Mortal Kombat (1995 film)
Mortal Kombat is a 1995 film, directed by Paul W. S. Anderson. It is based on the popular Mortal Kombat series of fighting games by Midway. It was filmed on-location in Thailand. The movie has a sequel, Mortal Kombat: Annihilation.
The movie is considered by many as the first good and successful movie based on a video game, despite being panned by critics. It grossed over $100 million worldwide.
Tagline: Nothing In This World Has Prepared You For This
Plot summary
The Earth Realm is being invaded by the evil emperor and generals led by Shang Tsung. Every generation, there is a tournament to save the Earth. If the Earth loses 10 tournaments in a row, then the Earth Realm will be doomed. So far the Earth has lost 9 tournaments. Liu Kang and the other Earth fighters must risk their lives to battle and win the 10th Mortal Kombat, or else Earth is lost.
Characters
The following Mortal Kombat characters appear in the movie.
- Goro — Kevin Michael Richardson
- Liu Kang — Robin Shou
- Jax — Gregory McKinney
- Johnny Cage — Linden Ashby
- Kano — Trevor Goddard
- Kitana — Talisa Soto
- Rayden — Christopher Lambert
- Reptile — Keith Cooke
- Scorpion — Chris Casamassa
- Shang Tsung — Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa
- Sonya Blade — Bridgette Wilson
- Sub-Zero — François Petit
Trivia
- Robin Shou and Talisa Soto also appeared in the sequel.
- Johnny Cage was depicted by a different actor in the beginning of MK: Annihilation. However, Internet Movie Database seems to indicate that Linden Ashby will appear in the third Mortal Kombat film as Johnny.
- Keith Cooke would also appear in the second film in the role of the new Sub-Zero.
- In his very specific style, Trevor Goddard potrays the character of Kano as an Australian. However after his death in 2003 it was revealed that Goddard is actually British. This came as a particular shock for people having worked with him as Goddard hid behind this accent his entire career.
- The movie's techno-soundtrack has also gathered reasonable admiration whereas the games have often suffered from very uninspiring soundtracks.