hong kong, united states, 1973, englishNot sure I understand why this isn’t better reviewed here. It’s a masterpiece. A threadbare plot but it doesn’t matter at all. Mortal Kombat wasn’t trying to copy just any random action film for its entire story, only the best!
ROBERT CLOUSE
Enter the Dragon
There is a purity to a great action film that is hard to match in almost any other genre. It’s possible to make a credible film that is stripped back to the barest essentials. This film has no real message, barely a story, but it’s got everything it needs to be an absolute masterpiece of the genre it’s in.
A lot of that has to do with Bruce Lee, who is once again radiant, and I finally get that whole “finger pointed to the moon” meme. But that’s not the whole story. Everyone and everything combines in this film to make something perfectly right and correct. Even as the plot holes are obvious. Even as the backstories are barely sketches. Even as huge elements are never even vaguely explained. None of that matters.
I suppose that’s why it was so easy for Mortal Kombat to rip the entire thing off. Video Games are “art” says the aficionado, and I agree, but historically the storytelling has been... lackluster let’s say, when compared to other more established genres. That doesn’t matter at all here, because it’s a marriage of two things that require almost no plot. Just world development, something that the game does far better than the film actually.
I love so much that Criterion has never thought themselves “above” a film like this. They know that it’s not about high art, or low art, but rather just art. They want to preserve and present the best in every genre, and this qualifies for that without a doubt. Layered on top is the transcendent brilliance of Lee. But even without that, it would still belong. Because it’s perfect.