Picked up the Mortal Kombat DVD for ten bucks (to go along with the new Lexmark printer) and got to see it again. Apparently, that’s enough motivation for writing a quick review or something.
Released in 1995-ish, the original Mortal Kombat movie is based somewhat on the original Mortal Kombat video game. For those who don’t know the story, demon sorcerer Shang Tsung holds a tournament for Earth’s greatest warriors and winner challenges champion Goro, who has won nine previous tournaments in a row. A tenth victory would allow Tsung’s emperor to rule the Earth. Riveting stuff.
THE GOOD: Unlike the previous video game-to-movie adaptations which came before it, Mortal Kombat sticks pretty close to the source material. Yeah, some stuff is changed around, but it isn’t that big of a deal and it still makes for goof movie stuff. The fight scenes are well done; some characters even pull off their special moves from the games without making it look entirely ridiculous. The acting isn’t all that great, but it’s not downright horrible.
THE BAD: The techno soundtrack was probably a good thing back then, but watching it now, it seems so dated. Funny considering every movie these days have techno-this and techno-that as their soundtracks. Whatever.
OVERALL: Mortal Kombat is one of those rare video game movies that does the source material justice and for the most part, it still holds up today as a fairly entertaining flick. In a time where video games movie comprise of rush jobs and Uwe Boll trainwrecks (some of which I have seen… sadly enough), a rare good flick is something to celebrate. Check out the original MK movie (forget the sequel). The DVD ought to be pretty cheap at this point.
dtm666 