Mortal Kombat (1995)

based on the best-selling home video game, this action adventuretells of a group of expert fighters who compete in a dangerous tournament for the fate of mankind on a mysterious island.

No way this movie will ever get old

Gripped by the same wave excitement that hit me when I first heard the theme music playing as the MK logo came up on screen. The film is pure action entertainment, closer to Whasango (Volcano High) than Fist of Legend in terms of fight value. One of those movies where you can't take it just for the action, nor just for the cheesy story line, nor the nerd-thrilling presentation. Gotta take it as a whole package while you're chilling with your buddies coz it can do nothing but ROCK YOUR WORLD! December 28, 2008

Shallow and predictable

When you take a video game where the whole game is simply one-on-one fighting, there is not much story to go with. Apparently the makers of this movie simply accepted that fact and said "so what?"

The action scenes are at times enjoyable, at times laughable, and at times boring. But more importantly, there are other ways they could have worked the use of fight scenes into this movie. That's one of the (few) things that they did better in the second film. Simply saying "we're here for a Mortal Kombat tournament" is easy but uninteresting.

That said, it is interesting the ways they worked in some of the elements of the games. Those would only really matter to fans of the plotless video game series. November 20, 2008

Still is the Best Video Game Movie of All time - ^^

Hello folks.

I persoanlly think this is the best video game movie ever made. not that many video game movies even come close with the exception of final fantasy VII advent children.

I saw this movie in theaters back in 1995 , when I was only 9 years old. this was also during the year of Mortal Kombat 3.

the thing that made me happy was that my all time favorite kombatant , Rayden , was played very well by Christopher Lambert. rumor has it that he might return in the upcoming 2010 Mortal Kombat Movie. which would rock if that happends because Christopher Lambert is perfect for the role.

Robin Shou as Liu Kang was in deed convincing. although in the next movie it wasnt.

it was infact that this movie was inspired by notjust the 1st mortal kombat game , but the second as well. remember near the end when they go to outworld , that was in Mortal Kombat II. same as Sonya being chained up.

the one and only problem I have with this movie is that reptile had bugs for blood or something. I didnt really get that part at all. why did reptile have bugs for blood? can anyone explain it to me?

but still , I give it 5 stars. just because it brings back good memoires and still rocks to this very day.

Mortal kombat the first movie still stands as the all time greatest video game movie ever made. September 11, 2008

Stills Puts Up A Good Fight

Love him or hate him, we video game fans need to tip our caps to director Paul Anderson: regardless of whether you enjoyed his adaptation of "Resident Evil", he gave us our first decent game-to-movie outing when he pioneered "Mortal Kombat" - still considered by some to be the best movie-ization of a video game, period. Indeed, "Kombat" came as a breath of fresh air after the stiflingly insipid attempts that were "Super Mario Bros.", "Double Dragon", and "Street Fighter: The Movie", for not only did it follow the in-game storyline to a degree that is unmatched even today, but it disproved the unfounded belief that a "beat-by-beat" adaptation of a game would be boring and unsuccessful.
A recent re-viewing of the film allowed me to cast a slightly more humbled view upon it, but it still remains one of my favorite entries of the genre, and should be standard viewing for any director about to tackle a game-related project.

Deviating minimally from the game, the plot goes like so...
When otherworldly forces led by an evil sorcerer (Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, "The Last Emperor") threaten Earthrealm, mortal warriors are called upon by the god Rayden (Christopher Lambert, "Highlander") to take part in an ancient tournament known as Mortal Kombat to decide the fate of our world. At the heart of the resistance are Liu Kang (Robin Shou, "Beverly Hills Ninja"), Johnny Cage (Linden Ashby, "The Young and the Restless"), and Sonya Blade (Bridgette Wilson, "The Wedding Planner") - a young monk running from his destiny, a movie star looking to prove his legitimacy, and a special forces agent hunting a murderer: three strangers, connected only by destiny, who must band together if they are to serve not only the Earth, but their very souls.

"Okay, the storyline stays true to the game, but is the rest of the movie any good?"
An action/fantasy, "MK" relies more on spectacle than acting to win over audiences, and in this, it succeeds. Though outdated by modern standards, the film showcases CGI animation that was top-of-the-line for its time. And action? - the movie has little time to waste between its fast-paced martial arts encounters.
To break it down, Johnny Cage vs. Scorpion and Liu vs. Reptile are very good; Liu, Sonya, and Johnny vs. guards, Liu vs. the lion warrior, Liu vs. Sub-Zero, and Liu vs. Shang Tsung range between good and decent; both fights involving Goro and Sonya vs. Kano (Trevor Goddard, "J.A.G.") are rather poor.

In addition, the film suffers from a style of 'pop direction' (minimal character development, lots of pose-striking during fights, and a storyline that ends up getting a bit lazy) that a is trademark of director Anderson but doesn't allow the film to appear like anything else than entertainment for young teens What the movie does have on its side is very good casting: while nobody won any awards for their performances, you'll be hard-pressed to find anybody who disagrees that Robin Shou was made for the role of Liu Kang, or that nobody besides Linden Ashby makes a good Johnny Cage. Even the ninjas and the fellow who did Goro's voice are well-suited to their roles - at least much more than previous incarnations like Bob Hoskins as Mario or Jean-Claude Van Damme as Colonel Guile.

While the film has its flaws and might not be the best action movie around, you'll find few gaming marks who have too many bad things to say about it, including me. Forget my negative comments for a moment and know that I'm very happy that this movie exists. No doubt it would've been a different film had it been made more recently, with more enduring graphics and a bit more action-cinema history to back it up, but the fact that it was made when it was and still managed to gain the acclaim that it did from both parties of viewers (action freaks and gaming geeks) says a lot. Video game fans, if you haven't yet seen it, then shame on you. Action fans, please proceed to your closest video rental shop... August 3, 2008

Can't get any better.

As a Mortal Kombat fan I couldn't ask for a better movie. Locations, characters, moves are just like the game. And this package comes with a decent plot, too. Only downside is the lack of gore in fatalities but in order to get a PG-13 rating they had to tone the fatalities down, but no complaints, they still look good.

I loved it, I own it and I watched it maybe 20 times and still enjoy it. July 16, 2008

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