Mortal Kombat (1995 film)

Mortal Kombat
Directed by	Paul W. S. Anderson
Written by	Kevin Droney
Produced by	Lauri Apelian Lawrence Kasanoff
Starring	Christopher Lambert Robin Shou Linden Ashby Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa Bridgette Wilson Talisa Soto Trevor Goddard Chris Casamassa François Petit
Distributed by	New Line Cinema Alliance Communications
Release date	August 18, 1995
Running time	101 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$25,000,000
Box office	$122,000,000

Mortal Kombat is a 1995 action film directed by Paul W. S. Anderson that was based on Mortal Kombat series of fighting games. The movie was filmed in Los Angeles and on location in Thailand.

A sequel, Mortal Kombat: Annihilation, was released in 1997.

Plot

Once every generation, there is a martial arts tournament known as Mortal Kombat, which was designed by the Elder Gods to limit invasions between realms. If the forces of Outworld win the tournament ten consecutive times, the Emperor of Outworld known as Shao Kahn will be able to invade and conquer Earthrealm. So far, Outworld has won nine straight victories, making the pending tournament the tenth and final one for Earthrealm. The former Shaolin monk Liu Kang and his comrades, Hollywood movie star Johnny Cage and Special Forces agent Sonya Blade, among others, must risk their lives and overcome their powerful adversaries in order to win the tenth Mortal Kombat tournament, or condemn Earthrealm to eternal damnation.

Each combatant was handpicked by Raiden, the God of Lightning and Earthrealm's defender, to compete in Mortal Kombat, with his or her own reason for competing in the tournament. Liu Kang seeks revenge for the death of his younger brother, Chan, who was killed by Shang Tsung in battle, and Liu blames himself for not being there. Sonya is after crime lord Kano, who killed her partner. Johnny Cage has been targeted by the media as a fake, and is competing to prove them wrong. Regardless of their individual agendas, they are recruited and sent to a pier in Hong Kong, where they are taken to Shang Tsung's island. While they are on the boat, they encounter Scorpion, an undead spectre, and Sub-Zero, a Lin Kuei assassin whom Shang Tsung refers to as "The deadliest of enemies, but slaves under my power". They plan to attack the trio, but Raiden interferes and puts the fight to a hault. Raiden then tells the three that they have been chosen to defend Earthrealm in Mortal Kombat.

Upon arriving at Shang Tsung's Island, Liu Kang sees Princess Kitana and, enchanted by her beauty, falls for her. Johnny compliments that Kitana is an attractive woman, though he himself is attracted to Sonya, who is irritated by Johnny's flirtatious attitude with her. Upon seeing this, Shang Tsung warns Kitana that Liu Kang is a sworn enemy, and orders Reptile to keep a close eye on her. Later that evening, the combatants are welcomed by Shang Tsung at a banquet. He then offers the combatants a demonstration of things to come in the tournament by pitting one of his minions against Sub-Zero, who easily kills the minion by freezing him during a midair attack, causing the minion to fall and shatter into pieces, leaving the Earth Warriors stunned.

After the banquet, Liu Kang, Sonya and Cage explore the island and come across Goro, who is carrying a conversation with Kano about the tournament during their dinner. Shang Tsung enters and expresses his concern to Goro and Kano that Liu Kang is competing in the tournament, knowing that he is capable of winning the tournament, and that Kitana may betray them by allying with him. The three flee the scene, inadvertently making their footsteps heard. Realizing that their conversation has been heard, Shang Tsung sends guards to deal with Liu, Johnny and Sonya, but the three defeat the guards in a grueling brawl. Raiden once again interferes and takes the three with him, telling them to be prepared for the tournament.

