MovieChat Forums > Mortal Kombat (2021) Discussion > Disgusting... turning Liu Kang gay...

Disgusting... turning Liu Kang gay...

posted 4 years ago by cyguration (3951)
156 replies | jump to latest

WTF was that?

He's born into the gutter as an orphan who becomes a child prostitute and unlocks his power after killing his pimp?!?! WTF?!

Absolutely disgusting.

And to top it all off:

1: They race-swap Mileena for no apparent reason and the actress they got was neither a good martial artist nor notable in the role. It was literally blackwashing a character to be woke and it made the character worse for it.

2: They race-swapped Raiden with a guy who could barely speak English, and sleepwalked through his role with ZERO conviction. Christopher Lambert has never been a good actor but he played Raiden with convincing charm in the 1995 film. This guy -- when you could understand him -- made no sense with his character portrayal and was 100% forgettable.

3: Reiko in the game is an awesome and formidable character with an interesting story, but here he's a yelling big man played by what looks like Nathan Jones.

4: Sonya giving the exposition about Mortal Kombat and introducing the insufferable cole to the tournament made ZERO sense.

5: Turning Liu Kang gay was disgusting.

6: Kano was the only actor in the film with charisma (and it's sad that I was actually rooting for him to win against Sonya, that's how insufferable the "good guys" were).

7: Cole's wife fighting Goro and then trying to run him over with the truck was the most feminist bullcrap I've ever seen in a movie in recent times. I nearly eye-rolled so hard I could feel my head tilting.

8: All the Scorpion stuff was fascinating, well-filmed, decently written, and choreographed but it was too little too late. The entire movie should have been themed around Scorpion; Sanada also played him well. During the first ten minutes all I could think was "This would be an awesome movie if they just focused on Hanzo turning into Scorpion and coming back to get revenge against Sub-Zero", but no we get that awful garbage with Cole and his family.

9: I hope Cole dies in the sequel so they don't add him to any future games.

10: Everyone who said the 1995 film was better was right.

[–] horroreporter (231) 4 years ago

how is Kang gay? Explain? he was married

[–] redban (6165) 4 years ago

He wasn't married in this film; no indication of a wife

The movie implied that he was gay with Kung Lao. Look at Lui's reaction when Kung Lao dies ("NOOOO!"), and notice the romantic way Lui Kang says, "We were always supposed to die together."

[–] msegmx (444) 4 years ago

Dude, wtf? IIRC they were cousins..?

[–] redban (6165) 4 years ago

Nothing in this movie indicated / suggested that they are cousins

[–] [deleted] 4 years ago

[deleted]

[–] cyguration (3951) 4 years ago

He called him "cousin", but he explains to Cole that they're not related by blood. He met Kung Lao after escaping from his pimp and joining the temple.

It really is disgusting.

[–] [deleted] 4 years ago

[deleted]

[–] horroreporter (231) 4 years ago

Wait you're not talking about the MMA fighter? Isn't that who you were implying or the fire dude and the hat frisbee?They were cousins, squeaky cheeks.

[–] cyguration (3951) 4 years ago

No, they weren't actually cousins. Pay attention to Liu's conversation with Cole while he was tending to his wound in the most effeminate way possible.

Liu explains that after he escaped from his pimp he joined the temple and that's where he met Kung Lao. He called him cousin, but they weren't actually cousins.

[–] galahadfairlight (414) 4 years ago

But youre sure they were gay?

Nothing onscreen supports that view of those two

[–] cyguration (3951) 4 years ago

Kung Lao certainly didn't act gay, but Liu Kang absolutely did; everything from his mannerisms, to his backstory, to affectionately saying he and Kung Lao were supposed to die together.

[–] Xaccah (93) 4 years ago

They're related to each other

[–] [deleted] 4 years ago

[deleted]

[–] Threadkiller (3075) 4 years ago

1: They race-swap Mileena for no apparent reason and the actress they got was neither a good martial artist nor notable in the role. It was literally blackwashing a character to be woke and it made the character worse for it.

"Race swap"? Pray tell, what race do you believe Kitana/Mileena is supposed to be? A character who has switched around from being depicted by white, Latino, & Asian actresses/models since the 90s. How is the "race swap" suddenly a problem to make note of when this iteration of the character happens to be a black actress? P.S. white supremacist shitbags love throwing the term "blackwashing" around so not helping credibility there.

