The 2nd Double Feature is over now and once again I will address both films as a viewer.
The first Mortal Kombat movie unlike other Video Game movies managed to bring about the source material and the movie into an impressive mix for its time. The powers are there, the archetypes are there, and the characterizations within the script are brilliant. Nothing feels out of place as the main three combatants come together in order to battle for the fate of Earth-realm against the evil Shang Tsung and by extension Shao Kahn, Emperor of Outworld.
Now date back to a time when Mortal Kombat was relatively new and the mythos were still being written and there were only two Mortal Kombat games to be concerned about. The film appropriately mixes both games well while keeping the setting and basis of the first one with the Mortal Kombat tournament while bringing in some elements of Mortal Kombat II such as Kitana’s inclusion, and her role as a secondary mentor and aid to Liu Kang. The first film follows the writer’s journey and matches the 15 beats of save the cat incredibly with each main point flowing from scene to scene and all three main characters do experience the change that is much needed for characters in order to progress.
I think that Sonya’s fight was a little too short for the movie though but in the early days she was all about going after Kano and that subplot was already running its course after the first couple of scenes so…maybe it is justified. I did love how all references to the games seem to point out to you as long as you pay attention and the music keeps the action pumping along with plenty of funny jokes in between.
Johnny Cage’s Friendship in the Scorpion Fight was clever, and Liu Kang using all of his special abilities in the Outworld scenes was a good way to keep the suspense of disbelief…a stark difference from Street Fighter’s Production. The appearance of the powers, Reptile’s true form and Scorpion’s spear may look a bit cartoony by today’s standards but if you remember how things were in 1995, you’d understand that they are a sign of post-production’s advancement over the years.
Now is the movie watchable?
A great story, incredible action, awesome sequences, and killer music makes this one of those rare successful video games, most definitely this is a watch. It actually tests the opinion of “All video game movies are bad.”