The next morning, Liu Kang and one of Shang Tsung's warriors step up for the opening battle. Shang Tsung tells the combatants that his island is now their battleground and commences Mortal Kombat by saying "Let Mortal Kombat begin!” Liu Kang defeats his opponent and the combatants witness Shang Tsung take his first soul. During the tournament, Sonya finally has her chance to avenge her murdered partner when she faces Kano. After Sonya gains the upper hand and traps Kano's head between her legs, Shang Tsung, unwilling to pay Kano for his services, urges Sonya to kill him, which she does so by snapping his neck. Johnny Cage encounters Scorpion, who teleports Cage to his lair in the Netherrealm where the two engage in a vicious battle, Cage eventually emerges victorious. Liu Kang, albeit reluctantly, engages in a duel with Kitana, who offers him advice during the battle. Liu hides his feelings, acting hostile towards Kitana. Shang Tsung becomes disgusted with the fight and stops them. Later, Liu Kang is confronted by Sub-Zero, and cannot seem to defeat him, until Kitana appears, and Liu remembers her previous advice, which was, in order to defeat his next opponent, he needs to use the element that gives life (Sub Zero has special freezing powers). Liu Kang takes a bucket with some water inside, placed there by Raiden, and hurls it at Sub-Zero. Upon getting closer to Sub Zero, the water freezes and turns into a frozen spike, impaling the ninja and freezing him.

Finally, Shang Tsung gives Goro permission to enter the tournament, saying "We've let these humans win enough!" Goro posts a long series of victories, among his victims is Johnny Cage's friend, Art Lean, whom Cage had met before the tournament and believed Cage wasn't the fake that the movie tabloids had made him out to be. Cage, furious at Lean's death and eager to protect Sonya from suffering the same fate, goes to Shang Tsung and challenges Goro. Tsung grants the request, but before Johnny Cage faces off against Goro, Shang Tsung makes a stipulation: at any time, he himself may choose to challenge any warrior at a venue of his choice. Eager to defeat Goro, Cage quickly agrees to Shang Tsung's terms. Raiden appears and expresses outrage and shock at Cage running head first into a battle with an undefeated opponent, but after Cage leaves, he expresses pride that one of his fighters has finally learned how to take fate into their own hands.

Later that night, Liu is haunted by the memories of his brother's murder. Meanwhile, Sonya and Cage are arguing about Cage's fight with Goro. Cage openly admits that he cares about Sonya, letting her know that he could not stand to see Goro kill her. Although she tries to hide it, Sonya shows that she is developing feelings for Johnny by trying to convince him not to go against Goro, afraid that he himself will die.

Johnny Cage defeats Goro by leading him to a high cliffside and kicking him off the cliff, just in time to hear Sonya screaming for help. Shang Tsung has taken Sonya hostage, saying that the battle with Goro gives him the right to challenge, and he has chosen Sonya, knowing that it will be an easy win. Raiden, Liu and Johnny express rage toward this, calling him a coward. This does not bother Tsung and he takes Sonya to the Emperor's castle in the wastelands of Outworld. Raiden tells the two that Sonya cannot defeat Shang Tsung, but Liu Kang is capable of doing so. He sends them both to Outworld, staying behind because his powers are useless there.

Shortly upon their arrival in Outworld, Liu Kang and Johnny Cage are separated when Liu Kang is ambushed by Reptile. After Liu Kang defeats Reptile in a brutal fight, he and Johnny Cage meet Kitana, who tells them of Outworld and of her past, and allies with the two, thus confirming Shang Tsung's suspicions about Kitana. The three disguise themselves as Outworld servants and enter the castle tower where Sonya is being held captive. Shang Tsung arrives, telling Sonya that if she refuses to fight him, Earthrealm will automatically forfeit Mortal Kombat. The fight is about to begin, when Liu, Kitana and Cage reveal themselves. Kitana commands Tsung's servants to remain still, and shows bitter hatred toward Shang Tsung, telling him that interfering with the tournament is treachery to the Emperor and will cause him to lose the keys to Earthrealm. Shang Tsung challenges Johnny, once again knowing that Johnny, despite his fighting skills, cannot defeat him. But before Johnny can accept, Liu challenges Tsung instead, whom accepts.

