The new Mortal Kombat, director Simon McQuoid’s feature film debut, is lightyears better than the 1995 iteration in both martial arts fight scenes and special effects, a promising start to the new franchise. This is a film that delivers for fans the signature moves and classic lines from the video game. All your favorites are here: Sonya Blade (Jessica McNamee), Lord Raiden (Tadanobu Asano), Kano (Josh Lawson), Bi-Han AKA Sub-Zero (Joe Taslim), Hanzo Hasashi AKA Scorpion (Hiroyuki Sanada), Shang Tsung (Chin Han), Jax (Mehcad Brooks), and many others. They even tease Johnny Cage who is sure to appear in the sequel. The story centers around a new character, Cole Young (Lewis Tan), a failed MMA fighter and descendant of Scorpion, who joins a team of powered-up martial artists to defend against Outworld. It is cheesy, loaded with just the right amount of blood and gore, and provides the mediocre acting you expect from the Mortal Kombat of yore. McNamee is especially cringeworthy. But the film moves along enough to keep audiences engaged with well-choreographed fight scenes, snappy one-liners, and a tight-paced story with a third act that delivers without dragging, something most action films could learn from. Sure, I shook my head and rolled my eyes, but this is Mortal Kombat. It will be less than a month before I watch it again.