[–] cyguration (3951) 4 years ago

Because Mileena/Kitana are Edenian, have been since their creation. They have always looked Mediterranean/Polynesian.

Taliso Soto was perfect casting for Kitana because she had that exotic Asian look that matched how Kitana/Mileena were portrayed in the games and comic books for the last 30 YEARS.

The problem is that anti-white racists like you always defend blackwashing characters but never explain WHY they have to be blackwashed.

Just like Black Panther could be played by a white guy who grew up in Africa. He doesn't HAVE to be black, and there are plenty of white Africans in Africa. You'll jump through hoops to explain how Black Panther's race is integral to his character while dismissing how NON-black characters like Kitana/Mileena should be raceswapped with no more an explanation than "just because".

Worse yet is that the actress was TERRIBLE as Mileena. She had ZERO charisma, didn't look like Mileena, couldn't fight, and she was bottom heavy and short. She looked awful on screen. There was literally NO redeeming qualities about her or her performance as Mileena and she was completely forgettable in the role.

Now go on and perform the mental gymnastics that you Lefties are known for, I need you to amuse me.

[–] Threadkiller (3075) 4 years ago

"The problem is that anti-white racists like you always defend blackwashing characters but never explain WHY they have to be blackwashed."

It's certainly in line with white supremacist logic that one must be "anti white"(i.e. supremacist) for daring to call out very inconsistent complaints about "race swapping" where Asian, White, Latino is fine but a black ? Oh no! "Woke" race swap alert! Not being a demented white supremacist degenerate though, I simply don't obsess about these things

I had no problem with any of the "race swaps" of Kitana/Mileena, including the latest one. I'm not familiar with the source material and thus not particularly attached so I wouldn't have had a problem with Black Panther going the route of Wakanda being a mullti racial society.

[–] cyguration (3951) 4 years ago

I'm not familiar with the source material and thus not particularly attached so I wouldn't have had a problem with Black Panther going the route of Wakanda being a mullti racial society.

That's good to hear.

As Marvel eventually has to recast Black Panther, I'll be sure to point people to this post indicating that casual consumers of comic book fanfare wouldn't mind a white Black Panther ;)

[–] Moonglum9 (11267) 4 years ago

Would he be Grey Panther then?

[–] cyguration (3951) 4 years ago

Ah, something in the middle for all the chocolate and vanilla fans.

[–] UncleRuckis (2627) 4 years ago

I stopped reading at the Mileena thing. Judging by her teeth, i'm pretty sure she was still half Tarkaatan/half Edenian. And considering how Mileena looked in MK9, this was actually pretty spot on casting.

[–] cyguration (3951) 4 years ago

This is how Mileena originally looked in Mortal Kombat 3:
https://img.favpng.com/25/9/8/ultimate-mortal-kombat-3-mileena-kitana-jade-png-favpng-3Rvp3S5jDXbNsbhBfCgWVfEyE.jpg

This is how Mileena looked in Mortal Kombat 9:
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/59/e0/5a/59e05a7319a752ddc09c17fb2446a78b.jpg

This is how Mileena looked in Mortal Kombat 11:
https://i.ytimg.com/vi/CcvtROjk-xY/maxresdefault.jpg

Mileena never has been and never SHOULD have been black.

She's a clone of Kitana, which means that her and Kitana should be the same race, and Kitana by and far is not and has not EVER been black.

It's amazing that they Asian-swapped a bunch of characters yet they decided to blackwash a character who was supposed to look somewhat Asian and has ALWAYS looked Mediterranean/Polynesian for the last 30 YEARS.

[–] Kowalski (75523) 4 years ago

YOU ARE A BAD EGG.🙄

[–] 123 (543) 4 years ago

However I think some people may have had different subtitles - here's the full talk between Lui and Cole while he was dressing his wound:

Let me see your wound.

Liu...
How do I find my arcana?

It must come from your soul.

Whatever it is that drives you.

So how did you find your arcana?

Unlike Kung Lao, I was just a worthless stray.

For reasons beyond my ken,

Master Bo' Rai Cho found me half dead in the gutter and brought me to the Wu Shi Academy.