The two begin fighting, and after Shang Tsung has been winded by Liu Kang, he tries yet again to take the easy way out by summoning undead warriors, who are equipped with weapons, to come to his aid and kill his opponent. Each of them are defeated by Liu, who then proceeds to continue fighting Shang Tsung. After a long and brutal fight, Shang Tsung disguises himself as Chan, Liu's brother, saying that he has come to help him defeat Shang Tsung. He forgives Liu for letting him get killed, but Liu knows that it isn't really his brother. He finally acknowledges that he is not responsible for his death, accusing Shang Tsung of killing Chan. Tsung transforms to his true identity and attempts to defeat Liu, but is killed when Liu shoots a fireball at him, causing him to fall from the balcony they are fighting on, and onto a floor of spikes. Upon his death, thousands of innocent souls that Shang Tsung took are released, and Liu meets with Chan, who says that his spirit will always be by his side until they are reunited in the afterlife.

The warriors return to Earthrealm, where a celebration of Earth's victory is taking place among the Shaolin monks. Raiden meets up with the warriors, congratulating them on their victory. However, the celebration is cut short when the Emperor of Outworld arrives in Earthrealm, saying that he has come to take their souls. The final scene consists of Raiden confidently saying "I don't think so." as he and the warriors prepare for battle.

Cast

• Robin Shou - Liu Kang
• Linden Ashby - Johnny Cage
• Bridgette Wilson - Sonya Blade
• Christopher Lambert - Raiden
• Talisa Soto - Princess Kitana
• Trevor Goddard - Kano
• Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa - Shang Tsung
• François Petit - Sub Zero
• Keith Cooke - Reptile
• Chris Casamassa (voiced by Ed Boon) - Scorpion
• Gregory McKinney - Jax (spelled "Jaxx" in the end credits)
• Kevin Michael Richardson with vocal effects by Frank Welker - Goro

Marketing

A novelization of the movie by Martin Delrio was released through Tor Books. In 1995, several months before the movie's release, Threshold released a tie-in animated film on VHS, Mortal Kombat: The Journey Begins. It featured traditional animation, motion capture and CGI to explain the origins behind some of the movie's main characters. The video also featured a fifteen-minute behind-the scenes documentary of the theatrical release. The movie was originally named "Mortal Kombat: Escape from Man Island." The title was changed in pre-production for an undisclosed reason.

Box office and critical reception

Mortal Kombat opened on August 18, 1995, and cruised into the top box-office spot with $23 million, nearly eight times the amount of the only other new release that weekend, The Baby-Sitters Club. At the time, it was also the second-highest August opening after 1993's The Fugitive. MK enjoyed a three-week stay at number one, grossed roughly $70 million in the U.S., and earned an estimated $122 million worldwide, while the soundtrack went platinum in less than two weeks. MK was also the first major success for a video game-movie adaptation, following the critical and financial disappointments of Super Mario Bros., Double Dragon, and Street Fighter.

The film received below to average reviews from critics, Gene Siskel gave it a "thumbs up" rating on Siskel & Ebert. Rotten Tomatoes rates it at 24% out of 21 reviews and Metacritic gives it a 58/100 rating. Kevin Thomas of the Los Angeles Times called it "a martial arts action-adventure with wondrous special effects and witty production design [that] effectively combines supernatural terror, a mythical slay-the-dragon, save-the-princess odyssey and even a spiritual quest for self-knowledge." Bruce Diones of The New Yorker wrote that the film "starts out promisingly: the actors look sinewy and primed for action, and the effects are convincing. But soon the movie falls flat under an uninspired good-versus-evil plot and pathetically simple-minded dialogue."

Behind the scenes

Production

• The Outworld exterior scenes were filmed at the abandoned Kaiser Steel Mill in Fontana, California. The site is now the Auto Club Speedway.
• 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-like vessels. Producer 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. 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 junk.

