Mortal Kombat (1995)

            With the release of the latest Mortal Kombat film, it is time to revisit the film that gave us the greatest theme song of all time, 1995’s Mortal Kombat. Let us get this out of the way right now, this film features some terrible acting, subpar screenplay, and some of the worst special effects I have ever seen in a film. Having said that, this film is totally wicked, and I love it. Despite these obvious flaws, the film went on to be a major success at the box office, making over 120 million dollars on a budget of only 18 million. Since its release and overall criticism over the subpar acting and laughable dialogue, the film has since been reevaluated and become a cult classic, and for good reason.

            One of the reasons why this film achieved cult status is due to its respect towards the source material. Despite its many flaws, and the PG-13 rating, the film still does a great job at capturing the awesomeness of Mortal Kombat. I am sure many people would have preferred blood, but they need to understand that the film was trying to appeal to a wider audience, and it worked out in their favor considering the money it made. Even without the blood, the action sequences in this film are just incredible. I love every single fight in this film, with my personal favorites being the ones that take place between Liu Kang and Subzero, as well as Liu Kang and Reptile. I think we should also appreciate the costume design. Considering it was 1995, every character looks almost exactly like their video game counterpart. Remember when you first saw Subzero, and Scorpion appear on the boat? How excited were you? I remember losing my freaking mind. They were two characters who did not need to say a word because they just radiated badass energy. They were perfect.

            Speaking of perfect, for as much as I complain about the bad dialogue, they absolutely nailed it, and Linden Ashby absolutely nailed it as Johnny Cage. Out of the characters that talk, he and Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa as Shang Tsung are the best in the film. They truly embody who the characters are at their core and it was awesome to see. While Robin Shou’s performance as Liu Kang was wooden and stiff, I liked him. He had a certain sense of nobility and honor that you expect to see from the character. Kitana, Sonya Blade, and Kano (especially Kano) were also played exceptionally well. It is often difficult to make a great film based on a video game. We know that there have been many failures over the years, and yet, with the exception of 2020’s Sonic the Hedgehog, this is still the standard for all video game films. That, along with the fact that it has the coolest theme song ever and if you say that you have not worked out to that song before then you are lying, are enough of a reason for this film to deserve the cult status that it has. This film is a blast. Official Rating: 3 Stars

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