Mortal Kombat (1995 Film)
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''Mortal Kombat'' is a 1995 American
fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving Magic (supernatural), magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy ...
martial arts Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defense; military and law enforcement applications; combat sport, competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; a ...
action film Action film is a film genre in which the protagonist is thrust into a series of events that typically involve violence and physical feats. The genre tends to feature a mostly resourceful hero struggling against incredible odds, which include life ...
directed by
Paul W. S. Anderson Paul William Scott Anderson (born 4 March 1965) is an English filmmaker who regularly works in science fiction films and video game adaptations. Anderson made his feature film debut with the British independent film '' Shopping'' (1994), a ...
and written by Kevin Droney. Based on the video game franchise of the same name, it is the first installment in the ''Mortal Kombat'' film series. Starring
Linden Ashby Clarence Linden Garnett Ashby III (born May 23, 1960) is an American actor and director. On television, he portrayed Brett Cooper on the final two seasons of the Fox soap opera ''Melrose Place'' (1997–1999) and Sheriff Noah Stilinski on all ...
,
Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa (Japanese: 田川 洋行, ''Tagawa Hiroyuki''; born September 27, 1950) is a Japanese-born American actor, film producer, and martial artist. Often cast as villains, he is known for his film roles in ''The Last Emperor'' ...
,
Robin Shou Shou Wan-por (, born July 17, 1960), known professionally as Robin Shou, is a Hong Kong-American actor, martial artist and stuntman. He is known for roles such as Liu Kang in the ''Mortal Kombat'' film series (1995 and 1997), Gobei in ''Beverly ...
,
Bridgette Wilson Bridgette Leann Wilson Sampras (born September 25, 1973) is a former American actress, singer, model, and Miss Teen USA award winner. Wilson began her career as an actress after being crowned Miss Teen USA in 1990, playing the character of L ...
,
Talisa Soto Miriam Talisa Soto (born March 27, 1967) is an American former actress and former model. She is known for portraying Bond girl Lupe Lamora in the 1989 James Bond film ''Licence to Kill'', and as Kitana in the 1995 fantasy action film '' Mortal Ko ...
, and
Christopher Lambert Christophe Guy Denis "Christopher" Lambert (; ; born March 29, 1957) is a French-American actor, producer, and novelist. He started his career playing supporting parts in several French films, and became internationally famous for portraying Ta ...
, the film follows a group of heroes who participate in the eponymous Mortal Kombat tournament to protect Earth from being conquered by malevolent forces. Its story primarily adapts the original 1992 game, while also using elements from the game ''
Mortal Kombat II ''Mortal Kombat II'' is a 1993 arcade fighting game originally produced by Midway for the arcades in 1993. It was later ported to multiple home systems, including MS-DOS, Amiga, Game Boy, Game Gear, Sega Genesis, 32X, Sega Saturn, Super Nint ...
'' (1993). The film premiered in the United States on August 18, 1995. It received mixed reviews from critics, who praised the martial art sequences, atmosphere, and production values, but criticized the performances, script, and toned-down violence from the games. Despite the mixed critical response, the film was well-received by fans of the series. It was also a commercial success, grossing $122 million on an $20 million budget. ''Mortal Kombat'' was followed by a 1997 sequel, '' Mortal Kombat: Annihilation'', along with two television series: the animated sequel '' Mortal Kombat: Defenders of the Realm'' (1996) and the live-action prequel '' Mortal Kombat: Conquest'' (1998–1999). The follow-ups were unable to match the original film's success, and the series was
rebooted ''Rebooted'' is the third season of the computer-animated television series '' Ninjago: Masters of Spinjitzu'' (titled ''Ninjago'' from the eleventh season onward). The series was created by Michael Hegner and Tommy Andreasen. The season aired f ...
with a 2021 film.


Plot

Mortal Kombat is a martial arts tournament that is held once every generation between representatives of the realms of Earth and Outworld, conceived by the Elder Gods amid looming invasion of the Earth by Outworld. If Outworld achieves ten consecutive victories, the Outworld Emperor will invade and conquer the Earthrealm. They have already won nine times.
Shaolin monk Shaolin Monastery (少林寺 ''Shàolínsì''), also known as Shaolin Temple, is a renowned monastic institution recognized as the birthplace of Chan Buddhism and the cradle of Shaolin Kung Fu. It is located at the foot of Wuru Peak of the So ...
Liu Kang Liu Kang is a character (arts), fictional player character, character in the ''Mortal Kombat'' fighting game series by Midway Games and NetherRealm Studios. Depicted as Earthrealm's greatest warrior and champion, he is generally the main hero of ...
, movie star
Johnny Cage Johnny Cage is a fictional character in the ''Mortal Kombat'' fighting game franchise by Midway Games/ NetherRealm Studios. Introduced in the original 1992 game, he is an action movie star with an extensive martial arts background. The series d ...
, and special forces officer
Sonya Blade Sonya Blade is a character (arts), fictional player character, character in the ''Mortal Kombat'' fighting game franchise by Midway Games and NetherRealm Studios. She debuted in the Mortal Kombat (1992 video game), original 1992 game as the roste ...
are chosen by Rayden, the god of thunder and defender of Earthrealm, to prevent Outworld from winning their tenth straight tournament. Liu seeks revenge against the tournament host
Shang Tsung The Shang dynasty (), also known as the Yin dynasty (), was a Chinese royal dynasty founded by Tang of Shang (Cheng Tang) that ruled in the Yellow River valley in the second millennium BC, traditionally succeeding the Xia dynasty and f ...
for killing his brother Chan, a death for which he blames himself; Sonya is lured onto the ship headed for Shang Tsung's island by crime boss
Kano Kano may refer to: Places *Kano State, a state in Northern Nigeria * Kano (city), a city in Nigeria, and the capital of Kano State **Kingdom of Kano, a Hausa kingdom between the 10th and 14th centuries **Sultanate of Kano, a Hausa kingdom between ...
, who murdered her partner; and Johnny seeks to debunk media claims that his martial arts skills are faked. Tsung orders the creature
Reptile Reptiles, as most commonly defined are the animals in the class Reptilia ( ), a paraphyletic grouping comprising all sauropsids except birds. Living reptiles comprise turtles, crocodilians, squamates (lizards and snakes) and rhynchocephalians ( ...
to prevent Princess Kitana, the Emperor's adopted daughter, from allying with the Earth warriors. Liu, Johnny, and Sonya advance to the final rounds of the tournament, with Sonya killing Kano, Johnny defeating
Scorpion Scorpions are predatory arachnids of the order Scorpiones. They have eight legs, and are easily recognized by a pair of grasping pincers and a narrow, segmented tail, often carried in a characteristic forward curve over the back and always end ...
, and Liu killing Sub-Zero. Soon, most of Earthrealm's warriors are defeated by the reigning tournament champion, Prince Goro, including one of Johnny Cage's peers, Art Lean, whose soul is taken by Shang Tsung. This causes the few remaining Earthrealm warriors to lose hope. Rayden warns the Earth warriors that their own fears and egos will make them lose to Goro, but that Goro can still be beaten by mortal men and women. Hoping to protect Liu and Sonya, Johnny challenges Goro. Shang Tsung allows the fight, under the stipulation that he may, in turn, choose anyone to face him in the final fight, in any place of his choosing. Rayden initially rebukes Johnny for challenging Goro, but is impressed when Johnny shows his awareness of the gravity of the tournament. During their fight, Johnny uses guile and the element of surprise to defeat an overconfident Goro. Now desperate, Tsung takes Sonya hostage and takes her to Outworld, intending to fight her in the final fight for an easy win. Knowing that his powers are ineffective there, Rayden sends Liu and Johnny into Outworld to rescue Sonya and challenge Tsung. In Outworld, Liu is attacked by Reptile, but gains the upper hand and kills him. Kitana meets up with Johnny and Liu. She reveals to them that her home was once a beautiful and peaceful place, until the Emperor came from a third realm and brought Outworld to ruin after winning ten consecutive Mortal Kombat tournaments there. He then adopted Kitana and took the throne for himself. Not wanting the Emperor to succeed in taking over Earthrealm, Kitana helps them infiltrate Shang Tsung's fortress, disguised in the robes of his followers. Before Shang Tsung can fight Sonya, the trio reveal themselves. Kitana berates Tsung for his treachery to the Emperor and for breaking the rules of Mortal Kombat, distracting him while Liu and Johnny free Sonya. Tsung then challenges Johnny but is counter-challenged by Liu. During the lengthy battle, Liu faces not only Shang Tsung but the souls that he took in past tournaments. To take advantage, Shang Tsung morphs into Chan to confuse Liu. Finally accepting that he is not responsible for Chan's death allows Liu to see through the charade. As Shang Tsung begins to lose his power over the souls he took, Liu Kang fires an energy bolt at him, knocking him off and landing onto a bed of spikes. Tsung's death releases all of the captive souls, including Chan's. Before ascending to the afterlife, Chan tells Liu that he will remain with him in spirit until they are reunited. The Earth warriors return to Earthrealm, where a victory celebration is taking place at Liu's Shaolin temple. The jubilation stops when the Outworld Emperor appears and declares he has come for everyone's souls. Raiden and the warriors take up fighting stances.


