Pluskylang Great Film overall

Hayden Kane There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

Lidia Draper Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.

Candida It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

cilaszero As a Video game adaption film this movie is by far the best Video game adaption film of all time,Mortal kombat tried to fit everything from the 1st video game & a little from the 2nd into the film & it did it very nicely,the fight scene's are straight to the point not much dialog & that's the way it should be. As Far as this film goes it is the best video game adaption film i've ever seen the work that went into making it & the great cast was solid.As for the what came after it the sequel was terrible

Paul Magne Haakonsen Granted with the success of the arcade game that spans over multiple platforms and is readily available in many versions, that the transition to the big screen would eventually spawn an adaptation of the "Mortal Kombat" franchise. And the world was introduced to that back in 1995.Now, I have seen "Mortal Kombat" about three or four times since then, and I can't really claim that it improves with each viewing. In fact, the movie clings on to the mediocre end result that turned out to be this 1995 movie.The storyline in "Mortal Kombat" was as weak as Budweiser Light, so don't expect anything much of a kick here, pardon the pun. But then again, what could you expect from a movie that is based on a game that is solely fighting and nothing else? It felt like they were trying to jam backstories into the movie from way too many characters, but failed at each and every one of them, and with no real solid storyline, it was just hard to center the storytelling on something concrete. And what was even more bizarre was that there was little concern about killing off established characters from the game left and right.The costumes and wardrobe definitely could have used a bigger budget. While the outfits do look much like they did back in the mid-1990's, there was just something too plain and low budget about them. There were not much details and such."Mortal Kombat" actually had decent enough acting for what it turned out to be, especially since the actors and actresses had very, very little to work with in terms of script and storyline. Of course, this is not Shakespearian performances in any way, and you pretty much know what you are in for with a movie of this caliber.Robin Shou, Linden Ashby and Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa carried the movie well enough, given the fact that they had very little to work with. But why they opted for Christopher Lambert to portray Rayden was just beyond me, especially since he semi-whispers all of his dialogue.As for the dialogue in "Mortal Kombat", well, let's just say that it was as corny and flawed as you would expect from a movie based on a weak storyline and one-dimensional characters. One might actually go as far as saying, in that classic voice used in the game, this: "flawed dialogue".The special effects in "Mortal Kombat" was not impressive either. And it was a rather bitter pill to swallow to witness that ropy grabber that came out of Scorpions hand as it flew about. It looked so fake that it didn't even do the arcade game any justice. As for Goro, well, he was well-enough intended, but the animation and CGI just was too synthetic.All in all, "Mortal Kombat" is a generic movie adaptation of a good enough fighting game. But there was very little of a storyline here, and the movie constitutes little more than just being an hour and a half of fighting.

Giallo Fanatic This is by no means a good movie but it is not bad either. There are many cheesy lines uttered by the characters, the fight scenes are slow, it has some cheesy music, the special-effects are sub-par at best, the plot is just an excuse for fight scenes, the acting is also sub-par at best, tension never really builds up, it is often unintentionally funny and the characters consists of stereotypes. So you might be wondering, why do you bother giving the movie 5 out of 10 then? Well, childhood memories. Also because the set design is interesting, interesting camera angles are used, the villains are kinda cool (well, at least Scorpion, Sub-Zero and Reptile), it is an interesting idea and to some degree it has charm. Speaking of idea, I can not help but imagine how the movie could have turned out to be if it had been done right. I mean, there were some potentials for some good fight scenes, better plot, acting, directing and production. Better music too. But I admit, the director was able to make the movie kind of decent. Well, not really decent but close given the material he was given to work with.In comparison to the games, which are fast and furious this comes across as kind of childish and sloppy. The fight scenes could have definitely been done better. Maybe also a little more violent. But in comparison to many of the atrocious game-turned-movies this comes across as almost good. Almost. What I think the reason is it is because it has some charm. Not the kind of charm that will make you applaud it, but the kind of charm that makes you laugh at its cheesiness. Not to mention the occasional really bad acting. Or the music. Or the words that come out of the characters' mouths. Also if seriously compared to other Martial Arts movies, this is kind of an embarrassment. But what I think is the worst part about this movie is its lack of atmosphere. We just basically see a bunch of people walking around, fighting and uttering hilariously bad lines. But like I already mentioned, I give 5 out of 10 because of the childhood memories and the cheesy charm. Worth watching for the laughs.

