired the franchise from Midway Games in 2009) began developing a new film, with Kevin Tancharoen serving as director from a script written by Uziel in the wake of their Mortal Kombat: Rebirth short film. James Wan was announced as a producer in August 2015 and McQuoid was hired as director in November 2016. Production took place at Adelaide Studios in Adelaide and at other locations in South Australia. Principal photography occurred from September to December 2019.

Mortal Kombat was released theatrically internationally on April 8, 2021, and was then released in the United States on April 23, simultaneously in theaters in IMAX and on the HBO Max streaming service. The film received mixed reviews according to Metacritic, with the Rotten Tomatoes consensus calling it "largely for fans". The film has grossed $81.7 million worldwide and became a streaming hit for HBO Max, being its most-successful film launch to-date.

Castlevania is an American anime-influenced adult animated streaming television series on Netflix produced by Frederator Studios. Based on the Japanese video game series of the same name by Konami, the first two seasons adapt the 1989 entry Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse and follow Trevor Belmont, Alucard and Sypha Belnades as they defend the nation of Wallachia from Dracula and his minions. Additionally, characters and elements from the 2005 entry Castlevania: Curse of Darkness are featured beginning in the second season, and Alucard's backstory is drawn from Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. The art style is heavily influenced by Japanese animation and Ayami Kojima's artwork.

The series was originally planned as a film, developed by producer Kevin Kolde and his company Project 51. Kolde had a contract for a script with writer Warren Ellis in 2007. The project entered development hell until about 2015, when Adi Shankar boarded the project and it was picked up by streaming service Netflix. Powerhouse Animation Studios joined the team and production commenced. The production team includes staff members who worked in the Japanese anime industry.

The series premiered on Netflix on July 7, 2017, and was renewed for an expanded second season of eight episodes on the same day; the second season premiered on October 26, 2018. A ten-episode third season was greenlit by Netflix and released on March 5, 2020. The series ended with the release of its fourth season on May 13, 2021. A new series set in the Castlevania universe is in the works at Netflix.