Review of Mortal Kombat (1995) by Zach R — 01 May 2011

Back in the 90s, I remember when the classic video game hit the markets and caused a stir. Not only did it make a huge commercial splash, but it was also quite controversial for its graphicness. I honestly never had the pleasure of playing these MK games, and in this day and age, fighting games are not my forte. But action and martial arts movies certainly are, especially when they're based on popular video games.

The "Mortal Kombat" movie offers plenty of fun. It's got enough fight scenes to satisfy; some are short and some are pretty cheesy, but some fights hold up really well and are a blast. It's got some very old-school special effects that, even though appear gaudy by today's standards, are good in concept and design. Above all, this is a film that doesn't take itself that seriously; it's probably an important aspect for a film with such a weak story and with so many limitations. Most of the movie's flaws are forgivable given the tongue-in-cheek attitude, and altogether it's not too far off from the original video game.

For better or for worse though, the story suffers tremendously. Of course, fighting games like this don't usually have a story to draw upon, so the movie does the best it can to extrapolate the characters and tournament-themed conflict into an "Enter the Dragon"-style plot. It works for the most part, but I find it pretty darn shallow, unoriginal, and lacking in proper immersion. Some more depth to the story, characters, or environment would probably have helped.

The film shows fine photography and editing, with some interesting lighting effects. Acting is pretty hammy all around; Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa is almost laughable with his facial expressions and over-zealous dialogue, and I found it hard to take Christopher Lambert seriously. But, the three main leads (Robin Shou, Linden Ashby, and Bridgette Wilson) fit their roles respectably. Writing is not terribly sophisticated at all. The production shows some limitations with its horrid CGI-graphics and some fake-looking sets and props. But, the designs are awesome and the costumes aren?M)t bad. Music is really smashing.

I'm sure this film will appeal to kids wanting something exciting and don't mind something slightly cheesy. Video game fans and folks who grew up with this movie will probably get a nostalgic kick out of it too. Otherwise, I can only recommend it as a rental.

3/5 (entertainment: 4/5, story: 2/5, film: 3/5).