Anyone who has lived through the video game evolution – or, at least, was alive to even casually notice its passing by so very quickly – can likely cite a few memorable additions and/or expansions along the way.
You see, I was there to experience Pong in its relative infancy. Yes, it was a brutally simple game – one that required minimal skill at best (if one would even call it skill) – but it nonetheless was a sensation in households across America. (Sorry, folks, I can’t speak for the world-at-large as I’m just not educated on global technology affairs.) Then came Space Invaders and arcade hits like Pacman; and young and old alike suddenly found themselves swept up in a crude gaming culture. The Walt Disney Company’s TRON (1982) remains the first film of its type to intentionally capitalize on the prospects of digital gaming: storytellers crafted both playable video games alongside a major motion picture to demonstrate just how serious the Mouse House invested in the video game revolution. While the flick really wasn’t perhaps quite as grand as some remember it, the production still demonstrated that immersion in such vicarious thrills wasn’t a passing fancy: gaming was here to stay, and it would continue to grow and change as did the tech that made it possible.
With its arcade debut in 1992, Mortal Kombat truly introduced mankind to this second wave of digital innovation. The game introduced players to a legendary martial arts tournament wherein participants drawn from the Earthrealm – basically our world – were invited to throwdown against only the very best fighters imaginable: with the fate of our world lying in the balance, combatants matched up against one fantastical brawler after another – many with their own signature tactics as well as notable ‘finishing’ moves – all to keep our planet safe from the Outworld. Yes, it was all a bit hyperbolic – such is the nature of significant contests – but it was still harmless fun available at the drop of a quarter into the slot. Worse things could happen, am I right?
Wherever there’s a bankable phenomenon, Hollywood tends to notice; and the folks at New Line Cinema quickly snatched up the rights to adapt the property to film. In 1995, Mortal Kombat morphed from the small screen to something played out on the silver screen. First time director Paul W.S. Anderson – a name genre fans around the world would eventually know for his attachment to a good number of game-inspired fare – stepped in to bring Kombat to life; and – without too much nitpicking – the man did a suitable job. For what it’s worth, cinematic technology was still advancing; and a great deal of the delivered visuals couldn’t quite match the ambition behind their design.
(NOTE: The following review will contain minor spoilers necessary solely for the discussion of plot and/or characters. If you’re the kind of reader who prefers a review entirely spoiler-free, then I’d encourage you to skip down to the last few paragraphs for the final assessment. If, however, you’re accepting of a few modest hints at ‘things to come,’ then read on …)
From the film’s IMDB.com page citation:
“Smart Earthlings must win a martial-arts battle in another dimension or see their world enslaved.”
On a rudimentary level, one might approach adapting a wildly popular video game the same way as a storyteller might decipher a bestselling novel.
Both prospects have a foundational premise along with major and minor characters. There’s likely to be some overlapping mythology that the players are exposed to and/or interact with on some textual level. While – generally speaking – novels do tend to provide a great deal of closure for the people encountered along the way, the finales for games can be diverse; and yet there’s still a touch of finality to the proceedings … or at least as much left open for an inevitable return to the sport at some future point.
Largely, that’s what Paul W.S. Anderson attempts with Mortal Kombat; and it can be said to be both a strength and a weakness. Anderson’s movie sticks a bit too close to source material for those unfamiliar with the game, dangling in several small particulars with enough nebulous to elicit some reasonable confusion. Still, the script (credited to Ed Boon, John Tobias, and Kevin Droney) rather faithfully introduces the wider world that serves as Kombat’s backdrop and its many, many faces – the combatants – in such a way that it likely endeared gamers showing up solely to see who fights, who lives, and who dies. Mind you: this was only a first feature, but it was clearly assembled to leave enough wiggle room for a follow-up if the box office was worthwhile. It was – to a degree – and its sequel (Mortal Kombat: Annihilation) followed a few years later.