There, I was given a purpose.

A brother...

Kung Lao.

And I met Lord Raiden.

Kung Lao and I have served together.

Upon graduation, I was given a name of a man.

He was a purveyor of rare things.

Children.

Orphans like me.

He had a marking,

so I chose to take it from him.

And in that moment, my arcana came forth.

I don't know if Liu was suppose to be gay in the movie - but he looked way to girly for the role and it just made it weird - can't say whether that was the actor or this movie character's portrayal

[–] msegmx (444) 4 years ago

Nothing indicates that the character is gay. Mistreated as a child, yes, but gay, no.

[–] cyguration (3951) 4 years ago

Nothing indicates that the character is gay.

He's depicted as EXTREMELY effeminate in the movie. The way he interacts with Kung Lao, the way he talks about Kung Lao, his little comment that they were supposed to die together (no straight guy says that about another man all teary eyed like that). The way he was gently touching and caressing Cole while tending to his arm (no straight guy touches another guy like that), and all of his mannerisms and gait were extremely effeminate.

And the whole child prostitute thing.... just... ugh.

[–] msegmx (444) 4 years ago

Nah, it was more a "brothers in arms" type of thing, and he literally burned Cole's wound. It's just the way the actor is built, small, skinny, with no facial hair, but that doesn't mean Kang is gay. That being said, I don't like his backstory either.

[–] freefallin (37) 3 years ago

I think you're an idiot or a troll but there was nothing to indicate that Liu Kang was gay, not that there's anything wrong with that. He was never a child prostitute. He said he was a stray found by Bo Rai Cho, taken to the Wu Shi academy. After he graduated he was given the name of a man who exploited children and Kang killed him. Where did you get child prostitute and "his pimp" from?

He sees Lao as a brother so when he says they were supposed to die together I understood it as die together fighting in Mortal Kombat.

He's sticking needles into Cole's wounds of course he's going to be gentle about it.

You're so focused on seeing gay things that you can't even understand the movie correctly.

[–] cyguration (3951) 3 years ago

"Where did you get child prostitute and "his pimp" from?"

He literally says the man exploited orphans like him, and clenched his fist -- it was pretty obvious he was referencing his childhood based on how emotional he became when mentioning the man preyed on orphans.

not that there's anything wrong with that.

Another Left-wing nut who has zero respect for the source material.

Typical. Do they breed you bunch in a tube someplace?

[–] freefallin (37) 3 years ago

He literally says the man exploited orphans like him, and clenched his fist -- it was pretty obvious he was referencing his childhood based on how emotional he became when mentioning the man preyed on orphans.

Or maybe he just really hated people who prey on children? Regardless, even if he was abused as an orphan that doesn't automatically make him gay.

Another Left-wing nut who has zero respect for the source material.

What source material? The original video games that don't mention Kang's sexuality at all or the later games where the characters have all sorts of different endings including getting killed off? Or the '90s films where they were making shit up also? I don't care if Kang is straight or gay but you're basing this on zero proof except he "seems gay".

Typical. Do they breed you bunch in a tube someplace?

Yea away from hateful trash like you.

[–] cyguration (3951) 3 years ago

What source material? The original video games that don't mention Kang's sexuality at all or the later games where the characters have all sorts of different endings including getting killed off? Or the '90s films where they were making shit up also? I don't care if Kang is straight or gay but you're basing this on zero proof except he "seems gay".

Liu Kang and Kitana literally got married... MULTIPLE TIMES!

It's canon that he's heterosexual. This is why you Lefties need to stay out of our hobbies. All you do is ruin it with degenerate retcons.

[–] freefallin (37) 3 years ago

The only one who's saying he's gay is you. Maybe you got some special gaydar.
I hope they do make a famous MK character officially gay so we can really see you b|tch and moan. That would be funny.

GG

[–] 123 (543) 4 years ago

I don't know whether he was gay or not but he looked way too feminine/girly, that you can tell the first second he shows up in the desert.

