I'm 31 years old, and I still get unreasonably excited when I hear that announcer say "reptile." This movie still holds up. We'll just pretend Annihilation doesn't exist.
James Rolfe gets this movie in a way Doug Walker (nostalgia critic) never will. I was pretty disappointed when Walker talked about this movie and made some really nasty comments towards people who like and defend this movie. Like how he said you're not a Mortal Kombat fan if you like the movie, and calling people who defend the movie "fucking pussies". James gives a more fair and balanced review, and while he acknowledges that it hasn't aged well, he still gives it credit for what it did right at the time.
Honestly I don't get why people think it is a bad movie. Maybe it's not Oscar worthy, but it was a good video game movie, and as James said, it delivered and we were incredibly satisfied about it. I still watch it 24 years later, and boy does it feel good.
I was just a kid when mortal kombat came out, loved it then and me and my parents still love it in 2020, im 33 yrs old lol. we watched blood sport (classic) then mortal kombat the other day and we all thought mortal kombat was the more entertaining movie (I love em both, but I think MK needs some cred, and a good re-boot)
Personally, I thought the Cage Scorpion fight was better. Especially when they got to the Netherrealm. Doesn't hurt that they used Fear Factory during it and I have a strong leaning towards hard crunchy music.
MK is a great movie, I've probably seen it over 30 times since my childhood and I still enjoy it. The music, atmosphere, fighting and all that is top notch, acting ain't bad either so I don't understand all the hate.
+darth boner Not really, if everything is crap, making something that is still crap just not as crappy as the rest isn't an achievement. If a whole class gets a 2 in an exam except for the one guy who gets a 3, is it an achievement? And yes, I like the movie but it doesn't making any less bad. Starting by the fact Shang Tsung doesn't seem to know what flawless victory means.
You can't overlook the performances in this movie. Sure, most weren't great, but Cary Tagawa and Christopher Lambert were a lot of fun to watch, Linden Ashby absolutely nailed Johnny Cage, and Trevor Goddard literally shaped Kano's backstory and character with his performance..
Mortal Kombat '95 gets a "Nostalgia Hall Pass" for me too James (saw it when I was 18). It's an iconic '90s pop culture treasure. Speaking of iconic, whenever I play/hear the classico "Techno Syndrome" track from The Immortals, I immediately transport to summer of '95 and scream "MORTAL KOMBAT!!!" and start "air kicking & punching" :)
One of the cinema chains where I live has shown this movie a few times at their different locations as part of their series of classic and cult movies that they show year round (they choose movies different movies based on the highest number of suggestions they get from patrons). I am hoping that it comes to the cinema closest to me in the near future, since I missed out seeing Mortal Kombat in the cinemas back in 1995.
The Mortal Kombat movie is such a guilty pleasure. I still love this movie. I remember when i was younger i loved it so much that i watched it every day for about a month. Don't know why i did that back then but i did. Mortal Kombat is the game that got me into fighting games as a child. Til this day it's my number one favorite fighting game franchise. Never could get into street fighter sadly. I was really into the whole fantasy and gore style of mortal kombat, So when i tried to play street fighter i couldn't get in to it. It was too dull for me.
Yeah I still like it too. I was obsessed with MK as a kid though and have permanent pictures of the universe burned into my head that probably fill in the the bad parts to a degree. I never liked the CGI Reptile and always thought they should have just used the ninja and did the creeping invisible thing with him so it would of looked more akin to the Predator morphing in and out. Even with some of the quirks it's still not only my favorite video game movie, but probably my favorite kung fu movie as well.
Even though im not much of a MK fan now of days however the MK movie is will my favorite video game to movie, movie. Like im a huge fan of warcraft and just blizzard overall. I did enjoy the warcraft movie but not like how i still enjoy the MK movie.
Yeah, that old movie has a certain trash factor . In a good way. Atleast they tried to put the characters in it and get some sort of story together. Absolutely someting that has to be seen...
The original Street Fighter movie is bad in a good way, where you can watch it with your friends and have a good time. The Legend of Chun-li is just plain bad.
Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa's performance as Shang Tsung was one of the most memorable things of the film for me. I loved that he took up the role again in Mortal Kombat: Legacy
James MK was good for the very reasons you mentioned, it wasn't ashamed of its source material, it gave us great fights, the plot was simple and straightforward, I don't think it looked that cheap at all, with the exception of some bad CG here and there and the lack of blood, there was a lot to enjoy in this movie, it's just a fun fantasy martial arts film, and as far as the modern video game movies go, nothing's improved as far as Hollywood adaptations go, in fact they're probably worse.
Agreed on every point. And I'd take the Mario Brothers, Double Dragon, and Street Fighter movies over the crap of the last decade. Tekken. Any Uwe Boll flick. The Resident Evil movies, made by the same director as this (what the hell happened to him?) And video game movies have so much CGI crammed into them, like most flicks these days, what's even the point? They just end up looking like a video game cutscene as a result, so why not just play a game?
