Mortal Kombat (1995)

Director:

Paul W.S. Anderson

Writers (WGA):

Ed Boon (video games) &
John Tobias (video games) ...

Release Date:

18 August 1995 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Fantasy | Thriller

Tagline:

Nothing In This World Has Prepared You For This

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

First Of Series | Woman Fights Man | Movie Set | Machine Gun | Invisibility

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Christopher Lambert	...	Lord Rayden
Robin Shou	...	Liu Kang
Linden Ashby	...	Johnny Cage
Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa	...	Shang Tsung
Bridgette Wilson	...	Sonya Blade
Talisa Soto	...	Princess Kitana
Trevor Goddard	...	Kano
Chris Casamassa	...	Scorpion
François Petit	...	Sub-Zero
Keith Cooke	...	Reptile (as Keith H. Cooke)
Hakim Alston	...	Fighting Monk
Kenneth Edwards	...	Art Lean
John Fujioka	...	Chief Priest
Daniel Haggard	...	Assistant Director
Sandy Helberg	...	Director

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for non-stop martial arts action and some violence.

Runtime:

101 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS (8 channels)

Certification:

Iceland:16 (video rating) | Japan:PG-12 (uncut version) | Iceland:14 | Japan:R-15 | Argentina:Atp | Australia:M | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14A | Finland:K-16 | France:U | Germany:16 | Hong Kong:IIB | Mexico:B | Netherlands:12 (re-rated) | New Zealand:M | Norway:18 (1995) | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:PG | South Korea:15 | Spain:13 | Sweden:15 | Taiwan:R-12 | UK:15 | USA:PG-13

Filming Locations:

Austin, Texas, USA

Company:

New Line Cinema

Trivia:

Cameron Diaz was originally set to play Sonya Blade, but she broke her wrist before filming and was replaced by Bridgette Wilson.

Goofs:

Continuity: Liu Kang's hair is suddenly tidy after getting up from being knocked down by Shang Tsung.

Quotes:

Kano: Give it up, baby. I've studied all your moves.
Sonya Blade: Yeah? STUDY THIS!
[hits him]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Blade (1998)

Soundtrack:

Can't Happen Here

Best video game movie to date

And that really says a lot about how the not-so-current trend of games-to-movies are received among critics. But this one was easily the best of all of them. This is easily in a league higher than the likes of Super Mario Brothers, Double Dragon, Street Fighter, Wing Commander, the Tomb Raider movies, Resident Evils 1 and 2, House of the Dead and Alone in the Dark, not to mention that this was one of the few that actually stayed true to the game, from the costumes to the tourney fights, from the characters to the plot lines, everything was done right, and it makes for one hell of a fight-'em-to-the-finish type movie.

But heed my warning: AVOID THE SEQUEL AT ALL COST! Just stick with the original. You won't be disappointed (well, maybe you will, just maybe).