Cast

*
Christopher Lambert Christophe Guy Denis "Christopher" Lambert (; ; born March 29, 1957) is a French-American actor, producer, and novelist. He started his career playing supporting parts in several French films, and became internationally famous for portraying Ta ...
as Lord Rayden: God of thunder and protector of Earthrealm who guides the warriors on their journey. He desires to aid the heroes in defending Earthrealm, but as he himself is not mortal, he is not permitted to participate in the tournament and may only advise them and act to prevent cheating.
Sean Connery Sir Sean Connery (born Thomas Connery; 25 August 1930 – 31 October 2020) was a Scottish actor. He was the first actor to portray fictional British secret agent James Bond on film, starring in seven Bond films between 1962 and 1983. Origina ...
was offered the role, but turned it down. *
Robin Shou Shou Wan-por (, born July 17, 1960), known professionally as Robin Shou, is a Hong Kong-American actor, martial artist and stuntman. He is known for roles such as Liu Kang in the ''Mortal Kombat'' film series (1995 and 1997), Gobei in ''Beverly ...
as
Liu Kang Liu Kang is a character (arts), fictional player character, character in the ''Mortal Kombat'' fighting game series by Midway Games and NetherRealm Studios. Depicted as Earthrealm's greatest warrior and champion, he is generally the main hero of ...
: A former Shaolin monk, who enters the tournament to avenge his brother's death. He is among the first who notice Kitana's sympathy towards Earthrealm. As in most of the games in the ''Mortal Kombat'' series, Liu Kang is the main protagonist. This was Shou's second American film, as his first American role was in 1990, the made-for-television film ''
Forbidden Nights ''Forbidden Nights'' is a 1990 American made-for-television drama film directed by Waris Hussein and based on the article ''The Rocky Course of Love in China'' written by Judith Shapiro. The film was shot in Hong Kong and stars Melissa Gilbert, Rob ...
''. *
Linden Ashby Clarence Linden Garnett Ashby III (born May 23, 1960) is an American actor and director. On television, he portrayed Brett Cooper on the final two seasons of the Fox soap opera ''Melrose Place'' (1997–1999) and Sheriff Noah Stilinski on all ...
as
Johnny Cage Johnny Cage is a fictional character in the ''Mortal Kombat'' fighting game franchise by Midway Games/ NetherRealm Studios. Introduced in the original 1992 game, he is an action movie star with an extensive martial arts background. The series d ...
: A
Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood, ...
superstar who enters the tournament to prove to the world that his martial arts skills are legitimate. Ashby trained in
karate (; ; Okinawan language, Okinawan pronunciation: ) is a martial arts, martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom. It developed from the Okinawan martial arts, indigenous Ryukyuan martial arts (called , "hand"; ''tii'' in Okinawan) under the ...
,
tae kwon do ''Taekwondo'', ''Tae Kwon Do'' or ''Taekwon-Do'' (; ko, 태권도/跆拳道 ) is a Korean martial arts, Korean form of martial arts involving punching and kicking techniques, with emphasis on head-height kicks, spinning jump kicks, and fast k ...
, and
kung fu Chinese martial arts, often called by the umbrella terms kung fu (; ), kuoshu () or wushu (), are multiple fighting styles that have developed over the centuries in Greater China. These fighting styles are often classified according to common ...
especially for this film. *
Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa (Japanese: 田川 洋行, ''Tagawa Hiroyuki''; born September 27, 1950) is a Japanese-born American actor, film producer, and martial artist. Often cast as villains, he is known for his film roles in ''The Last Emperor'' ...
as
Shang Tsung The Shang dynasty (), also known as the Yin dynasty (), was a Chinese royal dynasty founded by Tang of Shang (Cheng Tang) that ruled in the Yellow River valley in the second millennium BC, traditionally succeeding the Xia dynasty and f ...
: A powerful sorcerer and the host of the tournament. Tagawa was the filmmakers' first and only choice for the role; he was instantly selected after he came to his audition in costume and read his lines while standing on a chair. Tagawa was allowed to play a younger version of Shang Tsung in order to avoid the excessive makeup that would have been required to duplicate the character's aged appearance in the first game. *
Bridgette Wilson Bridgette Leann Wilson Sampras (born September 25, 1973) is a former American actress, singer, model, and Miss Teen USA award winner. Wilson began her career as an actress after being crowned Miss Teen USA in 1990, playing the character of L ...
as
Sonya Blade Sonya Blade is a character (arts), fictional player character, character in the ''Mortal Kombat'' fighting game franchise by Midway Games and NetherRealm Studios. She debuted in the Mortal Kombat (1992 video game), original 1992 game as the roste ...
: An American
Special Forces Special forces and special operations forces (SOF) are military units trained to conduct special operations. NATO has defined special operations as "military activities conducted by specially designated, organized, selected, trained and equip ...
officer pursuing Kano after he kills her partner. Wilson, who was jokingly nicknamed "RoboBabe" during production by director
Paul W. S. Anderson Paul William Scott Anderson (born 4 March 1965) is an English filmmaker who regularly works in science fiction films and video game adaptations. Anderson made his feature film debut with the British independent film '' Shopping'' (1994), a ...
, performed all her own stunts, including fight scenes. *
Talisa Soto Miriam Talisa Soto (born March 27, 1967) is an American former actress and former model. She is known for portraying Bond girl Lupe Lamora in the 1989 James Bond film ''Licence to Kill'', and as Kitana in the 1995 fantasy action film '' Mortal Ko ...
as
Kitana Kitana is a fictional character in the ''Mortal Kombat'' fighting game franchise by Midway Games and NetherRealm Studios. Debuting in ''Mortal Kombat II'' (1993), she is a royal from the fictional realm of Edenia. Her primary weapon is a pair o ...
: The Outworld emperor's adopted daughter who decides to help the Earth warriors. She is attracted to Liu Kang, who reciprocates and takes her advice to go further. Soto had previously appeared alongside Tagawa in ''
Licence to Kill ''Licence to Kill'' is a 1989 spy film, the sixteenth in the ''James Bond'' series produced by Eon Productions, and the second and final film to star Timothy Dalton as the MI6 agent James Bond. It sees Bond suspended from MI6 as he pursues t ...
''. *
Trevor Goddard Trevor Joseph Goddard (14 October 1962 – 7 June 2003) was an English actor. He was best known for playing Kano in the martial arts film ''Mortal Kombat'', Lieutenant Commander Mic Brumby in the television series '' JAG'' and main villain ...
as
Kano Kano may refer to: Places *Kano State, a state in Northern Nigeria * Kano (city), a city in Nigeria, and the capital of Kano State **Kingdom of Kano, a Hausa kingdom between the 10th and 14th centuries **Sultanate of Kano, a Hausa kingdom between ...
: An underworld crime boss who joins forces with Shang Tsung. Goddard portrayed the character as
Cockney Cockney is an accent and dialect of English, mainly spoken in London and its environs, particularly by working-class and lower middle-class Londoners. The term "Cockney" has traditionally been used to describe a person from the East End, or b ...
English, but due to his accent being misinterpreted, later games would change Kano from being an expatriate American to Australian. *
Chris Casamassa Chris Casamassa (born January 17, 1965) is an American martial artist, actor and stuntman who is best known for his role as Scorpion in the movie ''Mortal Kombat'' and the related TV show, '' Mortal Kombat: Conquest''. He is the son of martial ar ...
as
Scorpion Scorpions are predatory arachnids of the order Scorpiones. They have eight legs, and are easily recognized by a pair of grasping pincers and a narrow, segmented tail, often carried in a characteristic forward curve over the back and always end ...
: An undead warrior under Shang Tsung's control. ''Mortal Kombat'' co-creator
Ed Boon Edward John Boon (born February 22, 1964) is an American video game programmer, voice actor, and director who was employed for over 15 years at Midway Games and since 2011 has worked for Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment in its daughter c ...
voiced the character. * François Petit as Sub-Zero: A cryomancer warrior under Shang Tsung's control. *
Keith Cooke Keith Cooke Hirabayashi (born September 17, 1959; also known as Keith H. Cooke) is an American martial artist, actor and an occasional stuntman. He is best known for portraying Reptile from ''Mortal Kombat'' (1995) and Sub-Zero from the sequ ...
as
Reptile Reptiles, as most commonly defined are the animals in the class Reptilia ( ), a paraphyletic grouping comprising all sauropsids except birds. Living reptiles comprise turtles, crocodilians, squamates (lizards and snakes) and rhynchocephalians ( ...
: A creature who serves Shang Tsung. Cooke portrayed the character's human form, while his lizard form was computer generated. Reptile's vocal effects were provided by
Frank Welker Franklin Wendell Welker (born March 12, 1946) is an American voice actor. He began his career in the 1960s, and holds over 860 film, television, and video game credits as of 2022, making him one of the most prolific voice actors of all time. With ...
. *
Sandy Helberg Sandy Helberg (born May 28, 1949) is a German-born American actor. Early life Helberg was born in Frankfurt, Germany, the son of Tonia (née Altman) and Sam Helberg. His parents were both Holocaust survivors from German-occupied Poland, who met ...
as the director of Cage's latest film. This part was originally intended as a cameo by
Steven Spielberg Steven Allan Spielberg (; born December 18, 1946) is an American director, writer, and producer. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, he is the most commercially successful director of all time. Spie ...
, but scheduling conflicts forced him to back out. * Kenneth Edwards as Art Lean: A martial artist and friend of Johnny Cage who competes in the tournament. * Steven Ho as Chan: Liu Kang's murdered younger brother. *
Peter Jason Peter Edward Ostling (born July 22, 1944), also known as Peter Jason, is an American character actor. He has appeared in over eighty films and a hundred television series. He played Con Stapleton in the series '' Deadwood''. He was a frequent col ...
as Master Boyd: Johnny Cage's sensei. Goro: The reigning Mortal Kombat champion, is physically portrayed by Tom Woodruff, Jr. and voiced by
Kevin Michael Richardson Kevin Michael Richardson (born October 25, 1964) is an American actor. Known for his distinctively deep voice, he has mostly voiced villainous characters in animation and video games. In film, Richardson voiced Goro in ''Mortal Kombat'' (1995) ...
, both of whom were uncredited. Gregory McKinney appears as Jaxx.
Frank Welker Franklin Wendell Welker (born March 12, 1946) is an American voice actor. He began his career in the 1960s, and holds over 860 film, television, and video game credits as of 2022, making him one of the most prolific voice actors of all time. With ...
, who also provided vocal effects for Goro and Reptile, makes an uncredited appearance as the voice of the Outworld Emperor.


