Mortal Kombat Blu-Ray Review

Rated PG-13 (Non-Stop Martial Arts Action and some Violence)

Running Time: 1 Hour & 41 Minutes

Cast:

Robin Shou-Liu Kang

Bridgette Wilson-Sonya Blade

Linden Ashby-Johnny Cage

Christopher Lambert-Lord Raiden

Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa-Shang Tsung

Talisa Soto-Princess Kitana

Trevor Goddard-Kano

François Petit-Sub-Zero

Chris Casamassa-Scorpion

Keith H. Cooke-Reptile

Kevin Michael Richardson (voice)-Goro

Kenneth Edwards-Art Lean

Steven Ho-Chan Kang

Gregory McKinney-Jackson 'Jax' Briggs

Frank Welker (voice)-Emperor Shao Kahn

Directed by Paul W.S. Anderson

Round One...FIGHT!

‘TEST YOUR MIGHT! MORTAL KOMBAT!’ Created by Ed Boon and John Tobias, “Mortal Kombat” has remained as one of the most popular fighting game franchises since its inception in 1992, alongside Capcom’s “Street Fighter” and Namco’s “Tekken.” Midway Games published a total of eight installments until the beleaguered publisher filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2009 after incurring massive debts. The company was liquidated in 2010 and the “Mortal Kombat” franchise was acquired by Warner Brothers Interactive Entertainment, with a ninth installment due in April, 2011 on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, with a possible PC version. Notorious for its graphic violence, the original game was cited as one of the reasons for the formation of the Entertainment Software Rating Board (or ESRB), a self-regulatory organization that assigns age-appropriate ratings to all video games, much like the MPAA does for films. At the height of its popularity, a film adaptation, simply titled “Mortal Kombat,” was released in 1995 and directed by Paul W.S. Anderson, who would go on to helm “Resident Evil” in 2002, based upon Capcom’s series of survival horror video games. “Mortal Kombat” is one of the best video game-to-film adaptations to date; although that’s not exactly high praise considering the bar is set quite low. As a film, it’s a failure due to the simplistic story and dialogue but what it does do is perfectly capture the spirit and tone of the video games.

The realm of Outworld, led by the Emperor Shao Kahn (voice of Frank Welker), desires to conquer Earth-Realm but is unable to do so without winning ten consecutive fighting tournaments known as Mortal Kombat, which is held once every generation. With nine wins, the tenth tournament will decide the fate of the Earth. Liu Kang (Robin Shou) learns of his younger brother’s death at the hands of the evil sorcerer Shang Tsung (Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa) and enters the tournament to avenge his death. Hollywood movie star Johnny Cage (Linden Ashby) is branded as a fake martial artist by the media and competes to prove himself while U.S. Special Forces soldier Sonya Blade (Bridgette Wilson) is after a murderer known as Kano (Trevor Goddard), who killed her partner. Although initially wary of each other, these three quickly strike up a friendship during the tournament and are guided by Lord Raiden (Christopher Lambert), the god of thunder and protector of Earth-Realm. To defeat Shang Tsung and save Earth-Realm from being conquered, Liu Kang and his newfound allies must not only battle numerous foes wielding strange powers but also face their own fears and doubts.

I first saw “Mortal Kombat” way back when it was released in theaters in 1995 (wow, sixteen years ago!) and loved it, mostly for the fight scenes. Watching it again now, the film looks silly with its dated visuals and CG but Anderson does successfully capture what made the video games so popular in the first place. Like its source material, the story is paper-thin; why Hollywood continues to adapt fighting games into films is beyond me. The first twenty minutes establishes the three major characters and their motivations for fighting in Mortal Kombat and its pretty much non-stop action once they arrive on Shang Tsung’s island, with small bits of exposition thrown in-between fight scenes. The franchise itself has extensive back-stories for all the characters but none of it is here besides a few subtle references. Trying to incorporate it would’ve confused the audience anyway. Character development is nil but the cast does manage to infuse their characters with some personality. Of course, what we all came to see are the fights and they are well-choreographed but lacking the staple blood and gore of the video games to keep it a kid-friendly PG-13. Popular characters like Sub-Zero (François Petit), Scorpion (Chris Casamassa), Reptile (Keith Cooke) and Goro (voice of Kevin Michael Richardson), brought to life by Tom Woodruff Jr. wearing a sculpted suit and animatronics, make appearances. Much of the fighting is shouldered by Robin Shou, who also did the fight choreography. While Linden Ashby and Bridgette Wilson put on a good show, their lack of martial arts experience shows with their stiff movements, the limited amount of fight scenes they participate in, and the number of wide shots used to hide the stunt doubles. CG is used sparingly and is largely exclusive to Reptile, who sticks out like a sore thumb. Perhaps the most memorable element was its theme music, known as Techno Syndrome on the official soundtrack. It went on to define the “Mortal Kombat” franchise.

Most of the ‘acting’ occurs in the first twenty minutes as the cast establishes their characters. Linden Ashby mostly just sprouts cheesy one-liners while Bridgette Wilson looks way too serious for a film of this type. What little drama is provided by Robin Shou as Liu Kang, who ran away to escape his destiny and now feels guilty for leaving his younger brother behind to be killed. Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa surprised me as the evil sorcerer Shang Tsung and he seemed to relish playing him like a cartoon villain. Finally, there’s Christopher Lambert hamming it up as god of thunder Lord Raiden and former Bond Girl Talisa Soto providing some eye-candy while wearing a leather bustier.

“Mortal Kombat” is slated to be released on Blu-Ray in North America on April 19, 2011, alongside its sequel and the ninth game. However, it is already available in Canada since last March, courtesy of Alliance. The picture quality is quite a leap from the DVD and you’ll notice a lot of small details with the sets and clothing. Sometimes, the color palette leans toward a yellowish hue. Although rare, certain scenes do look too soft. The most disappointing aspect is the audio, which is only Dolby Digital 5.1 at 448 kbps, ported over from the DVD. You’ll have to crank up the volume just to hear what’s going on. The North American version will have a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track and come on a 50 GB disc as opposed to 25 GB on this one. There are no extras. Heck, there’s not even a menu or subtitles! The special features on the upcoming NA version look bare as well with a tie-in animated movie, the film’s theatrical trailer, and the trailer for the upcoming ninth game.

Released on August 18, 1998, “Mortal Kombat” unsurprisingly received negative reviews with 35% on Rotten Tomatoes. Critics found that ‘despite an effective otherworldly atmosphere and appropriately cheesy visuals, [the film] suffers from its poorly constructed plot, laughable dialogue, and subpar acting.’ It was a box office success, earning $70 million domestic and $122 million worldwide against an estimated $18 million production budget. In fact, the film stayed at the top spot for three weekends in a row. “Mortal Kombat” doesn’t have much going for it besides the fight scenes but what it does, it does very well. This certainly isn’t a great movie but as an adaptation of a popular video game, you couldn’t have wished for more.

Final Rating: 3 out of 5

"If I did not believe in you Liu Kang, I would not have helped you. In the Black Tower, you will face three challenges. You must face your enemy. You must face yourself. And you must face your worst fear."