MORTAL KOMBAT (15)
D: Paul W. S. Anderson
New Line/Threshold (Lawrence Kasanoff)
US 1995
101 mins
Action/Adventure/Fantasy
W: Kevin Droney [based on characters from the video
game]
DP: John R. Leonetti
Ed: Martin Hunter
Mus: George S. Clinton
Christopher Lambert (Raiden), Robin Shou (Liu Kang),
Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa (Shang Tsung), Linden Ashby (Johnny Cage), Bridgette Wilson (Sonya Blade), Talisa Soto (Princess Kitana), Chris Casamassa (Scorpion)
For those not in the know, Mortal Kombat was a highly
successful and popular video arcade game during the 1990's which became a staple on the consoles of teenage boys worldwide.
The film, like most video game-movie transitions, will not
appeal to anyone who hasn't played the game. It's brimful with references and doesn't have much story aside from a plot which could be written on the back of a postage stamp; a group of
characters are assembled to participate in a winner-takes-all fighting tournament.
Even fans of the game will be disappointed with this in
all fairness. The lack of a decent story doesn't help, but coupled with the fact that the fight scenes are poorly choreographed and the visual effects are terrible, there isn't a lot to cheer
about.
A preference over watching this would be to get the old
Super Nintendo out of the attic and play away for a couple of hours trying to remember the control combinations to unleash the special moves.
4/10