Production

While ''
Mortal Kombat II ''Mortal Kombat II'' is a 1993 arcade fighting game originally produced by Midway for the arcades in 1993. It was later ported to multiple home systems, including MS-DOS, Amiga, Game Boy, Game Gear, Sega Genesis, 32X, Sega Saturn, Super Nint ...
'' was in the
playtest A playtest is the process by which a game designer tests a new game for bugs and design flaws before releasing it to market. Playtests can be run "open", "closed", "beta", or otherwise, and are very common with board games, collectible card games, ...
phase and the original ''Mortal Kombat'' had still only been released in arcades, not for home consoles, movie producer
Lawrence Kasanoff Lawrence Alan "Larry" Kasanoff (born June 1, 1959) is an American filmmaker who founded the Vestron Pictures genre subsidiary Lightning Pictures in 1986, Lightstorm Entertainment with James Cameron in 1990, and Threshold Entertainment in 1993. ...
visited some friends at the game's publisher,
Midway Games Midway Games Inc., known previously as Midway Manufacturing and Bally Midway, and commonly known as simply Midway, was an American video game developer and publisher. Midway's franchises included ''Mortal Kombat'', ''Rampage (series), Rampage'' ...
, and played a ''Mortal Kombat'' unit that was in their offices. He saw cinematic possibilities in the concept and expressed interest in making a film based on the game, but Midway head Neil D. Nicastro disagreed that the game could be a successful film, particularly given the failure of past movie adaptations of video games. After months of negotiations, Kasanoff finally acquired a limited option on the ''Mortal Kombat'' film rights. Though a number of top directors submitted pitches for the film, the producers chose unknown director
Paul W. S. Anderson Paul William Scott Anderson (born 4 March 1965) is an English filmmaker who regularly works in science fiction films and video game adaptations. Anderson made his feature film debut with the British independent film '' Shopping'' (1994), a ...
after they saw a screening of his debut film, ''
Shopping Shopping is an activity in which a customer browses the available goods or services presented by one or more retailers with the potential intent to purchase a suitable selection of them. A Retail#Shopper profiles, typology of shopper types ha ...
'', which they felt showed he could take an innovative approach to the material. Anderson had no experience with visual effects but was enthusiastic about making a ''Mortal Kombat'' film, so he read every book he could find on visual effects and, in his words, "kind of bluffed my way in."
Cameron Diaz Cameron Michelle Diaz (born August 30, 1972) is an American actress. With a variety of works in film, she is widely recognised for her work in romantic comedies and animation. Diaz has received various accolades, including nominations for ...
was originally cast as Sonya Blade, but dropped out due to a wrist injury and was replaced by Bridgette Wilson. Wilson had accepted a role in ''
Billy Madison ''Billy Madison'' is a 1995 American comedy film directed by Tamra Davis. It stars Adam Sandler in the title role, Bradley Whitford, Bridgette Wilson, Norm Macdonald, Darren McGavin, Mark Beltzman, and Larry Hankin. The film was written by Sandler ...
'' after being passed up in the ''Mortal Kombat'' auditions in favor of Diaz, and so had to fly out to the set the morning after her last day filming ''Billy Madison''. Steve James was originally cast to play Jaxx, but he died from
pancreatic cancer Pancreatic cancer arises when cell (biology), cells in the pancreas, a glandular organ behind the stomach, begin to multiply out of control and form a Neoplasm, mass. These cancerous cells have the malignant, ability to invade other parts of t ...
a year before production on the film began. Goro was portrayed by an elaborate $1 million
animatronic Animatronics refers to mechatronic puppets. They are a modern variant of the automaton and are often used for the portrayal of characters in films and in theme park attractions. It is a multidisciplinary field integrating puppetry, anatomy a ...
created by Tom Woodruff Jr. and Alec Gillis of
Amalgamated Dynamics Amalgamated Dynamics, Inc. (ADI) is an American special effects company specializing in animatronics and prosthetic make-up, headquartered in Chatsworth, California. It was founded in 1988 by Stan Winston alumni Tom Woodruff Jr. and Alec Gilli ...
and operated by 13 to 16 puppeteers. This advanced construct proved a continuous source of problems on the set; Goro frequently broke down, and the person operating Goro from inside could only do so for two minutes at a time due to lack of oxygen. Though Anderson did his best to
block Block or blocked may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Block programming, the result of a programming strategy in broadcasting * W242BX, a radio station licensed to Greenville, South Carolina, United States known as ''96.3 ...
and shoot Goro in a way that worked around the animatronic's limitations, ultimately Goro's screen time had to be severely reduced from what was originally planned. Filming began in August 1994 and ended in December 1994. The Outworld exterior scenes were filmed at the abandoned
Kaiser Steel Kaiser Steel was a steel mill near Fontana, California, founded by Henry J. Kaiser on December 1, 1941. The plant's first blast furnace, "Bess No. 1" (named after Kaiser's wife) was fired up on December 30, 1942, and the first steel plate was p ...
mill (now the
Auto Club Speedway Auto Club Speedway, originally opened as California Speedway, is a , low-banked, D-shaped oval superspeedway in unincorporated San Bernardino County, California, near Fontana. It has hosted NASCAR racing annually since 1997. It was also previ ...
) in
Fontana, California Fontana is a city in San Bernardino County, California. Founded by Azariel Blanchard Miller in 1913, it remained essentially rural until World War II, when entrepreneur Henry J. Kaiser built a large steel mill in the area. It is now a regional h ...
, while all of Goro's scenes were filmed in Los Angeles. Shooting locations in Thailand were accessible only by boat, so cast, crew and equipment had to be transported on long canoe-style vessels.