[–] ajm2259 (128) 4 years ago

I didn’t get the impression that Liu Kang was gay- or straight or bi. As for him and Kung Lao I think it was like a soldier losing a close friend in combat. As for the “girly” part- I remember an Army NCO told us once “Privates, just because a soldier has a high pitched voice does not mean he is “alternative lifestyle”

[–] 123 (543) 4 years ago

I don't know whether he was gay or not as he did't say anything to that effect in the film.

Lui Kang's girly/feminity wasn't just one thing it was everything about him, the way he looked, talked, stood and I've seen asian movies where brotherly love is expressed and that isn't the same, but this was aimed more towards the alternative lifestyle.

If not gay looking then definitely too metro-sexual at least.

[–] ajm2259 (128) 3 years ago

Perhaps he had no other ways to pass time outside of training so he decided he may as well have fabulous hair.

[–] Alex (1503) 4 years ago

Dude, you transcribed the whole scene and didn't notice how super gay Liu Kang was acting? Dude was literally staring into Cole's eyes and puffing up his lips like he was about to kiss him. Such a weird scene. Even Cole looked confused as fuck.

[–] 123 (543) 4 years ago

I said he was gay looking but that's not the same as definitely say he was gay as he didn't kiss or shag any bloke or outright say he was gay, all i can say he acted very girly and feminine and looked to be pointed in that direction, even cole was gay looking in that scene.

[–] blue1981 (7740) 4 years ago

Well Kung Lao and Liu Kang said they were cousins. In the game Milenna seemed to have a darker complexion and does it really matter when she's hiding behind those teeth. Based on the character's history you always assume Raiden was of Asian descent.

[–] cyguration (3951) 4 years ago

They said they were cousins, but Liu Kang explains to Cole that he met Kung Lao at the academy and that they weren't actually related by blood.

In the game Milenna seemed to have a darker complexion and does it really matter when she's hiding behind those teeth.

I have no idea which games you've been playing but Mileena has always looked of some kind of mixed Asian/middle-east/Mediterranean descent.

Her model from Mortal Kombat 3:
https://img.favpng.com/25/9/8/ultimate-mortal-kombat-3-mileena-kitana-jade-png-favpng-3Rvp3S5jDXbNsbhBfCgWVfEyE.jpg

Her model from Mortal Kombat 9:
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/59/e0/5a/59e05a7319a752ddc09c17fb2446a78b.jpg

Her model from Mortal Kombat 11:
https://i.ytimg.com/vi/CcvtROjk-xY/maxresdefault.jpg

You're getting her confused with Jade and Tonya, both of whom have darker complexions.

Race-swapping Mileena was pointless, and as I said, the actress did a horrible job with the character since Mileena has both a beauty complex and a psychotic vicious streak, neither of which the actress highlighted in her performance, in addition to not being very good at martial arts.

They could have turned Nitara black in that case, since no one cares about her, or just use Jade or Tonya.

Based on the character's history you always assume Raiden was of Asian descent.

Well he was always portrayed as white in the movies and games. They could have gone with Michael Wong in that case, because at least he has the stature of Raiden and could have convincingly enunciated his lines.

[–] blue1981 (7740) 4 years ago

You’re taking the movie way too seriously and acting as if it went full woketard. I’d call it pretty good as a video game movie and my only complaint will get fixed in the sequel with the inclusion of Johnny Cage.

[–] cyguration (3951) 4 years ago

No I'm not, I'm evaluating it based both on the source material and on a movie that came out more than 20 years ago that did it better than this [current year] travesty.

The biggest problem is that we have WAY too many Left-centric softies who have been brainwashed by terrible writing, character assassinations, and awful casting to not see the problem(s) glaring at them in the face.

Nothing I said in my previous comment was wrong, which is why you had to deflect with a non-sequitur instead of addressing my points.

I didn't have these same criticisms about the 1995 film (although I could probably write a whole dissertation on the problems with the sequel). The difference between the two was that Paul W.S. Anderson said he wanted to make a faithful adaptation of the source material, and for all intents and purposes he did (quality aside).

This reboot is awful in almost every way save for Kano and Scorpion (and I suppose Sub-Zero, who was treated like a boss/sub-boss of sorts).

And if you think they're going to "fix" anything with the sequel based on how much they butchered the characters and story in this movie then you're more gullible than I gave you credit for. Anyone who doesn't see how they're going to undermine Johnny Cage in one way or another is probably the same kind of person who lines up to buy bridges.