But he also mentions it hasn't aged well. The problem is how they over simplified the game's story. Today we see the movie just for sake of it. We never watch the movie to learn the game's story.
Excellent assessment. Agree 100% I love how the later games even changed up Kano by making him Australian to mirror the movie. It just works so perfectly.
deadfox0091 What I mean is that the soundtrack in the movie didn't come from the movie but it *did* come from the immortials single that was eventually used in the movie.
Because he hasn't mentioned anything about the actual film and focused more on the music track which lead me to believe that he only liked it because of the theme song or he thinks that the best part of the film. I was just giving him more of an idea.
Taking the time out to say, thank you AVGN for giving mortal kombat a fair reviews. Yes a lot of people covered it, but everyone of them is comparing it to TODAYS standards. Good review and Nerd considered everything.
What do you mean "today's standards"? Video game movies have NOT gotten better since the 90s. If anything they've gotten WORSE. Hell, I'm going to go even further and say that the entertainment industry as a whole is far worse nowadays than it was in the 90s (and early-mid 00s).
Same with 2 of my friends at the time, and it really got us pumped as well. looking back at the movie having watched it about a year ago now at how bad it really is, but at the time damn it was awesome.
I love this movie. I remember BEGGING my Dad to take me to the movies to see it and luckily mothers intervention over rode his initial "No". And for the record he enjoyed it too. Takes me back every time!
The movie isn't perfect and honestly is terribly made at certain times, but regardless I still fucking crack up at the scene when Johnny cage busting goro in the balls, it may be nostalgia talkin' but I love this movie
when james full on said "its not good but its entertaining" i was probably more happy then i have in recent months, finally! someone seeing why i love this movie!
I used to take karate when this movie came out, and the master sensei's son played Scorpion in the movie. I think his name was Lou Cassamassa. I also got to see Scorpion's spear when they were still making the movie, since my mom's boyfriend at the time worked at an effects studio in Hollywood.
Mortal Kombat the movie was my introduction to real badass heavy metal, which is why the Johnny Cage, Scorpion fight was my favorite. Fear Factory's "Zero Signal" blew my mind. It was only after I bought the MK movie soundtrack did I get into Fear Factory all the more.
Anyone here go to Mortal Kombat Live? My friend and I went when we were younger. It was a choreographed live show, with a bunch of lasers and they blasted that MK theme from this movie over and over again. It sounds like torture now, but my friend and I loved it when we were young.
I used to own the Mortal Kombat : The Journey Begins animated movie on VHS, around the time the MK movie came out. There was actually an ad for the MK Live tour at the beginning of the video, and I remember wanting to see it SO bad. I never did though, lol
Honestly, I think the movie aged pretty well. I appreciate how James understands that the context in which it came out is important to it, however IMO, it still holds up as a decent action flick. Also, the fact that it stuck to its guns and was a good adaptation of the game is incredibly relevant. When I watch it, I actually feel like I'm watching the game.
Mike, you and James gotta fit your schedules around to sitting back and watching the First Three Hellraiser Movies. Or maybe just the first two. I definitely would wanna hear your guys' opinions on them.
The effects might be outdated and some cheesy acting here and there, but that aside I thought the movie was pretty good. It also had great practical effects (Goro) and - most importantly - good fight scenes! A remake of this with better costumes and modern CGI could be a real banger!
Warner Brothers has new Mortal Kombat movie on the way for next year. It is going to be rated R and show the graphic violence the video game series is know for.
This movie is a guilty pleasure of mine and I still watch it every other year. Emmy or Oscar award winning script or acting you will not find here, but it is action pack from start to finish with only one or two insignificant slow scenes.
Very good and fair review. I've always had a soft spot for the film. Not perfect lol, but it was/is fun and like you said pretty much delivered to its target audience at the time. Easily the best or at least in the conversation for best game adaptation
Great review James! I agree with everything you said. Oh, if you want to see another video game movie that is true to the source, check out Tashi Mike's "Ace Attorney" movie based on the Phoenix Wright games. He did an AMAZING job with source material that is pretty wacky.
To be totally accurate, the song wasn't "from" the movie. It was created for the Sega CD release of the original Mortal Kombat in 1993. If you put the Sega CD game disc in a regular CD player, you could hear that song along with a remix of it scattered through the CD.
I don't think it was specifically created for that either, it was just included in the game. I know Mortal Kombat The Album was advertised on MK1 or 2 attract screen. I remember seeing it in the arcade. The MK single was released but it was part of a full album of MK songs. Search for "MK The Album" you'll find a bunch of MK character songs. Really good and I enjoy it a lot.
And this whole fucken time thought you guys were talking about the best 2 tracks of the movie, ex pornstar's Traci Lords - Control and Orbital - Halcyon On & On.