Location manager The location manager is a member of the film crew responsible for finding and securing locations to be used, obtaining all fire, police and other governmental permits, and coordinating the logistics for the production to complete its work. They a ...
Gerrit Folsom constructed an outhouse in a secluded area near the set in order to alleviate the problem of repeated trips to and from the mainland. Filming locations in Thailand include the
Wat Phra Si Sanphet Wat Phra Si Sanphet ( th, วัดพระศรีสรรเพชญ์; "Temple of the Holy, Splendid Omniscient") was the holiest temple on the site of the old Royal Palace in Thailand's ancient capital of Ayutthaya until the city was compl ...
, Wat Chaiwatthanaram and Wat Ratchaburana temples. The arrival of Earth's contestants via boats, Liu Kang's meditation scene and the fight between Liu Kang and Kitana were filmed at the
Railay Beach Railay ( th, ไร่เลย์, ), also known as Rai Leh, is a small peninsula between the city of Krabi and Ao Nang in Thailand. It is accessible only by boat due to high limestone cliffs cutting off mainland access. These cliffs attract roc ...
and the Phra Nang Beach, respectively. The bows of the boats were fitted with ornamental dragon-head carvings and used in the movie as the fighters' secondary transport to Shang Tsung's island from his personal junk. At Anderson's encouragement, the actors ad-libbed much of the film's dialogue, including the quips "Thank God I didn't ask him to park the car." and "Those were $500 sunglasses, asshole." Most of the cast had several weeks of training for the fight sequences prior to the filming, but due to the last-minute recasting of the Sonya Blade role, Bridgette Wilson had to do all her training on the set. The Sonya vs. Kano fight was one of the last scenes filmed so that Wilson would have enough time to train. Despite the intensity of the fight scenes coupled with the actors performing most of their own stunts, the only notable reported injury at the time was a bruised kidney Ashby suffered while shooting Cage's fight scene with Scorpion. Scorpion's
stunt double In filmmaking, a double is a person who substitutes FOR another actor such that the person's face is not shown. There are various terms associated with a double based on the specific body part or ability they serve as a double for, such as stunt ...
violently collided with a steel bar in the same scene, but as with most stunt person injuries, it was not widely reported in the media. Wilson dislocated her shoulder, but found she had no problems once it was put back in place and continued with the filming. Robin Shou fractured two ribs while being thrown into a pillar in the fight scene between Liu Kang and Reptile, but kept quiet about it for fear that the production would be shut down. He told only
Keith Cooke Keith Cooke Hirabayashi (born September 17, 1959; also known as Keith H. Cooke) is an American martial artist, actor and an occasional stuntman. He is best known for portraying Reptile from ''Mortal Kombat'' (1995) and Sub-Zero from the sequ ...
, the actor who plays Reptile, asking him not to hit him on the right side of his rib cage, and finished the scene before going to the hospital. Because they wanted the film to have a
PG-13 The Motion Picture Association film rating system is used in the United States and its territories to rate a motion picture's suitability for certain audiences based on its content. The system and the ratings applied to individual motion pictures ...
rating while staying as close as possible to the video game, the producers talked extensively with the ratings board to learn the precise limitations of the rating and attempted to creatively optimize the amount of violence and foul language in the film within those limitations. For instance, they learned that the PG-13 rating forbids onscreen death, but only of human characters, so they had all the deaths of non-humans take place onscreen. Shou said that in the original script he "was supposed to fall in love with Talisa Soto itana I was looking forward to it, but they thought we have so much action, we don't want to add romance to it. They cut it out." Also scripted but not filmed were a short battle between Sonya and
Jade Jade is a mineral used as jewellery or for ornaments. It is typically green, although may be yellow or white. Jade can refer to either of two different silicate minerals: nephrite (a silicate of calcium and magnesium in the amphibole group of ...
, another of Shang Tsung's servants, and a scene where Shang Tsung allowed the heroes a night to mourn the loss of Art Lean and bury him in the Garden of Statues, underneath the statue of
Kung Lao Kung Lao ( or ) is a fictional character in the ''Mortal Kombat'' fighting game franchise by Midway Games and NetherRealm Studios. A Shaolin monk, he debuted in ''Mortal Kombat II'' (1993). He is depicted as a primary hero in the series, includ ...
. The character of Reptile was originally omitted from the script but later added in response to
focus group A focus group is a group interview involving a small number of demographically similar people or participants who have other common traits/experiences. Their reactions to specific researcher/evaluator-posed questions are studied. Focus groups are ...
s being unimpressed with the film's early fight sequences. The fight between Reptile and Liu Kang was filmed on a set in a hangar in
Van Nuys Airport : ''For the United States Air Force use of the airport (1942–1990), see Van Nuys Air National Guard Base'' Van Nuys Airport is a public airport in the Van Nuys neighborhood of the City of Los Angeles. The airport is operated by Los Angeles Wo ...
. Shou and Anderson noted that neither knew what Reptile's lizard form would look like until after filming, making the pre-fight sequence difficult to shoot. The film was originally scheduled for a May 1995 U.S. release, but was pushed back to August. According to Kasanoff, this was because
New Line Cinema New Line Cinema is an American film production studio owned by Warner Bros. Discovery and is a film label of Warner Bros. It was founded in 1967 by Robert Shaye as an independent film distribution company; later becoming a film studio after acq ...
's executives felt the film had the potential to be a summer hit. It was released on October 20 in the United Kingdom, and on December 26 in Australia.