[–] Kowalski (75523) 4 years ago

YOU WERE YOUNG WHEN THE FIRST ONE CAME OUT...YOURE WRONG ABOUT ITS QUALITY...YOU HAVE NOSTALGIC LOVE...NOW YOURE OLDER AND WAY MORE JADED...THE NEW FLICK NEVER STOOD A CHANCE...BTW...ITS BETTER THAN THE 95 VERSION IN ALMOST EVERY WAY.

[–] cyguration (3951) 4 years ago

Except the new movie doesn't have a coherent plot structure (something the 1995 film did). The new movie has annoying "good guys", with only Kung Lao acting like his video game counterpart. The rest are out of place.

Kano was more likable as a villain than any of the heroes.

In the original 1995 film, I was rooting for Johnny Cage and Liu Kang. Liden Ashby had excellent charisma and great screen presence.

The fight scenes were all better in the 1995 film.

And with the exception of the first ten minutes of the new reboot, the quality of the 1995 film was far better than the nonsensical setups, scenarios, and character interactions in the reboot.

There were also plot holes galore (such as why didn't Sub-Zero kill Cole's family? What did Mileena care about whether Sonya was chosen or not? Why didn't Shang Tsung just teleport the heroes over a pit and let them fall to their deaths? Where did the monks get the robotic prostheses from? And why was Sonya living in a trailer park junkyard instead of operating out of a military base?).

The whole movie was a mess.

[–] Kowalski (75523) 4 years ago

YES...WE ALL GET IT...YOUR OPINION HAS BEEN TOLD AND RETOLD AD NAUSEUM...DOESNT CHANGE THE FACT THAT ITS NOT FACT,BUT JUST YOUR OPINION...YOU ARE AWARE YOU CAN LIVE YOUR LIFE WITHOUT DEVELOPING PMS EVERYTIME SOMEONE DOESNT MIRROR YOUR THOUGHTS,RIGHT?

[–] maximmm (3335) 4 years ago

To be fair, this movie was panned by pretty much everyone of relevance.

If this movie went full woke, I think the ratings would have been higher, since some critics have full-on orgasms when it comes to such things.

[–] blue1981 (7740) 4 years ago

Exactly!!!! The 1995 version of Mortal Kombat was widely viewed as the best video game movie adaptation at the time. That’s not much of an accomplishment given the bar has been so low. I look at now and the effects are horribly dated, and it’s held back by the PG-13 rating. The new movie did a better job of getting into the MK lore and the R rating allowed the violence to go uncensored.

[–] Alex (1503) 4 years ago

The new movie did what?
Jack's Arcana grew him ROBOT ARMS? Is THIS the fucking MK LORE YOU BEEN DREAMING ABOUT?
Cole's Arcana is literally plot armor!
YOU FUCKEN DONKEY.

[–] Alex (1503) 4 years ago

U FOKING WOT M8????

[–] Kowalski (75523) 4 years ago

I DONT SPEAK SPRAY PAINT...SORRY.🤔

[–] Alex (1503) 4 years ago

LIFT UP YOUR SHIT-STAINED FINGER OFF OF YOUR SHIFT KEY AND SPEAK LIKE A HUMAN BEAN.

[–] Kowalski (75523) 4 years ago

DOES YOUR MOTHER KNOW YOU HAVE HER PHONE?🤨

[–] Alex (1503) 4 years ago

DOES YOUR FATHER KNOW YOU EVEN EXIST?

[–] Kowalski (75523) 4 years ago

ON A MOMENT TO MOMENT BASIS?...PROBABLY NOT...HE LIVES IN MY FAMILY ROOM AND SMOKES POT 24/7...BUT OVERALL?...YES,HE KNOWS I EXIST.🙂

[–] moviechatterer (15583) 4 years ago

now that was funny

[–] TriumphReq (1857) 4 years ago

Snowflake, So like Mortal Kombat has to be rightist politically correct now? Cannot offend the Baptists.

Can't have gays or feminists or whatever the hell ever. It's the DIRECTOR'S CHOICE to put whatever he/she wants into the movie! Stop enforcing your beliefs on everyone else.

cyguration is a clusterfuck of political correctness.