Cast:
Christopher Lambert (Lord Raiden), Robin Shou (Liu Kang), Linden Ashby (Johnny Cage), Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa (Shang Tsung), Bridgette Wilson (Sonya Blade), Talisa Soto (Kitana), Trevor Goddard (Kano), Chris Casamassa (Scorpion, with Ed Boon as voice), François Petit (Sub-Zero), Keith Cooke (Reptile), Tom Woodruff, Jr (Goro, with Kevin Michael Richardson as voice), Gregory McKinney (Jax), Kenneth Edwards (Art Lean), Stephen Ho (Chan), and Frank Welker (Shao Kahn; vocal efforts of Goro and Reptile) Directed by Paul W. S. Anderson.
Review:
There is a certain inevitability to how certain movies come out, if you think about it, particularly if it fits the time and place. Mortal Kombat, released in 1995, certainly fits the bill in all the weird places when it comes to gloriously ridiculous entertainment. But before we get into all of that, why don't we have a little bit of details to the methods of madness. The video game was created by Ed Boon and John Tobias in 1992, which started as an idea with ninjas that at one point wanted to included Jean-Claude Van Damme (there were numerous influences, such as wuxia cinema and the video game Karate Champ); its use of digitized actors made it stand out among fighting games, which at the time was rocked by the success of Street Fighter II (Boon apparently described his intent to make a "MTV version" of that game, i.e. one that would be distinctly different from that game). Near release, Lawrence Kasanoff was on the trail as someone who had done merchandise promotion for Terminator 2: Judgement Day (1991) that included its arcade game, and when shown of the impending Mortal Kombat arcade, he was amazed by what he saw. Kasanoff saw the potential for a phenomenon, reportedly eyeing television shows and stage shows to go with movies, and he described it as "Star Wars meets Enter the Dragon" in the pitch to Midway, who were skeptical at first before agreeing after three months of negotiation for the rights. The doubts of its appeal were not completely unfounded: Super Mario Bros (1993), Double Dragon (1994) and Street Fighter (1994) made folks wary of that sort of intention in terms of audience appeal for video game movies. New Line Cinema, despite not liking the script (done by Kevin Droney), decided to let it go forward as a film. Paul Anderson (who added the W. S. later) had exactly one film credit to his name (along with writing for El C.I.D., a television comedy-drama), but Shopping (1994) certainly found someone to impress, since a screening at the agency office gave a chance for Anderson to enter the running. A native of Wallsend, Northumberland in England, this would be the first of a string of effects-driven films by the director (which includes the Resident Evil series), who had to learn about visual effects (which he did by reading any book he could on the subject) and fight scenes (which were choreographed by Pat E. Johnson). With a budget of $18 million, the amount of effects and choice of actors would be selective at times to adhere to what they could do, with Christopher Lambert being the most well-known of the cast (and he would've had less time on screen with their original plan of doing close-up shots in one place and then do wide shots of a double in Thailand, but Lambert decided to go with them to the chagrin of his agents). Believe it or not, the filmmakers actually had to add action scenes after they had finished enough to show for focus screenings, because they wanted more fight scenes (such as the Scorpion and Reptile fights).
I do remember the games, mostly because my first experience with the series was Mortal Kombat: Armageddon, which I found pretty enjoyable in my college years (ah the joys of shopping for old games on GameStop) with its level of violence to go with fighting. Look, if you can't buy into a movie that yells its title out in the first ten seconds, I don't know how I can really convince you that this is one of the most curious average movies to ever come out of its era. Don't get me wrong, the movie has its flaws, most notably in its varying levels of cheese in the acting, but it surely will please those who thought Bloodsport (1988) was an inspiration, falling just a notch above that film with an inviting atmosphere that doesn't fall prey to all of the schlock qualities or overt self-seriousness that could have come from a less enthusiastic director and crew; remember, this is involving a tournament of fighters that have to beat a guy who needs to win just one more title (to make ten, which is done every generation that implies one has to win for at least three centuries) to take over the Earth in a movie that was aimed for a PG-13 crowd. It is an ensemble piece that is driven by the trio of Shou, Ashby, and Wilson while Lambert and Tagawa grease up the wheels as mentor and villain, respectively. Shou had a few films in Hong Kong action films in experience (alongside time spent as a stuntman), and it is the action sequences that he does quite well with helping to shape a journey without hiccups. Ashby takes some time, but his wisecracks do help make the film a bit funny (at least intentionally). Lambert is generally best known for his star role in Highlander (1986), and it is perhaps ironic that he was the second actor offered the role after Sean Connery didn't want a physical role to mess with his golf game. He invites a bit of mystery with that gravel voice and careful stare that certainly could have lended to further action moments (ah the pitfalls of a cliffhanger closing scene). Wilson does okay with giving the lines some emphasis, but real credit goes more to doing all of their stunts (complete with dislocating her shoulder at one point); she actually was the second choice, since Cameron Diaz broke her wrist in training. Who would have thought that the highlight would be Tagawa? The Tokyo native (raised in Calfornia) got his start with The Last Emperor (1987), and he was the first and only choice in mind for the role. Keep in mind, the dialogue may cliché (a combination of the script and improvisation by actors like Ashby that was encouraged by Anderson), but there is a way that he conveys this cheese that makes him enjoyable in inflection that never seems outmatched. The others are okay, in that no one makes a ham-fisted effort to get in the way (Richardson is probably the more notable voice to hear for a time). So yes, there is a certain quality to this film that works out, although its effects are certainly more for the time as opposed to now; the character of Goro was a massive animatronic that needed over a dozen people to operate, and it is a fairly decent achievement for something that couldn't be done on location. The CG is a bit less there, having a glob effect that counteracts the attempts at balancing violence that isn't too sanitized (for some reason, one could show creatures being killed on screen but not humans in order to keep it under a R rating by the ratings board - go figure), and the spear effect on the character of Scorpion doesn't help either. The wire fu has been argued by Anderson to be cutting edge, and we are talking about a film released four years before The Matrix (1999), and there is a kinetic feel to it that keeps you on the edge without too much trouble that fits the film without seeming like an over-indulgence, one that would fit right at home for those who dig the wuxia genre.
The film received attention from audiences that would help to spur a made-for-video release with Mortal Kombat: The Journey Begins (which digitized the sets for its animation) and a sequel in Mortal Kombat: Annihilation (1997), which would only have Shou and Soto return in probably the most confusing degradation of cast/director turnover for any movie sequel (Anderson expressed slight regret at not returning, citing his desire for something different for his next venture...which was Event Horizon). 25 years later, Mortal Kombat has a following that manages to endure even with the impending release of a new feature film for all the right reasons. Over the top, intense and entertaining, it might not be the most sound film to ever grace the screen in action and effect-laden features, but it sure has its fun for those who find it to their liking in enjoyment for what it accomplishes.
Overall, I give it 7 out of 10 stars.
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