Music

The film's score album was composed by
George S. Clinton George Stanley Clinton, Jr. (born June 17, 1947) is an American composer, songwriter, arranger, and session musician. Biography Clinton was born in Chattanooga, Tennessee. His musical career began in Nashville while earning degrees in music and ...
, released by
Rykodisc Rykodisc is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group, operating as a unit of WMG's Independent Label Group and is distributed through Alternative Distribution Alliance. History Claiming to be the first Compact Disc, CD-only independ ...
on October 11, 1995. The film's
soundtrack album A soundtrack album is any album that incorporates music directly recorded from the soundtrack of a particular feature film or television show. The first such album to be commercially released was Walt Disney's ''Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs'' ...
was released by
TVT Records TVT Records (Tee-Vee Tunes) was an American record label founded by Steve Gottlieb. Over the course of its 24-year history, the label released 25 Gold, Platinum and Multi-Platinum releases. Its roster included Nine Inch Nails, Ja Rule, Lil Jon, ...
on August 15, 1995. The soundtrack album went
platinum Platinum is a chemical element with the symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a dense, malleable, ductile, highly unreactive, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name originates from Spanish , a diminutive of "silver". Platinu ...
in less than a year reaching No. 10 on the ''Billboard'' 200.


Differences from the game

Though the film is based on the original ''Mortal Kombat'' game, characters and gameplay elements from its sequel, ''
Mortal Kombat II ''Mortal Kombat II'' is a 1993 arcade fighting game originally produced by Midway for the arcades in 1993. It was later ported to multiple home systems, including MS-DOS, Amiga, Game Boy, Game Gear, Sega Genesis, 32X, Sega Saturn, Super Nint ...
'', were incorporated. The otherworldly dimension of Outworld was not formally mentioned until the second game, in which Jax, Kitana, and
Shao Kahn Shao Kahn is a fictional character in the Mortal Kombat fighting game franchise by Midway Games and NetherRealm Studios. Depicted as emperor of the fictional realm Outworld, he is one of the franchise's primary villains. Feared for his immen ...
, the game's final
boss Boss may refer to: Occupations * Supervisor, often referred to as boss * Air boss, more formally, air officer, the person in charge of aircraft operations on an aircraft carrier * Crime boss, the head of a criminal organization * Fire boss, a ...
, also make their official debuts; Kahn briefly appears in the film's closing scene and is identified only as "the Emperor" throughout. Shang Tsung's soul-stealing power was first visualized in ''Mortal Kombat II'' as one of his Fatality finishing moves, while Liu Kang uses his "Bicycle Kick" special move from the game. After he kills Scorpion in his fight, Cage then drops an autographed picture of himself near his remains, in a reference to his
Friendship Friendship is a relationship of mutual affection between people. It is a stronger form of interpersonal bond than an "acquaintance" or an "association", such as a classmate, neighbor, coworker, or colleague. In some cultures, the concept o ...
finishing move. Shang Tsung's robed Shadow Priests, seen before the final battle, were first seen in the second game as background characters.