MaximumMadness I'm not going to try and convince you that 1995's "Mortal Kombat" is a spectacular film. Heck, I'm not even going to try to convince you that it's particularly good. Inspired by the brutal arcade games, the film is little more than a broad piece of "fluff"... a shallow bit of entertainment filled to burst with only the most common of cliché and trope, with an emphasis on effects over substance and action over drama. It's cheese, plain and simple. And yet, director Paul W.S. Anderson's film has gone on to become something of an icon for children of the 90's. A pop-culture phenomena that is still widely beloved. Even its brilliantly goofy techno theme-song is still a standard at many a nightclub and house- party. It's elevated itself beyond its boundaries and is now often regarded as a classic of its decade, fondly recollected by those of us who used to obsessively rent the VHS at Video King every weekend. Oh, it's cheese. But it's delicious, nostalgic and entertaining 90's cheese.A group of Earth's greatest warriors- including the vengeful Liu Kang (Robin Shou), special forces agent Sonya Blade (Bridgette Wilson) and washed-up action-star Johnny Cage (Linden Ashby) are united by Thunder God Raiden (Christopher Lambert) to take part in a legendary tournament known as "Mortal Kombat." The goal is to pit fighters from various realms and dimensions against one another to find the greatest warriors in the known universe. However, should a world lose ten consecutive tournaments, they will be at the mercy of the victor- in this case, the dreaded "Outworld" has won nine against Earth, and the treacherous sorcerer Shang Tsung (Cary- Hiroyuki Tagawa) is eyeing his tenth victory so that he may conquer the Earth for his emperor. And so, our heroes must try and save the planet with the help of Outworld princess Kitana (Talisa Soto), who seeks retribution for the death of her parents at the emperor's hands.Yes, the plot sounds very silly, and indeed it is, often being summarized as a fantasy riff on the classic Bruce Lee film "Enter the Dragon." But it's not the main focus here. Merely a backdrop to help deliver what the film excels at, which is the development of highly likable characters and wonderfully thrilling action sequences, with at the time mind- bending special effects. You'll find yourself very much willing to forgive the somewhat shoddy story development for these very reasons.The fantastic casting of our lead actors and the witty dialog helps us care and root for our heroes. Shou is fantastic as our "chosen one" hero Liu Kang, a man haunted by the death of his brother at the hands of the dreaded Shang Tsung. He's got a dark streak as a result, but also a very humanizing and identifiable sense of wit, and will occasionally snap back with a clever comeback or joke to remind us that he's not just a blank-slate, but has a likable personality despite his turmoil. Wilson is quite good as Sonya, who similarly has a chip on her shoulder thanks to the death of her partner. She's sort-of the most serious of our group, and while the role may come off as flatter than the others as a result, she plays an invaluable role thanks to evening everyone out. Ashby is a wonderful addition, and is the closest we have to a traditional comic relief. Formerly a famed actor, Johnny is now a bit of a diva, but Ashby wisely plays him as being just self-aware enough to know that he needs to grow up to become a better person. But he never quite lets go, leading to some golden moments of comedy. But Lambert and Tagawa steal the show in their roles as Raiden and Shang Tsung. Lambert seems to be having the most fun he's ever had, and he uniquely interprets the all-power Thunder God as having a bit of a sarcastic sense of humor, which I found very welcoming. He's just detached enough from mortality to not quite be able to fit in with the other heroes, leading to some nice "culture clash" moments of humor. And Tagawa just chews the scenery in the perfect way as our fiendishly entertaining villain. He knows he's crafting a character that you'll love to hate, and he plays the role to perfection, with a childish glee.The action is the other big highlight here, and even more than twenty years later, I think it generally holds up. This was one of those first big, sweeping martial-arts hits in the United States, and we hadn't seen anything quite like it at the time. The concept of a tournament featuring fighters from different worlds and dimensions allows for some splendid and entertaining mash- ups, so no two fights are quite the same, and there's good variety. There's also a really nice natural progression over the course of the film, so the stakes really ramp up with each passing action beat. Director Paul W.S. Anderson has a really keen eye for scope and composition, and knows how to perfectly frame a shot and cut together sequences to make for some great gasps and winces from his audience. And he knows just the right moments to supply enough levity for us to catch our breath before hitting us again with an even more intense martial arts battle. It's splendidly directed and structured and there's never a dull moment.In the end, "Mortal Kombat" may not be a great film. But it is great entertainment. It's a fun and wild relic of its time, and I know that for this fan, it'll always be a movie I pop on now and again for nostalgic kicks. I give it a very strong 8 out of 10 for this reason. Pop on the nostalgia goggles and get ready to have a fast, fun time.