The Mortal Kombat 1995 Film is one of the Better Video Game Movies

This is one of the few movies I saw in theaters. I was eleven and maybe went to the theater two or three times a year if I was lucky. In this case, my friend Eric took a group of us to the theater for his birthday party.

The 1995 Mortal Kombat movie is based on the first game in the series but has some parts of the second game in it. I think it is at the end where the movie teases a sequel, which I’ll suffer through at some point. Knowing what I know now, I find it a little funny that things have come full circle for the first game.

The inspiration for the game came from martial arts movies from the 1970s and 1980s. You can see some parts of the game when you watch films like Blood Sport, Game of Death, and Big Trouble in Little China. Mortal Kombat was able to become its own thing, but I find it funny that movies inspired the game and eventually spawned its own martial arts film.

The biggest complaint I’ve heard about the movie is the lack of blood. I don’t ever remember caring about that when I was eleven. Seeing something in the theaters was cool, and I loved this movie.

As I’ve gotten older, I still come back to watch Mortal Kombat every now and then. I liked it more as a kid, but I still like it. Today, I think it is one of the better movies based on a video game.

Plot Summary

Right off the bat, you’re hit with the theme song. This is the best thing about the movie, which got many kids pumped. It also put my friend Eric’s mom to sleep, which we all thought was hilarious.

The movie then establishes the motivations for our three main characters participating in the tournament. Here is a quick rundown:

• Liu Kang is the only one who knows what is happening. He is a skeptic but knows about the tournament, Raiden, and Shang Tsung.
• Sonya Blade is chasing down Kano, who killed her partner and is a criminal. Jax appears in the film but doesn’t go to the tournament. Sonya is lured onto the ship by Kano.
• Johnny Cage is a cocky movie star, and the best part of the movie aside from the theme song. He gets tricked into going to the tournament by Shang Tsung, who uses the bad press Johnny has been receiving.

Raiden, the Thunder God and guardian of Earthrealm, acts as their mentor and protector during the film. Katana is also here, but her role isn’t that big. They also get joined by a group of random guys who are there to be killed off. We get a little character development for one of them, which motivates Johnny to fight Goro.

So, those are our heroes; what about the bad guys? They are a group of people from Outworld and some traitors from Earthrealm. They aren’t as developed as the heroes, but at least they are close to the video game. Here is a quick breakdown:

• Shang Tsung is the big bad guy in the film. He is an evil wizard who captures the soul of his defeated enemy. During the film, it seems like he is obsessed with Sonya. I don’t know if he wants to marry her or if he thinks she is the easiest to defeat.
• Kano is a crime boss who killed Sonya’s partner and apparently studied all of her moves. This doesn’t help him when he gets his neck broken. His whole crime syndicate is left out of the movie.
• Scorpion is a ninja that we don’t learn much about. He gets beaten by Johnny Cage in one of the better fights.
• Subzero is another character that isn’t given much screen time but has more memorable scenes than other bad guys; we also get to see more of his powers. Liu Kang defeats him.
• Goro is built up to be a mini boss-like character. He kills a bunch of people and eventually causes Johnny Cage to issue a challenge to fight him. It is a short fight and results in Johnny bringing about the last fight in the film. The creature effects on Goro are awesome!
• Reptile appears in his chameleon and ninja form. He is an example of the poorly aged CG but isn’t in the movie much. Liu Kang defeats him late into the film.

Like the good guys, they are joined by a bunch of nameless martial arts guys. Some fight in the tournament, but most stand around and try to look intimidating. Let’s get into the tournament because it is bizarre.

There is no structure to the tournament. We get told that the final boss is Goro, but that isn’t true. As a former champion, Shang Tsung can challenge anyone at any time. We aren’t given a bracket or anything like that, so this feels like an assortment of random fights that will end when everyone is dead.

This is very different from something like Blood Sport, where you see the tournament progress. While you didn’t see the brackets, you knew who the main characters were going to fight in each round. When I was a kid, I never thought about this while watching Mortal Kombat; now that I’m older, I over analyze stupid things like this.

It is also unclear how you win these fights. Sometimes, you have to kill your opponent; other times, it seems you just beat them up. There are also exhibition matches for some reason, like when Liu Kang fights Katana to a no contest or an inconclusive ending. You can also bring weapons into the fight.

Of all the fights in the movie, Liu Kang vs. Sub Zero and Johnny Cage vs. Scorpion are my favorites. I wish they had been given more time. I like the Johnny Cage vs. Scorpion fight more because it lasts longer, and the two actors were given more to do.

Ultimately, the movie ends with a fight between Liu Kang and Shang Tsung. The last battle is in Outworld, and it is pretty good. The ending sets up the next movie, and it would’ve been nice if that film had been better.

Final Thoughts

After watching the movie again, I still like it a lot. It is way better than the bizarre Mortal Kombat novel I read a while ago. That had little to do with the video game. The 1995 film is a more faithful adaptation of the game.

If you took out Mortal Kombat, I think this would’ve been a mostly forgettable martial arts movie. It is well-made, and the fights are short but fun, but there isn’t much to it. It’s like a Cannon Films movie with a budget and a competent editor.

I still like this movie a lot. It is one of the better video game adaptations and is more memorable than the other movies based on video games from the 1990s. The only thing I can complain about now would be the CG on Reptile. Thankfully, it isn’t in the movie that often.

If you like this post, please check out my post on the Double Dragon movie from 1994.