Reception


Box office

''Mortal Kombat'' opened on August 18, 1995, and was #1 at the box office for the weekend with $23.2 million, nearly eight times the opening amount of the only other new release that weekend, ''
The Baby-Sitters Club ''The Baby-Sitters Club'' (also known as BSC) is a series of novels written by Ann M. Martin and published by Scholastic between 1986 and 2000, that sold 176 million copies. Martin wrote the first 35 novels in the series, but the subsequent nove ...
''. At the time, it was the second-highest August opening after 1993's '' The Fugitive''. The film enjoyed a three-week stint at number one, grossing domestically in the United States. It also earned $51.7 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $124.7 million. The film became the highest-grossing adaptation of a video game, before being surpassed by '' Pokémon: The First Movie'' in 1998.


Critical response

On
Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
, of critics gave the film a positive review, with an average rating of . The site's critics consensus reads, "Despite an effective otherworldly atmosphere and appropriately cheesy visuals, ''Mortal Kombat'' suffers from its poorly constructed plot, laughable dialogue, and subpar acting."
Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
gave the film a weighted average score of 60 out 100, based on 13 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences polled by
CinemaScore CinemaScore is a market research firm based in Las Vegas. It surveys film audiences to rate their viewing experiences with letter grades, reports the results, and forecasts box office receipts based on the data. Background Ed Mintz founded Ci ...
gave the film an average grade of "A−" on an A+ to F scale. Reviewers praised its atmosphere, fighting sequences, production values, and visuals. However, its PG-13 rating and to a lesser extent, the performances and writing were criticized.
Lisa Schwarzbaum Lisa Schwarzbaum (born July 5, 1952) is an American film critic. She joined ''Entertainment Weekly'' as a film critic in the 1990s and remained there until February 2013. Career She has been featured on CNN, co-hosted '' Siskel & Ebert at the Mov ...
of ''
Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...
'' called ''Mortal Kombat'' "a contentedly empty-headed extended advertisement for the joy of joypads (filmed in cheesily ornate cinema de Hong Kong style)" and too noted how it "is notably free of blood and gore."
Stephen Holden Stephen Holden (born July 18, 1941) is an American writer, poet, and music and film critic. Biography Holden earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Yale University in 1963. He worked as a photo editor, staff writer, and eventually be ...
of the ''
New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'' said "''Mortal Kombat'' might be described as mythological
junk food "Junk food" is a term used to describe food that is high in calories from sugar and/or fat, and possibly also sodium, but with little dietary fiber, protein, vitamins, minerals, or other important forms of nutritional value. It is also known as HF ...
. Although there is talk of the three kombatants' having to face their deepest fears to prevail, the action is so frenetic and the dialogue so minimal that the allegory is weightless."
Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert (; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, Ebert beca ...
said he was "right in the middle" and noted that the fans might be disappointed by the film's killings being much less brutal than the notoriously violent ''Mortal Kombat'' video games. Marc Savlov from the ''
Austin Chronicle ''The Austin Chronicle'' is an alternative weekly newspaper published every Thursday in Austin, Texas, United States. The paper is distributed through free news-stands, often at local eateries or coffee houses frequented by its targeted demogr ...
'' mentioned that "It's the cinematic equivalent of cotton candy and
Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots ''Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots'' is a two-player action toy and game designed by Marvin Glass and Associates and was first manufactured by the Marx toy company in 1964. It features two dueling robot boxers, Red Rocker and Blue Bomber, mechanically ...
, but you may recall, you loved that stuff as a kid. I know I did," giving it a 2.5/5 star rating. Laura Evenson from ''
San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and M. H. de Young, Michael H. de ...
'' mentioned "Mortal Kombat the movie has everything a teenage boy could want: snakes that jut out of a villain's palms, acrobatic kung- fu fighting and a couple of battling babes. Everything, that is, but an interesting plot, decent dialogue and compelling acting" and concluded that it will likely become a cult classic. Kevin Thomas of the ''
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...
'' gave the film a glowing review, writing that "as impressive as the special effects are at every turn, even more crucial is Jonathan Carlson's superb, imaginative production design, which combines Thailand exteriors with vast sets that recall the barbaric grandeur of exotic old movie palaces and campy
Maria Montez María África Gracia Vidal (6 June 1912 – 7 September 1951), known professionally as Maria Montez, was a Dominican motion picture actress who gained fame and popularity in the 1940s starring in a series of filmed-in-Technicolor costume ...
epics.
John R. Leonetti John Robert Leonetti, (born July 4, 1956) is an American cinematographer and film director. He is known for his collaborative work with director James Wan, with whom he has acted as cinematographer on five films. He is the younger brother of cin ...
's glorious, shadowy camera work and George S. Clinton's driving, hard-edged score complete the task of bringing alive the perilous Outworld".
Gene Siskel Eugene Kal Siskel (January 26, 1946 – February 20, 1999) was an American film critic and journalist for the ''Chicago Tribune''. Along with colleague Roger Ebert, he hosted a series of movie review programs on television from 1975 until his d ...
of the ''
Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...
'' gave it a "thumbs up" rating on ''
Siskel & Ebert Gene Siskel (January 26, 1946 – February 20, 1999) and Roger Ebert (June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013), collectively known as Siskel & Ebert, were American film critics known for their partnership on television lasting from 1975 to Siskel's d ...
'', calling it "the only half-way decent video game movie ehas ever seen" and "a lot of fun", saying he was positively surprised by its various high-quality production values, including the "often sensational" special effects, the exotic locations, and the cast of characters being "clearly drawn out of appealing types". Leonard Klady from ''
Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'' awarded the film a 3.5/5 stars, stating, "But where others have sunk in the mire of imitation, director Paul Anderson and writer Kevin Droney effect a viable balance between exquisitely choreographed action and ironic visual and verbal counterpoint".
Kim Newman Kim James Newman (born 31 July 1959) is an English journalist, film critic and fiction writer. Recurring interests visible in his work include film history and horror fiction—both of which he attributes to seeing Tod Browning's ''Dracula (1931 ...
from ''
Empire An empire is a "political unit" made up of several territories and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the empire (sometimes referred to as the metropole) ex ...
'' magazine said, "By the time the big, world-saving bout comes around, it's hard not to wish that Shung Tsu icwould settle the fate of mankind by asking Liu Kang what the capital of Venezuela is... rather than engaging him in yet another round of supernaturally assisted dirty fighting," with a final rating of 3 stars out of 5.


