Christopher Lambert Movie:

				Salesrank:
		MPAA Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested) Media: DVD

Mortal Kombat [Region 2] Reviews:
Stills Puts Up A Good Fight
2008-08-03 - Love him or hate him, we video game fans need to tip our caps to director Paul Anderson: regardless of whether or not you enjoyed his later adaptation of "Resident Evil", he gave us our first decent game-to-movie outing when he pioneered "Mortal Kombat" - still considered by some to be the best movie-ization of a video game, period. Indeed, "Kombat" came as a breath of fresh air after the stiflingly insipid attempts that were "Super Mario Bros.", "Double Dragon", and "Street Fighter: The Movie", for not only did it follow the in-game storyline to a degree that is unmatched even today, but it disproved the unfounded belief that a "beat-by-beat" adaptation of a game would be boring and unsuccessful...because not only has "MK" gained a tremendous fanbase since its release, but was also a signifigant box office draw in its time ($122 million).
A recent re-viewing of the film allowed me to cast a slightly more humbled view upon it, but it still remains one of my favorite entries of the genre, and should be standard viewing for any director about to tackle a game-related project (oh, if only they had...).

Deviating minimally from the game, the plot goes like so...
A young monk running from his destiny, Liu Kang (Robin SHou, "Beverly Hills Ninja") - after losing his brother at the hands of the sorceror Shang Tsung (Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, "The Last Emperor") - accepts an invitation to a deadly tournament that will decide the fate of the world we live in, which is being threatend by the forces of an evil emperor and the aforementioned sorceror. Kang and a handful of mortal warriors - including the vain action hero Johnny Cage (Linden Ashby, "The Young and the Restless") and the tough Special Forces agent Sonya Blade (Bridgette Wilson, "The Wedding Planner") - are corralled by Earthrealm's protector, the god Raiden (Christopher Lambert, "Highlander"), to pit themselves against Shang Tsung's demonic forces and secure our world until the next tournament.

"OKay, the storyline stays true to the game - is the rest of the movie any good?"
An action/fantasy, "MK" relies more on spectacle than acting to win over audiences, and in this, it succeeds. Though outdated by modern standards, the film showcases CGI animation that was top-of-the-line for its time. And action? - "MK" has little time to waste between its fast-paced martial arts encounters.
In all honesty, the outdated graphics weigh against the film a bit nowadays, and while they're all plenty entertaining, the respective fights are a mixed bag in their quality: to break it down, Johnny Cage vs. Scorpion (Chris Casmassa), and Liu vs. Reptile (Keith Cooke) are very good; Liu, Sonya, and Johnny vs. MK guards, Liu vs. an unnamed warrior, Liu vs. Sub-Zero (Francois Petit), and Liu vs. Shang Tsung range between good and decent; both fights involving Goro and Sonya vs. Kano (Trevor Goddard, "Hollywood Vampyr") are rather poor.

In addition, "MK" suffers from a style of 'pop direction' (AKA: minimal character development, lots of pose-striking during fights, and a storyline that ends up getting a bit lazy) that a is trademark of director Anderson but doesn't allow the film to appear like anything else than entertainment for young teens - granted, they're the film's target audience, but after seeing how later adaptations like "Silent Hill" spanned demographics, it seems a bit too novel of an approach to make "MK" endearing.
What the movie does have on its side is very good casting: while no one won any awards for their performances, you'll be hard-pressed to find anybody who disagrees that Robin SHou was made for the role of Liu Kang, or that nobody besides Linden Ashby makes a good Johnny Cage (personally, I think that Christopher Lambert exerts perhaps a bit too much emotion for his character, but that's debatable). Even the ninjas and the fellow who did Goro's voice are well-suited to their roles - at least much more than previous incarnations like Bob Hoskins as Mario or Jean-Claude Van Damme as Colonel Guile (ironically, Johnny Cage's character was based on Van Damme, but when offered the role, Van Damme turned it down to get booed in "Street Fighter: The Movie" - oops).

