Mortal Kombat (1995) Review

Is there any movie theme song out there that represents the Nineties better than Mortal Kombat’s does? If the Eighties had the uplifting cheese of The Eye of the Tiger, the Nineties had the banging techno vibes of The Immortal’s iconic dance track.

As a 10-year-old in 1995, I can recall eagerly awaiting the release of the movie adaptation of what was possibly my favourite game at the time, Mortal Kombat. And, upon its release I can assure you it did not disappoint.

Within ten minutes of this now legendary film, we have been introduced to our lead protagonists and antagonists and we know what makes them tick. Within twenty minutes, we know that the Earthrealm, and the world as we know it is at risk of being invaded from the Outworld. So, the stakes are high. While the special effects of this film have not withstood the test of time, and the acting is somewhat lacking, for a video game adaptation this film does a cracking job with its narratives. And let us be fair people, this is a movie based on a fighting game, it is an action film and as such, we are not asking for too much in the storytelling department.

So, anybody familiar with the games will likely know our lead combatants. Sonia Blade (Bridgette Wilson), the police officer who wishes to avenge her dead partner by killing ruffian Kano (Trevor Goddard); Liu Kang (Robin Shou), a young man who blames himself for the death of his brother and wishes to avenge him by defeating his murderer, Shang Tsung (Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa); and Johnny Cage (Linden Ashby), the cocky action movie star who wishes to legitimise his on-screen fighting skills by entering what is our titular tournament, Mortal Kombat.

I really feel that the opening of this film comes together very well. We see Liu Kang returning to China, meeting the God of Thunder, Lord Raiden (Christopher Lambert) and vowing to get revenge for the death of his brother. We get a bit of the brash American, Cage, battling with his self-image issues and being convinced to enter the shady sounding tournament in an effort to let folk know he’s the real deal. Prior to introducing Sonia Blade there is a scene with main antagonist, Tsung and his hired henchman, Kano where we hear a bit of conspiracy about their plans to lure our heroine to the tournament (this film has layers). Our three heroes convene at some misty docks, where they board an old ass ship and set sail.

On board, our three protagonists quickly team up and come face to face with Shang Tsung who subsequently introduces us to a couple more of his henchmen, Scorpion (Chris Casamassa) and Sub Zero (François Petit). We hear a little bit that alludes to the history between these two clan ninjas, before Raiden pops up and puts an end to any pre-tournament shenanigans and takes our Earthrealm warriors for a quiet word. The thunder god drops a bunch of knowledge on them and lets them know about their responsibilities defending the Earth. 

Arriving at Tsung’s mystical island that sits somewhere between the Earthrealm and Outworld, the shenanigans begin. Alongside what seems to be some manner of structured MMA tournament, we get several spur-of-the-moment duels. Throughout the film we get to see Blade vs Kano, Cage vs Scorpion and Liu Kang vs Sub Zero, I won’t spoil the outcomes but I’m sure you can guess who wins.

While some might argue that our protagonists are based on stereotypical archetypes, I am not sure this is a huge problem. I feel that these guy’s personal narratives are more important and carry the story forward nicely and we only get titbits of negative stereotypes, some of which the movie does pushback on. For example, Cage’s ogling of Blade gets called out by everybody’s favourite social justice warrior, Liu Kang.

Outside of our main heroes, we get a hint of Kitana (Talisa Soto), Princess of Outworld, and a couple of healthy doses of Kano, Reptile (Keith Cooke) and the four-armed Shoken prince, Goro (Tom Woodruff, Jr), all mainstays in the gaming franchise.

I am not entirely sure what is my favourite aspect of this movie is. I am of the opinion that it is not a great movie on the grand scale, but as far as a Nineties fighting game film adaptations go it really does tick off a number of boxes.

Perhaps my favourite thing is the marriage of the individual narratives that culminate at this wacky martial arts tournament. In addition to this is its depth. Drawing from a story already established in the original Mortal Kombat game, the movie uses well placed textual ruins taken from the sequel game to paint a picture of a world that is much deeper than the one we see on screen. A couple examples of this are: the references to Scorpion and Sub Zero’s rivalry that betray some manner of clan wars, one that is visually exacerbated by their clan colours – blue and orange; Goro and his proclamation that he is the Prince of Outworld’s Subterranean Realm immediately adds another layer of intrigue; and finally, we get a few name drops of the Outworld Emperor, Shao Khan (Frank Welker), the shadowy figure that is the ruler of the realm our movies main protagonist, Shang Tsung is from. Who doesn’t want more detail on these things?

Going into a rewatch of this classic I had a good idea that the special effects were not going to have dated well, still, they are simple and not unwatchable (I am thinking of 2021 audiences here). Additionally, I thought that the cheesy dialogue was going to be an issue, but no. I actually enjoyed the cheese, and keeping in mind the humour of the original games, thought it brighten what is a visually dark flick.

Perhaps the biggest issue with this film, as it is based on a martial art’s game, are the actual fight sequences. They’re nothing to write home about. Additionally, the introduction of Shao Khan at the end was pretty weak.

So, with the recent reboot of this movie franchise, is there still a place in this world for this original? Well, given what appears to be an entirely polarising response to the new Mortal Kombat film, I’m going to say yes. While the same cannot be said for its sequel, Mortal Kombat: Annihilation, I think newcomers to the franchise will find value in this original 1995 movie.

I began with a question about what movie theme song best represents the Nineties. In the course of writing this I have thrown this idea out to a number of people and, I feel obliged to say, that not one person cited the Mortal Kombat Theme. Misirlou from Pulp Fiction, Hakuna Mata from The Lion King and My Heart Will Go On from Titanic were all suggestions put to me. But, I reject them all in favour of Mortal Kombat’s banging dance track. At least I can practice my Jonny Cage fight moves to that.

Rating

Overall: 6/10

Narrative: 6/10

Visual: 5/10