How Mortal Kombat 2021 Gets EVERYTHING Wrong

2. Raiden Isn't Raiden

1995's Christopher Lambert was barely Raiden, Annihilation's James Rebar lost more of the look and strayed even further from how the character comes across in the games.

Tadanobu Asano's Raiden, though? He just seems bored and annoyed at life itself. All scenes feature some of the most weirdly distanced acting in Asano's career, likely driven by the combination of director Simon McQuoid being a first-timer, and Greg Russo meaning well, but continuing to ignore source material.

This is a Raiden who says he "can't get involved" before the tournament... then proceeds to teleport every character - both his warriors and Shang Tsung's people - to specific spots for the final few fights.

Why couldn't he do this earlier? Why did Kung Lao have to die? Where even was Raiden while his temple was under attack, if he's aware of where everyone is at all times??

When asked about this he simply sniggers and looks away... adding to the feeling that Russo had given up at this point, and that this version of Raiden's powers break the movie, the more you think about them.