Now, I’ll admit to experiencing some mild confusion when I first saw the film back in the day. Unlike so many of my contemporaries, I didn’t get into video games – never have and likely never will – and I’d only tried this one sparingly when offered the chance by peers. Though the main faces were pretty easy to recognize, not all of the actors and actresses were physically up to the requirements of the story; and I found quite a bit of the fisticuffs to feel a bit contrived. A few decades later, I feel that assessment still stands; and there’s even a bit of woodenness to a star or two here which hurts the entire affair. Although some looked the part, methinks a greater effort could’ve been made to give them the prowess needed when ‘getting’ ready to rumble.’
Plagued over the visions of his brother Chan dying at the hands of Shang Tsung (played by Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa), Liu Kang (Robin Shou) enters the Mortal Kombat tournament with the intention of settling the score. Once he learns that the Outworld stands to invade Earth should they win the impending tenth match-up, Liu realizes that he’s going to need to make more friends than enemies; and he enlists a few other contestants – namely Hollywood celebrity Johnny Cage (Linden Ashby) and Special Forces officer Sonya Blade (Bridgette Wilson-Sampras) – to watch his back. Eventually, Princess Kitana (Talisa Soto) forges an alliance between the Earthly warriors; and, as a team, they’re finally able to infiltrate Shang’s fortress and bring down the maniac once and for all, an act which releases all of the captive souls the villain has stored in his mortal shell.
As I said above, there’s just enough of a plot at work consistently throughout Kombat to keep both fans of the property and newbies understanding the action; but the downside here is also the fact that far too much of narrative operates solely for inevitable matches. Granted, when the whole point of a film is to showcase an endless parade of martial proficiency, one goes in largely knowing what to expect. While there was still a bit of space left for greater characterization – or, at least, the little moments spent in between all of the blistering bits – the screenwriters seemed far too interested in getting to the action as opposed to giving a face or two greater context much less time to breath. Kombat sets a pace not long after character introductions; and then it just never strays from that, ultimately boiling down to a mostly predictable tête-à-tête between opponents. Me? Well, I like a bit more substance to my people, but Kombat unfortunately sidesteps most of that.
Complaints aside, I can also attest that, visually, Kombat hasn’t exactly aged very well. Although the effects work was acceptable for the date and age, a great deal of what remains in here now comes across as almost grossly amateurish. A handful of sequences work well enough to give context to what’s taking place; and yet if there were any film in the vast libraries of releases that truly needed a creative do-over then this was it. That eventually happened in 2021, and the critical results for that effort – not all that surprising – again found that the completed film was likely best left to fans of the source material.
Mortal Kombat (1995) was produced by New Line Cinema and Threshold Entertainment. DVD distribution (for this particular release) has been coordinated by the fine folks at Arrow Films. As for the technical specifications? While I’m no trained video expert, I can still assure readers that provided sights and sounds are, frankly, astonishingly good … but that’s the double-edged sword here: Kombat was made at a time when digital effects were still in their relative infancy, meaning that a great deal of what appears here is horrifically dated if not occasionally comical. That’s no slight intended to the artists who rendered so much of this: it’s just an honest observation that this was about the best that could be done in the era. Lastly, if you’re looking for special features? Once more, Arrow astounds with an absolutely fabulous collection: two commentaries (Paul W.S. Anderson’s is a bit underwhelming), some wonderful newly-produced cast/crew interviews, and a handful of other tidbits make this one worth the upgrade especially for fans of the original IP.
Recommended.
At best, 1995’s Mortal Kombat could be said to be an acceptable introduction to a popular gaming franchise and little else. Its visuals are all a bit dated. Its characters are all a bit cartoonish (with good intent). Its impact was probably best felt in the still-growing gaming community. At worst? Well, that’s a lot of ground to cover; but as the effort never really feels like it wanted to be more than a mindless B-Movie product culled from the frenetic battles of bulked-up pugilists, perhaps it’s best left to those who embrace its modest charms. A bit hammy and still a bit stiff, Kombat endures … but only because it’s still reasonable physically fit.
In the interests of fairness, I’m pleased to disclose that the fine folks at Arrow Films provided me with a complimentary Blu-ray copy of Mortal Kombat (1995) by request for the expressed purpose of completing this review. Their contribution to me in no way, shape, or form influenced my opinion of it.