Legacy and re-evaluation

From the 1998 founding of Rotten Tomatoes until 2018, ''Mortal Kombat'' held the highest critical rating on the site of any video game adaptation. Critical re-evaluations have been mixed but mostly positive due to the well-crafted action sequences, the cast performances, and the exotic set designs, and the film now is considered a
cult classic A cult following refers to a group of fans who are highly dedicated to some person, idea, object, movement, or work, often an artist, in particular a performing artist, or an artwork in some medium. The lattermost is often called a cult classic. ...
. The video game series itself would take cues from the movie in its lore, such as the need for a realm to win ten straight tournaments before it can invade another, and the retconning of Kano (originally a Japanese-American character) as Australian following Trevor Goddard's performance. A 2020 editorial that discusses the work of Paul WS Anderson on Rotten Tomatoes said of ''Mortal Kombat'', "Critics were split at 47% on the Tomatometer, but audiences loved the electronic soundtrack, creative fight scenes, and diverse cast of committed actors who sacrificed multiple bruised ribs to bless us with some excellent brawls." The editorial attributed the film's box office success chiefly to its conscious playfulness, asserting that "Anderson and his talented crew knew what they were making, and they made it earnestly."
Bloody Disgusting Bloody Disgusting is an American multi-media company, which began as a horror genre-focused news site/website specializing in information services that covered various horror medias, including: film, television, video games, comics, and music. ...
commented that "thanks to the kinetic speed in which the actors are moving, the high-octane music, and ironically, the movement of the camera, each fight is given ample feeling and aggression", particularly praising the Scorpion/Johnny Cage and Liu Kang/Reptile fights. In 2020, Rotten Tomatoes discussed the film in the "Rotten Tomatoes Is Wrong" podcast series. Scott Johnson criticized the film as not being a faithful adaptation, citing in particular the absence of R-rated gore (which he felt was the only thing genuinely appealing about the game) and the presence of Reptile (who he erroneously said does not appear in the original game). Co-panelist Jacqueline Coley countered that an R rating would have blocked out the ''Mortal Kombat'' fan base, recounting how even with a PG-13 rating she could only see the film in theaters by sneaking in, and noted that the most beloved video game films are not faithful adaptations but well-crafted cinema which capture the essence of the games. Mark Ellis agreed with Coley that ''Mortal Kombat'' succeeded in this respect, commenting in particular how it mimics the game's minimal plot by focusing on the tournament, creating an experience similar to watching
March Madness The NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, branded as NCAA March Madness and commonly called March Madness, is a single-elimination tournament played each spring in the United States, currently featuring 68 college basketball teams from ...
.
JoBlo.com The JoBlo Movie Network includes a website, JoBlo.com, which focuses on news, film reviews, and movie trailers; and YouTube channels that focus on trailers, movie clips, celebrity interviews, original content, and as film distribution. Early da ...
called Mortal Kombat "colorful, ambitious, and surprisingly funny; Anderson tied everything around a perfect cast lead by the great Robin Shou."
Screen Rant ''Screen Rant'' is an entertainment website that offers news in the fields of television, films, video games, and film theories. ''Screen Rant'' was launched by Vic Holtreman in 2003, and originally had its primary office in Ogden, Utah. ''Scr ...
referred to the choreography as "top notch", the locations as "amazing", the soundtrack as "pure perfection", and the cast as "dedicated and outstanding", but the CGI as cartoonish and "laughable", the violence as not true to the source material, the Goro animatronic as "not even that impressive by 1995 standards", and the portrayals of Scorpion and Sub-Zero as insulting and "completely wasted". CBR mentioned that Mortal Kombat is "an above-average martial arts classic that was high on fun and easily one of the most rewatchable video game movies, 25 years later". Bloody Disgusting said the film does an excellent job of paying tribute to its source material by including a large number of characters from the game without any of them feeling shoehorned in and by capturing the intense action feel of the game, while
Collider A collider is a type of particle accelerator which brings two opposing particle beams together such that the particles collide. Colliders may either be ring accelerators or linear accelerators. Colliders are used as a research tool in particle ...
stated that "The film knows how to walk the line between reverence and goofiness". Cary Hiroyuki Tagawa's take on Shang Tsung is now regarded as the ideal portrayal of the sorcerer. JoBlo.com noted that every actor who has taken the role since have been compared to Tagawa, commenting that his delivery "has all the cadence and embellished style like he's on
Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...
, but he holds himself physically like he's just casually laying down the law. Tagawa ''is'' Shang Tsung." Screen Rant reported that while they felt all the main cast members were equally outstanding, Tagawa was "the best casting of the movie to many". Christopher Lambert as Lord Rayden has also received positive coverage with JoBlo.com commenting that he "lent the production maturity and star power" while CBR mentioned that he "steals every scene he appears, delivering ridiculous lines like, 'The fate of billions depends upon you,' before laughing and apologizing". ''
Mortal Kombat 11 ''Mortal Kombat 11'' is a 2019 fighting video game developed by NetherRealm Studios and published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. It is the eleventh main installment in the ''Mortal Kombat'' franchise and a sequel to 2015's ''Mortal Ko ...
'' paid tribute to the first movie with numerous Easter eggs as well as bringing back Cary Hiroyuki Tagawa to play Shang Tsung in the "Aftermath" storyline. Subsequent downloadable content would feature voices and likeness from Christopher Lambert, Linden Ashby and Bridgette Wilson-Sampras as Raiden, Johnny Cage and Sonya Blade, respectively.


Other media


Sequel

A sequel entitled '' Mortal Kombat: Annihilation'' was released in 1997. It was directed by John R. Leonetti, who was the cinematographer of the first film. Only Robin Shou and Talisa Soto reprised their roles, with the others being recast. Its storyline is largely an adaptation of ''
Mortal Kombat 3 ''Mortal Kombat 3'' is a 1995 arcade fighting game developed by Midway Games and first released into arcades in 1995. It is the third main installment in the '' Mortal Kombat'' franchise and a sequel to 1993's ''Mortal Kombat II''. As in the p ...
'', following Earthrealm's warriors in their battle against Shao Kahn. In contrast to its predecessor, ''Annihilation'' was critically panned and failed at the box office. As a result, development of the planned third installment halted and never progressed beyond pre-production. In July 2009, actors Chris Casamassa (Scorpion) and Linden Ashby (Johnny Cage) separately announced that they would be reprising their respective roles from the original film, with Casamassa additionally claiming that filming would begin in September of that year, but the project did not commence production.