Definitely a piece of Movie History. The Official Motion Picture Soundtrack released was great too - KMFDM, Orbital, g/z/r, Fear Factory, Napalm Death, Type O'Negative. Unforgettable part of my childhood...
Good breakdown of what made the film so good back then compared to now. I'd agree that Mortal Kombat probably doesn't hold up nowadays and isn't winning any awards, but I still feel it's the most solid video game adaptation we've had so far, right alongside Street Fighter. Prince of Persia COULD come close if not for the terrible way it's directed at times. Plus, this film, for the most part, just focused on Liu Kang, Johnny Cage, Sonya, and Raiden instead of throwing almost every character in like the Street Fighter film, much as I like it. Plus, this and Street Fighter are Oscar caliber compared to something like Street Fighter: Legend of Chun-Li.
Cage: "Those shades were $500..." Later, Goro! But in all due seriousness, the Mortal Kombat movies were not ultra-grade movies, but were also not run-of-the-mill generic throwaways either. I too, enjoyed them, but I wouldn't watch them again and again like some fanatics would...
I think the fight Johnny Cage has with Scorpion is the best part of the film. I love how Scorpion stomps on Johnny's head when he's on the ground. It's a realistic touch not seen in most film fights.
TBH the movie has flaws but it's probably the closest video game movie that was great, plus if you played the House of the Dead series please do a movie review about them if you can.
I am honestly not the type to beg for more AVGN... But if you reviewed this movie in the style of the Angry Nerd (like you've once done before), it'd be so awesomely nostalgic!
Omfg the second one was awful, but i honestly dont see what people mean when they say this one was bad...Sure reptile was geez reptile...But like can you think of any video game movie that followed the exact plot like this
For me it was perfect in my teenage years. It portayed the video game I loved perfectly, there were lot of cool moves, and they directed it that I could follow and understand everything going on in the action, seeing all the cool coreography. Nowadays in action movies a lot of things are lost for me because of the camera movements. My only problem with this movie back then was that it focused too much around Liu Kang, a character I don't care about, but he's the main hero, so it's not much we can change.
I feel the exact same way. It hasnt aged well, but back then it was magic. Late 95 to the summer of 96 was a great time for me and this movie is a part of it. The other parts being the Dallas Cowboys winning Super Bowl XXX, the Chicago Bulls winning 72 games and then the world title, watching Dumb and Dumber on VHS, playing Mortal Kombat 3 on SNES and also that Coolio song "Gangsta's Paradise". Everything was great back then. Then the 2000s happened and everything went to crap.
I still think it's my all-time favorite adaptation, and I hope ppl would appreciate this more since we all know the 2021 version, I think, is WORSE than Annihilation. But, what about its predecessor, Big Trouble in Little China? Not based on a game, but I strongly think it's what inspired MK, other than Enter the Dragon. I'd love to hear your thoughts on it.
Anyone can tear that movie apart, but James might not be the right guy to do it, since he might not have played the games to get the context of everything wrong with the film adaptations.
have you seen the entire video? "i haven't keep up with movies based on video-games since Resident evil. I don't know most of modern games so i'm not sure how well they translate to movie"
Nah, it's still awesome. I even showed it a couple of years ago to people who never saw it and they said it's an awesome movie. 90s are the best movie era =)
I remember the hype among teens and kids when this movie came out. I loved it. And that "Test Your Might" song was amazing. I heard it many times in a laser tag arena in the late 90s.
I wish he'd review more movies, movies of any genre. He's better than most at reviews and I think his transition would be relatively easy. This review was spot on.
I love this film. I actually rewatched it again last night since it's on amazon prime. It's so cheesy but fucking awesome at the same time. You can't beat the soundtrack as well.
Old martial arts master holds a tournament on his island. A young Bruce-Lee-looking martial artist fights him. There's cocky ladies' man. Originally Jax (an African American character) was supposed to be there. The host of the tournament has a fighter with a disfigured face and and a big muscly right-hand man whose name consists of four letters with two O in it and the cocky ladies' man defeats said right-hand man. Yeah, it's Enter the Dragon.
Mortal Kombat in general (not just the film) borrows from Blood Sport, Enter the Dragon, and even some Big Trouble in little China. Purposely for the most part. Ed Boon and others have said as such.
Honestly, this is... not bad. It's not great, but not bad, either. I feel like Mortal Kombat and Sonic are the BEST video game movie adaptations you will ever watch IMO.
Thanks for the review. It’s awesome hearing different perspectives on these things. I’ve basically had the same feel when I went to go see it with my friends, with my parents reluctance. I think most people who talk crap about things they don’t necessarily understand are just full of it. And while they do bring up issues, it was still a byproduct of the times and that’s at least something worth respecting.
I don't care what anyone says this movie is awesome. I was 7 years old when it came out and I watched the piss out of it. It was one of my favorites as a kid and still is even as an adult. I've seen it hundreds of times and I will never get tired of it. Annihilation on the other hand... Don't get me started.