-- EZ
You see, I was there to experience Pong in its relative infancy. Yes, it was a brutally simple game – one that required minimal skill at best (if one would even call it skill) – but it nonetheless was a sensation in households across America. (Sorry, folks, I can’t speak for the world-at-large as I’m just not educated on global technology affairs.) Then came Space Invaders and arcade hits like Pacman; and young and old alike suddenly found themselves swept up in a crude gaming culture. The Walt Disney Company’s TRON (1982) remains the first film of its type to intentionally capitalize on the prospects of digital gaming: storytellers crafted both playable video games alongside a major motion picture to demonstrate just how serious the Mouse House invested in the video game revolution. While the flick really wasn’t perhaps quite as grand as some remember it, the production still demonstrated that immersion in such vicarious thrills wasn’t a passing fancy: gaming was here to stay, and it would continue to grow and change as did the tech that made it possible.
With its arcade debut in 1992, Mortal Kombat truly introduced mankind to this second wave of digital innovation. The game introduced players to a legendary martial arts tournament wherein participants drawn from the Earthrealm – basically our world – were invited to throwdown against only the very best fighters imaginable: with the fate of our world lying in the balance, combatants matched up against one fantastical brawler after another – many with their own signature tactics as well as notable ‘finishing’ moves – all to keep our planet safe from the Outworld. Yes, it was all a bit hyperbolic – such is the nature of significant contests – but it was still harmless fun available at the drop of a quarter into the slot. Worse things could happen, am I right?
Wherever there’s a bankable phenomenon, Hollywood tends to notice; and the folks at New Line Cinema quickly snatched up the rights to adapt the property to film. In 1995, Mortal Kombat morphed from the small screen to something played out on the silver screen. First time director Paul W.S. Anderson – a name genre fans around the world would eventually know for his attachment to a good number of game-inspired fare – stepped in to bring Kombat to life; and – without too much nitpicking – the man did a suitable job. For what it’s worth, cinematic technology was still advancing; and a great deal of the delivered visuals couldn’t quite match the ambition behind their design.
(NOTE: The following review will contain minor spoilers necessary solely for the discussion of plot and/or characters. If you’re the kind of reader who prefers a review entirely spoiler-free, then I’d encourage you to skip down to the last few paragraphs for the final assessment. If, however, you’re accepting of a few modest hints at ‘things to come,’ then read on …)
From the film’s IMDB.com page citation:
“Smart Earthlings must win a martial-arts battle in another dimension or see their world enslaved.”
On a rudimentary level, one might approach adapting a wildly popular video game the same way as a storyteller might decipher a bestselling novel.
Both prospects have a foundational premise along with major and minor characters. There’s likely to be some overlapping mythology that the players are exposed to and/or interact with on some textual level. While – generally speaking – novels do tend to provide a great deal of closure for the people encountered along the way, the finales for games can be diverse; and yet there’s still a touch of finality to the proceedings … or at least as much left open for an inevitable return to the sport at some future point.
Largely, that’s what Paul W.S. Anderson attempts with Mortal Kombat; and it can be said to be both a strength and a weakness. Anderson’s movie sticks a bit too close to source material for those unfamiliar with the game, dangling in several small particulars with enough nebulous to elicit some reasonable confusion. Still, the script (credited to Ed Boon, John Tobias, and Kevin Droney) rather faithfully introduces the wider world that serves as Kombat’s backdrop and its many, many faces – the combatants – in such a way that it likely endeared gamers showing up solely to see who fights, who lives, and who dies. Mind you: this was only a first feature, but it was clearly assembled to leave enough wiggle room for a follow-up if the box office was worthwhile. It was – to a degree – and its sequel (Mortal Kombat: Annihilation) followed a few years later.
