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Mortal Kombat (1995)

5.6
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Ratings: 5.6/10 from 55,788 users   Metascore: 58/100
Reviews: 258 user | 47 critic | 12 from Metacritic.com

Three unknowing martial artists are summoned to a mysterious island to compete in a tournament whose outcome will decide the fate of the world.

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(video games), (video games), 1 more credit »
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Title: Mortal Kombat (1995)

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Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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Sonya Blade (as Bridgette Wilson)
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François Petit ...
Keith Cooke ...
Reptile (as Keith H. Cooke)
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Kenneth Edwards ...
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Daniel Haggard ...
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Storyline

Based on the popular video game of the same name "Mortal Kombat" tells the story of an ancient tournament where the best of the best of different Realms fight each other. The goal - ten wins to be able to legally invade the losing Realm. Outworld has so far collected nine wins against Earthrealm, so it's up to Lord Rayden and his fighters to stop Outworld from reaching the final victory... Written by CyberRax

Plot Summary | Plot Synopsis

Taglines:

Choose Your Destiny... See more »


Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for non-stop martial arts action and some violence | See all certifications »

Parents Guide:

 »
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Details

Official Sites:

Country:

Language:

Release Date:

18 August 1995 (USA)  »

Also Known As:

Combate Mortal  »

Filming Locations:

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Box Office

Budget:

$18,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$70,360,285 (USA)
 »

Company Credits

Show detailed on  »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

Sound Mix:

| | (8 channels)

Color:

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1
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Did You Know?

Trivia

Frank Welker was uncredited as the voice of the creature Reptile and w of the Emperor, Shao Kahn. The voice Welker gave Shao Kahn is almost identical to Welker's Dr. Claw voice on Inspector Gadget. See more »

Goofs

During the fight scene in the dining hall (where we see Kano eating and talking to Goro), Johnny Cage pulls a weapon out of the hands of one of the guards. In the next shot of him, where he's kicking another guard in the head, the weapon is not in his hands. In the last shot of him (forcing him into Sonya's out-stretched arm to knock him out), the weapon is back in Cage's hands. See more »

Quotes

Kano: Hello baby. Did you miss me?
See more »

Crazy Credits

Snake and insect action was monitored by the American Humane Association, which commends the filmmaker for his responsible and sensitive treatment of even the smallest of Earth's creatures. See more »

Connections

References Riki-Oh: The Story of Ricky (1991) See more »

Soundtracks

"Can't Happen Here"
Written by Walter Flakus, Christopher Hall, Jim Sellers, David Suycott, Stuart Zechman
Performed by Stabbing Westward
Courtesy of Columbia Records
By Arrangement with Sony Music Licensing
See more »

Frequently Asked Questions

See more (Spoiler Alert!) »

User Reviews

Street Fighter Correction
22 September 2003 | by (USA) – See all my reviews

Following up the spectacular disaster of competing fighting game turned movie, Mortal Kombat succeeded where Street Fighter failed. Not a fantastic movie nor one that goes in my top ten, but Mortal Kombat (without a doubt) is one of the better game-based-films.

MK wisely avoids inventing plot in unwelcomed places and sticks to the game as frequently as it can get away with. Actually the biggest contradiction that comes to mind is Scorpion and Sub-zero on the same team. Die hard fans will call the screenwriter on this, the rest of us won't care.

All the mistakes Street Fighter made, MK avoided. Instead of colorful campy cameo-fest, Mortal Kombat comes across as a dark tale about a handful of martial artists shot with an exaggerated epic style with humorous undertones to provide comic relief every now and again. Then again, it is ironic that Street Fighter would feel cartoony and Mortal Kombat more concrete when looking at the style of the games (drawn sprites versus live actors). MK is a little silly when reproducing game effects and trademark moves, though now more and more films are moving in that direction (Matrix, anyone?)

The movie's premise is the first Mortal Kombat arcade game featuring a few plot hints (journey to Outworld) and a few characters from Mortal Kombat 2 (Kitana, Jax, a youthful Shang Tsung.)

Christopher Lambert and Cary-Hiroyuki Takawa make the most memorable impact as Thunder God Rayden and Shape-shifting Sorcerer Shang Tsung. Both ham up their performances just enough to remind us that we're watching a live-action video game, but they don't go overboard into Street Fighter's territory. The rest of the cast plays their part straight forward and makes their characters believable.

It's a quick and slick film, gets to the action and gets over with before you can ask too many questions. It's a pretty decent martial arts film, and an outstanding ‘video game' film. And in 1995, it was the best game-inspired film you could find. Today it's still in the top five.


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