I had little hope for this movie. But it pleasantly surprised me. No, it's not a masterpiece by a long shot, but it is decent. There were even some moments that were actually great.
That said there are problems, the lead actor is terrible, zero acting skills, if we drew a pair of eyes on a piece of wood, it would probably do a better job than this guy. Thankfully his co-stars make up for most of it, most notably Sonya and Kano, who both are pretty well played.
Probably due to the actor the introduction segment of the main hero is the worst part of the movie and it drags out, or perhaps it just seemed long due to his ineptitude. Another bad casting choice was Raiden, he seems insignificant, no gravitas like they cast throwaway henchman #14 as Raiden. He almost fades into the background in every scene he is in, when he is supposed to dominate.
The actress who plays Sonya I saw before and liked her there too. Although I couldn't tell you what movie that was, maybe The Meg?
There is plenty of gratuitous gore, but I don't say that as a negative, I really missed that in movies. There were some real "hell yeah" moments. There are also some references to the games, but 2 out of 3 times those felt really forced and cringe worthy.
The fight choreography is so - so. Let's say adequate for the most part. There was one moment that stood out to me like a sore thumb in the very beginning when the main character is introduced as a mediocre MMA fighter. He has the opponent in a hold, that literally should've been game over, but somehow through movie magic the opponent gets out of it. That was a real facepalm moment, instantly sending everyone to take a step back who has the slightest understanding of combat sports.
Overall I'd recommend the movie. I'll give it a generous 6 out of 10.