Casting

• Brandon Lee is said to have been cast as Johnny Cage, but it was never proven. The actor died before filming began.
• Cameron Diaz was originally set to play Sonya Blade, but she broke her wrist during production and was replaced by Wilson. Sharon Stone was also considered for the part.
• Other actors considered for the role of Liu Kang included Jason Scott Lee,Russell Wong and Phillip Rehee.
• Tom Cruise andJohnny Depp were considered for the role of Johnny Cage.As was Gary Daniels.
• Gregory McKinney, who played Jax, served in the United States Air Force Presidential Honor Guard and in law enforcement before breaking into acting. He died of a brain aneurysm on April 12, 1998.
• Bridgette Wilson was jokingly nicknamed "RoboBabe" during production by Anderson.
• Despite the intensity of the fight scenes coupled with the actors performing most of their own stunts, on-set injuries were surprisingly minimal; the only notable occurrence was a mildly bruised kidney suffered by Linden Ashby while shooting Johnny Cage's fight scene with Scorpion.
• Lloyd Kino (Liu Kang's Grandfather) has made numerous film and television appearances in a career spanning over 45 years.
• Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa was the filmmakers' first and only choice for the role of Shang Tsung. He came to the audition in a costume, and read his lines while standing on a chair. Shang Tsung was depicted as relatively younger in the film in order to avoid the excessive makeup that would have been required to simulate his aged appearance in the game.
• Tagawa and Talisa Soto (Kitana) appeared in the 1989 James Bond movie Licence to Kill, which also co-starred Grand L. Bush (Balrog in Street Fighter).
• Christopher Lambert also voiced Raiden on the French dub of the film.
• Jean Claude Van Damme turned down the role of Johnny Cage. Ironically, The character is based on him as Mortal Kombat was inteded to be a fighting game based on Van dammes movie Bloodsport.
• Steven Ho (Liu Kang's younger brother Chan) was a former national karate champion who performed stuntwork for Donatello in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II & III.
• Robin Shou, who played Liu Kang, and Keith Cook, who played Reptile, were both cast later in Beverly Hills Ninja. The movie was also produced by New Line Cinema, and contained the 50 second drum song from Mortal Kombat, which Sub-Zero killed his first opponent to. Cook appears in the credits as Keith Cook-Hirabyashi.
• François Petit played Sub-Zero, and had a ponytail that had to be tucked under his collar during the action scenes.
• Trevor Goddard (Kano) later became successful as Mic Grumby on JAG, before dying of a drug overdose in 2003.

Soundtrack

Main article: Mortal Kombat (soundtrack)

• Three songs from Chicago-based group Stabbing Westward (a favorite band of MK co-creator John Tobias at the time) were included in the movie, but were omitted from the soundtrack. The songs were "Lost", "Lies", and "Can't Happen Here", all of which appear on the album Ungod.
• Goro's theme is a rendition of the band Napalm Death's song "Twist the Knife (Slowly)", except it is played three modulations higher than the standard.
• A music video was created for the KMFDM single "Juke Joint Jezebel" and featured clips of fight scenes from the movie, but it was pulled by MTV due to complaints about its violent content.

Mortal Kombat II references

Although the movie was primarily based on the first game, there are several notable elements that were incorporated from Mortal Kombat II.

• Jax and Kitana were introduced in the second game, where Reptile's reptilian nature was also first demonstrated; he was only seen in human form in the first MK.
• Johnny Cage drops an autographed picture of himself near Scorpion's remains after their battle, which references his autograph Friendship move.
• Liu Kang uses his Bicycle Kick in his match with Reptile whereas in MK1(the game) the move didn't exist.
• The Shadow Priests, seen before the final battle, were first seen in MKII as part of one of the backgrounds.
• Outworld was seen in the movie but was never mentioned in MK1 game.
• Shao Kahn is seen in the final scene of the movie, but was not even referenced in the first game.

External links

• Mortal Kombat at IMDb
• Mortal Kombat at AllMovie
• Mortal Kombat on RottenTomatoes.com