Mortal Kombat: Retro Review
Man… The 90s… It was the era of making entertainment media solely based on fun. I am of the belief that the 90s was the golden era of entertainment. Music, cartoons, TV shows, and movies. Books have pretty much stayed the same in terms of quality for centuries up until the recent young adult romance craze (quality has plummeted in favor of quality). Comics have actually improved, but the rest have either dropped or just wavered a bunch.
Movies have definitely had an improvement in special effects. They aren’t always used right, but the potential is there. Now let’s take a twenty year (spelled with a 2 and a 0) jump into the past and take a look at Mortal Kombat:
The fighting game genre was completely dominated by the Street Fighter franchise. There were several other franchises that tried to capitalize on that success (which is the trend when it comes to video games), but none could topple the Capcom juggernaut. That is until Mortal Kombat appeared and completely changed video games forever. The more realistic graphic style combined with the insane amount of violence stole the attention of everyone.
Nowadays people think that video games are all about violence, but this game was singlehandedly responsible for the creation of the ESRB. That little rating box on the cover of every game that displays its age appropriateness (that people pretty much ignore now) was born of Mortal Kombat. That is the legacy of this franchise and it’s had its ups and downs, but it is still a powerhouse of gaming. Back then, what followed was inevitable:
Once upon a time, at the peak of a successful video game franchise, Hollywood decided to make a huge attempt at capitalization. They knew kids would go crazy and beg their parents to see it. Children, who had a taste for only explosions and action with no regard for story, would beg to see it over and over again (I was nine so I’m speaking from experience). I thought this movie was awesome (definitely better than the Street Fighter movie).
Rewatching it as an adult, I could barely take it seriously. It had that trademark 90s silliness that marked almost everything. Even Raiden the God of Thunder was a bit goofy.
Speaking of characters, literally no one is likable. Everyone is a complete a**hole showoff. I understand that combat sports have a certain amount of posturing that’s necessary for showmanship, but come on. How did they even end up as friends? Why did Johnny Cage and Sonya fall in love? Why did any of them trust Katana?
Literally none of this movie makes sense. That being said, it is still enjoyable. The off key humor and dated special effects in particular are hilarious. Goro’s muppet-like appearance and weird roaring noises are a stitch. The fight choreography in most scenes is so stiff that one can’t help but at least grin.
The best performances of the movie go to Linden Ashby, whose Johnny Cage is intentionally funny and Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, who is clearly loving every moment of chewing the scenery as Shang Tsung. The latter definitely got the best part, who wouldn’t have enjoyed spouting all of the classic lines from the movies. “Finish him,” “Fatality,” “Flawless Victory” and man he said more things were “mine” than those seagulls at the end of “Finding Nemo.”
The rest of the characters were pretty flat though. Scorpion and Sub-Zero, who have always been fan favorites, were massive disappointments and their deaths were just weird. Scorpion’s body exploded and Sub-Zero was somehow frozen solid by an icicle that stabbed him. Reptile’s fight was at least somewhat satisfying.
How many fighter’s from Earthrealm were invited by the way? Goro must have beat at least twenty guys in his montage. The final battle wasn’t horrible, but it still didn’t make a ton of sense. Liu Kang found a way to defeat the villain and save the day. The two definitely had fun filming, but at least we saw some of the actual special moves from the game itself.
At least the ending was happy… right? Nope. Shao Kahn shows up and the five heroes get ready for another battle. It’s not all bad, but let’s not even talk about the sequel. If you’re interested in knowing about that, you’ll have to just watch it yourself. It’s called “Mortal Kombat: Annihilation” and I’m not touching it. Good luck.
Jonathan Thomas Jones is a speculative fiction author and founder of geekhavenreviews.com. He has been passionate about all things geek for his entire life. See more about him at jonathanthomasjones.com and follow him on twitter @jtgloryjones.
