Mortal Kombat (1995)

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

Director:

Paul W.S. Anderson (as Paul Anderson)

Writers:

Ed Boon (video games), John Tobias (video games)

Stars:

Christopher Lambert, Robin Shou, Linden Ashby

1 win & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Christopher Lambert	...	Lord Raiden
Robin Shou	...	Liu Kang
Linden Ashby	...	Johnny Cage
Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa	...	Shang Tsung
Bridgette Wilson-Sampras	...	Sonya Blade (as Bridgette Wilson)
Talisa Soto	...	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

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...

---

Plot Keywords:

based on video game | campy | evil man | villain | woman breaks a man's neck | 

---

Taglines:

Test Your Might

---

Genres:

Action | Adventure | Fantasy | Sci-Fi | Thriller

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

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

Did You Know?

Trivia

Ed Boon, co-creator of the original video game Mortal Kombat (1992), starred as the voice of Scorpion.

---

Goofs

(at around 37 mins) 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.

---

Quotes

[first lines]
Chan: No! Please!
Shang Tsung: You're brother's soul is mine!
Chan: Liu!
Shang Tsung: You will be next.

---

Crazy Credits

At the end of the closing credits, a "Flawless victory!" pronouncement is heard.

This statement is used generally in the Mortal Kombat saga on a battle's end, and is used here for the completion of the film.

---

Alternate Versions

The Fox Broadcast version replaced the infamous "Those were $500.00 sunglasses asshole!" line with an alternative take of Johnny Cage saying "Man, are you ugly!".

---

Connections

Referenced in Nostalgia Critic: Elektra (2020)

---

Soundtracks

Lost
Written by Christopher Hall, David Suycott, Stuart Zechman
Performed by Stabbing Westward
Courtesy of Columbia Records
By Arrangement with Sony Music Licensing

User Reviews

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).

Details

Official Sites:

The Threshold Network

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

18 August 1995 (USA)

Also Known As:

Mortal Kombat

Filming Locations:

Santa Monica, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$18,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$23,283,887, 20 August 1995

Gross USA:

$70,454,098

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$122,195,920

Company Credits

Production Co:

New Line Cinema, Threshold Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

101 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS (8 channels)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1