Now, I’ll admit to experiencing some mild confusion when I first saw the film back in the day. Unlike so many of my contemporaries, I didn’t get into video games – never have and likely never will – and I’d only tried this one sparingly when offered the chance by peers. Though the main faces were pretty easy to recognize, not all of the actors and actresses were physically up to the requirements of the story; and I found quite a bit of the fisticuffs to feel a bit contrived. A few decades later, I feel that assessment still stands; and there’s even a bit of woodenness to a star or two here which hurts the entire affair. Although some looked the part, methinks a greater effort could’ve been made to give them the prowess needed when ‘getting’ ready to rumble.’
Plagued over the visions of his brother Chan dying at the hands of Shang Tsung (played by Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa), Liu Kang (Robin Shou) enters the Mortal Kombat tournament with the intention of settling the score. Once he learns that the Outworld stands to invade Earth should they win the impending tenth match-up, Liu realizes that he’s going to need to make more friends than enemies; and he enlists a few other contestants – namely Hollywood celebrity Johnny Cage (Linden Ashby) and Special Forces officer Sonya Blade (Bridgette Wilson-Sampras) – to watch his back. Eventually, Princess Kitana (Talisa Soto) forges an alliance between the Earthly warriors; and, as a team, they’re finally able to infiltrate Shang’s fortress and bring down the maniac once and for all, an act which releases all of the captive souls the villain has stored in his mortal shell.
As I said above, there’s just enough of a plot at work consistently throughout Kombat to keep both fans of the property and newbies understanding the action; but the downside here is also the fact that far too much of narrative operates solely for inevitable matches. Granted, when the whole point of a film is to showcase an endless parade of martial proficiency, one goes in largely knowing what to expect. While there was still a bit of space left for greater characterization – or, at least, the little moments spent in between all of the blistering bits – the screenwriters seemed far too interested in getting to the action as opposed to giving a face or two greater context much less time to breath. Kombat sets a pace not long after character introductions; and then it just never strays from that, ultimately boiling down to a mostly predictable tête-à-tête between opponents. Me? Well, I like a bit more substance to my people, but Kombat unfortunately sidesteps most of that.
Complaints aside, I can also attest that, visually, Kombat hasn’t exactly aged very well. Although the effects work was acceptable for the date and age, a great deal of what remains in here now comes across as almost grossly amateurish. A handful of sequences work well enough to give context to what’s taking place; and yet if there were any film in the vast libraries of releases that truly needed a creative do-over then this was it. That eventually happened in 2021, and the critical results for that effort – not all that surprising – again found that the completed film was likely best left to fans of the source material.
Mortal Kombat (1995) was produced by New Line Cinema and Threshold Entertainment. DVD distribution (for this particular release) has been coordinated by the fine folks at Arrow Films. As for the technical specifications? While I’m no trained video expert, I can still assure readers that provided sights and sounds are, frankly, astonishingly good … but that’s the double-edged sword here: Kombat was made at a time when digital effects were still in their relative infancy, meaning that a great deal of what appears here is horrifically dated if not occasionally comical. That’s no slight intended to the artists who rendered so much of this: it’s just an honest observation that this was about the best that could be done in the era. Lastly, if you’re looking for special features? Once more, Arrow astounds with an absolutely fabulous collection: two commentaries (Paul W.S. Anderson’s is a bit underwhelming), some wonderful newly-produced cast/crew interviews, and a handful of other tidbits make this one worth the upgrade especially for fans of the original IP.
Recommended.
At best, 1995’s Mortal Kombat could be said to be an acceptable introduction to a popular gaming franchise and little else. Its visuals are all a bit dated. Its characters are all a bit cartoonish (with good intent). Its impact was probably best felt in the still-growing gaming community. At worst? Well, that’s a lot of ground to cover; but as the effort never really feels like it wanted to be more than a mindless B-Movie product culled from the frenetic battles of bulked-up pugilists, perhaps it’s best left to those who embrace its modest charms. A bit hammy and still a bit stiff, Kombat endures … but only because it’s still reasonable physically fit.
In the interests of fairness, I’m pleased to disclose that the fine folks at Arrow Films provided me with a complimentary Blu-ray copy of Mortal Kombat (1995) by request for the expressed purpose of completing this review. Their contribution to me in no way, shape, or form influenced my opinion of it.
-- EZ
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