Animated film

On April 11, 1995, New Line Home Video,
Turner Home Entertainment Turner Entertainment Company is an American multimedia company founded by Ted Turner in 1986. Purchased by Time Warner in 1996 as part of its acquisition of Turner Broadcasting System (TBS), the company was largely responsible for overseeing th ...
and
Threshold Entertainment Threshold Entertainment Group, also known as Threshold Entertainment, is an intellectual property company. Its animation subsidiary, Threshold Animation Studios, produces films. Larry Kasanoff is the company's chief executive officer (CEO) after p ...
released a tie-in animated film on VHS and
Laserdisc The LaserDisc (LD) is a home video format and the first commercial optical disc storage medium, initially licensed, sold and marketed as DiscoVision, MCA DiscoVision (also known simply as "DiscoVision") in the United States in 1978. Its diam ...
, titled ''Mortal Kombat: The Journey Begins''. Serving as a prequel to the feature film, it follows the protagonists Liu Kang, Johnny Cage and Sonya Blade as they travel on a mysterious boat to the Mortal Kombat tournament. On the way they meet Rayden, who provides them with some hints about how to survive the tournament and defeat Shang Tsung and his army of Tarkatan minions. Upon arriving at the island where the battles take place, Rayden retells the origins of Shang Tsung, Goro, Scorpion, Sub-Zero and the Great Kung Lao in between fight scenes. The film featured a combination of
traditional animation Traditional animation (or classical animation, cel animation, or hand-drawn animation) is an animation technique in which each frame is drawn by hand. The technique was the dominant form of animation in cinema until computer animation. Proce ...
,
motion capture Motion capture (sometimes referred as mo-cap or mocap, for short) is the process of recording the movement of objects or people. It is used in military, entertainment, sports, medical applications, and for validation of computer vision and robo ...
, and CGI to explain the origins behind some of the movie's main characters, as well as a fifteen-minute behind-the-scenes documentary of the theatrical release. Trailers of the film were seen on the promotional screener VHS copy, and on other VHS releases from
Turner Home Entertainment Turner Entertainment Company is an American multimedia company founded by Ted Turner in 1986. Purchased by Time Warner in 1996 as part of its acquisition of Turner Broadcasting System (TBS), the company was largely responsible for overseeing th ...
and New Line Home Video. The film was included on the ''Mortal Kombat''
Blu-ray The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of sto ...
released in April 2011.


Novelization

A
novelization A novelization (or novelisation) is a derivative novel that adapts the story of a work created for another medium, such as a film, TV series, stage play, comic book or video game. Film novelizations were particularly popular before the advent of ...
of the movie by "Martin Delrio" (
James D. Macdonald James Douglas Ignatius Macdonald (born 1954) is an American author and critic who lives in New Hampshire. He frequently collaborated with his late wife Dr. Debra Doyle. He works in several genres, concentrating on fantasy, but also writing sci ...
and
Debra Doyle Debra Doyle (November 30, 1952 – October 31, 2020) was an American author in multiple related fiction genres, including science fiction, fantasy, and mystery, for young adults and adults. Her works were co-written with her husband, James D. Mac ...
) was released through
Tor Books Tor Books is the primary imprint of Tor Publishing Group (previously Tom Doherty Associates), a publishing company based in New York City. It primarily publishes science fiction and fantasy titles, and is the largest publisher of Chinese scien ...
. It is based on an early version of the film's script, and as such it includes several deleted or unfilmed scenes, such as a fight between Sonya Blade and
Jade Jade is a mineral used as jewellery or for ornaments. It is typically green, although may be yellow or white. Jade can refer to either of two different silicate minerals: nephrite (a silicate of calcium and magnesium in the amphibole group of ...
.


Television series

Threshold Entertainment produced two television series related to the film, the animated ''Mortal Kombat: Defenders of the Realm'' and the live-action ''Mortal Kombat: Conquest''. ''Defenders of the Realm'', which aired on the
USA Network USA Network (simply USA) is an American basic cable television channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. It was originally launched in 1977 as Madison ...
's Action Extreme Team animation block in 1996, served as an alternative sequel and featured Liu Kang, Kitana, Sub-Zero, Sonya Blade, Jax,
Kurtis Stryker Kurtis Stryker is a fictional character in the '' Mortal Kombat'' fighting game franchise by Midway Games and NetherRealm Studios. Introduced in ''Mortal Kombat 3'' (1995), he is a riot police officer selected by the thunder god Raiden to hel ...
, and
Nightwolf Nightwolf is a fictional character in the '' Mortal Kombat'' fighting game franchise by Midway Games/NetherRealm Studios. He debuted in ''Mortal Kombat 3'' (1995) as a Native American shaman selected to help defend Earthrealm against invading ...
as the eponymous heroes. ''Conquest'' served as a prequel centered on the Great Kung Lao, accompanied by original characters Siro and Taja, and aired in
syndication Syndication may refer to: * Broadcast syndication, where individual stations buy programs outside the network system * Print syndication, where individual newspapers or magazines license news articles, columns, or comic strips * Web syndication, ...
from 1998 to 1999. Both series received negative reviews and were cancelled after one season.


Reboot

In 2021,
New Line Cinema New Line Cinema is an American film production studio owned by Warner Bros. Discovery and is a film label of Warner Bros. It was founded in 1967 by Robert Shaye as an independent film distribution company; later becoming a film studio after acq ...
produced a new Mortal Kombat reboot film and was released by
Warner Bros. Pictures Warner Bros. Pictures is an American film production and distribution company of the Warner Bros. Pictures Group division of Warner Bros. Entertainment (both ultimately owned by Warner Bros. Discovery). The studio is the flagship producer of ...
in April 2021 in theaters and
HBO Max HBO Max is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in the United States on May 27, 2020, the service is built around the libraries of HBO, Warner Bros., Cartoon Netw ...
.


See also

*
List of films based on video games This page is a list of film adaptations of video games. These include local, national, international, direct-to-video and TV releases, and (in certain cases) online releases. They include their scores on Rotten Tomatoes, the region in which they ...


References


External links

* * * {{Authority control 1995 films 1995 fantasy films 1990s fantasy action films 1990s fantasy adventure films 1995 martial arts films American films with live action and animation American fantasy action films American fantasy adventure films American martial arts films 1990s English-language films Films about parallel universes Films set on fictional islands Films shot in Austin, Texas Films shot in Arunachal Pradesh Films shot in China Films shot in Budapest Films shot in Los Angeles Films shot in Thailand Films shot in Wales Live-action films based on video games Films directed by Paul W. S. Anderson Films produced by Lawrence Kasanoff Films scored by George S. Clinton Martial arts fantasy films Martial arts tournament films Mortal Kombat films New Line Cinema films Ninja films Films set in castles 1990s American films