While the film has its flaws and might not be the best action movie around, you'll find few gaming marks who have too many bad things to say, and this includes me. Forget for a moment my negative comments and know that I'm very happy that this movie exists. No doubt it would've been a different film had it been made more recently, with more enduring graphics and a bit more action cinema history to back it up, but the fact that it was made when it was and still managed to gain the acclaim that it did for both parties of viewers (action freaks and gaming geeks) says a lot. Video game fans, if you haven't yet seen it, then shame on you and go buy it. Action fans, please proceed to your closest video rental shop...

Can't get any better.
2008-07-16 - As a Mortal Kombat fan I couldn't ask for a better movie. Locations, characters, moves are just like the game. And this package comes with a decent plot, too. Only downside is the lack of gore in fatalities but in order to get a PG-13 rating they had to tone the fatalities down, but no complaints, they still look good.

I loved it, I own it and I watched it maybe 20 times and still enjoy it.

FINISH HIM!!!!!!!!!
2008-06-24 - As a fan of the video game I had very high expectations for this movie.
Yes, it's based on a video game.
Yes, it's horribly corny and poorly acted.
Yes, the script is just so so.
IT'S NOT GONE WITH THE WIND PEOPLE!!!!!!!
It's not trying to be either.
Is it fun? YES!!!
A fun popcorn, check your brain at the door movie.
Lighten up for five seconds and try to enjoy it.
Scorpion and Subzero and even Reptile absolutely rule.
The fight scenes are well done and the FX for its time was very good.
Recommended!!!!


Mortal Kombat - A Fun, Mindless Action movie that Gets the Job Done
2008-06-13 - 3/5 Stars

"Let Mortal Kombat begin!" Quotes like that are what this movie (and the video games in which it is based) is going to be remembered for. I decent action film based on the successful Mortal Kombat fighting games the movie is focused on, you guessed it, "Kombatants" punching each other around trying to win an inter dimensional tournament to save the world from the evil Emperor. About as scary as playing a game of Space Invaders, but you don't go to see a movie like Mortal Kombat and expect anything more then the title implies. Plenty of action and a plot so simple that there is no brain required to watch this film.

The plot centers on three Kombatants who the thunder God - Lord Raydon - believes will decide the fate of the earth. During the course of the tournament they face a series of warriors possessing supernatural powers who are commanded by the Emperor's evil sorcerer Shang Tsung. As the tournament goes on the face stronger opponents, including the red-eyed Kano, the ninja attire wearing Sub-Zero and Scorpion, the four-armed champion Goro, before they take on Shang Tsung himself.

A short film, barely going over ninety minutes Mortal Kombat certainly does what it intended to do and with a fair level of success. The constant action and laughable dialogue will no doubt entertain teenagers and just make for a fun late-night movie for casual viewing.


Truly an epic worthy of a trilogy
2008-04-18 - I am not going to say this is the greatest movie ever made, but it is definately in the top 5 in the history of motion pictures. Humans fight monsters and sorcerors to save their beloved Earth. What could be more captivating?

The acting in this movie is top notch. Sonja Blade is a thesbian of the highest calibur and could easily act in any movie, but that Lord Rayden that she decided to bring all her actressing skills to a boiling point as she mixed drama, action, and romance all into one role. Clearly an Academy Award winning performance.

Johny Cage played his part so well, I went to the video store to try and locate an actual Johny Cage movie. His hilarious roll-on-the-florr humor will have tears falling from your eyes as you try to catch your breath, he is so funny. And he went through the entire movie without ever getting a single hair out of place, including his fight with Goro!

Reptile, Scorpion, and Zub-Zero were the masked ninjas that brought even more depth to this already exhilerating film. With ice particles, killer spears, and body snatching at their dispose, how can our heros ever hope to win!! This is a must see film for any fan of Mortal Kombat, Kung Fu, or Bruce Lee.

Move over Citizen Kane it is time for MOOOORTAL KOMBAT!!! to take the driver's seat.