Mortal Kombat [Blu-ray]

This classic fun adventure is so great all these years later! Great character interaction, fantastic fight scenes, good comedy, awesome music, and a very understandable journey. Unlike 2021 (and many modern games) it doesn’t rely on the fact the series has crazy gore to get your attention. All it needed was that I mentioned before to grab us

Love this film.

Ordered it for my niece. I didn’t watch it myself, but she enjoyed it. It had good graphics, and she said the action was good. It had really good fight scenes.

I still say this is the absolute best video game movie adaptation of any of them in existence.

More than I expected very much worth the wait...but should have had more time for scorpion

great movie. lost of fun.

Love him or hate him, we video game fans need to tip our caps to director Paul Anderson. Regardless of whether you enjoyed  Resident Evil , he gave us our first decent game-to-movie outing when he pioneered "Mortal Kombat" - still considered by some to be the best adaptation of a video game, period. Indeed, "Kombat" came as a breath of fresh air after the stiflingly insipid attempts that were  Super Mario Bros.  and  Double Dragon , for not only did it follow the game's storyline to a degree that is unmatched even today, but it disproved the unfounded belief that a faithful adaptation of a game would be boring and unsuccessful. A recent viewing of the film allowed me to cast a slightly more humbled view upon it, but it still remains one of my favorite entries of the genre and ought to be standard viewing for any director about to tackle a game-related project.The story: when otherworldly forces led by an evil sorcerer (Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa,  The Last Emperor ) threaten Earthrealm, mortal warriors are called upon by the god Rayden (Christopher Lambert,  Highlander ) to take part in the ancient tournament of Mortal Kombat to decide the fate of our world. At the heart of the resistance are Liu Kang (Robin Shou,  Beverly Hills Ninja ), Johnny Cage (Linden Ashby, "The Young and the Restless"), and Sonya Blade (Bridgette Wilson,  The Wedding Singer ) - a young monk running from his destiny, a movie star looking to prove his legitimacy, and a special forces agent hunting a murderer: three strangers, connected only by destiny, who must band together if they are to save not only the Earth but their very souls."Okay, the storyline stays true to the game, but is the rest of the movie any good?"An action/fantasy, "Mortal Kombat" relies more on spectacle than acting to win over audiences, and in this, it succeeds. Though outdated by modern standards, the film showcases CGI animation that was top-of-the-line for its time. And action? - the movie has little time to waste between its fast-paced martial arts encounters. Gems include Johnny battling Scorpion (Chris Casamassa, "WMAC Masters) and Liu fighting Reptile (Keith Cooke,  Mortal Kombat: Annihilation ), with about half-a-dozen other fights stuck in between, ranging between pretty good and...well, pretty darn bad (e.g. Sonya vs. Kano, played by Trevor Goddard of "J.A.G." fame). In addition, the film suffers from a style of pop direction defined by minimal character development, lots of pose-striking during fights, and a storyline that ends up getting a bit lazy; a trademark of director Anderson that nevertheless disallows the film to appear like anything else than teen entertainment. What the movie does have on its side, though, is good casting: while nobody won any awards for their performances, you'll be hard-pressed to find anybody who disagrees that Robin Shou was made for the role of Liu Kang or that few besides Lambert make a good Rayden. Even the ninjas and the fellow who did Goro's voice are well-suited to their roles - at least more so than previous incarnations like Bob Hoskins as Mario or Jean-Claude Van Damme as Guile.While the film has its flaws and might not be the best action movie around, you'll find few gaming marks who have many bad things to say about it, including me. Forget my negative comments for a moment and know that I'm very happy that this movie exists. No doubt it would've been a different film had it been made more recently, with more enduring graphics and a bit more action-cinema history to back it up, but the fact that it was made when it was and still managed to gain the acclaim that it did from both parties of viewers (action freaks and gaming geeks) says a lot. Video game fans, if you haven't yet seen it, then shame on you. Action fans, please proceed to your closest video rental shop...

Blu-Ray review. If you are reading this for the DVD, some of this information may not be relevant.Film: 3/5, Picture Quality: 3/5, Audio Quality: 2.5/5, Extras: 1.5/5, Overall: 3/5Quality:This Blu-Ray looks better than I thought it would. I am pleased with its sharpness and detail, which appears consistently well-defined. Some noise and grain can be seen here and there, but otherwise it looks quite clean. Colors and contrast can be pretty weak at certain spots. Sound quality was disappointing; sound effects didn't have much impact, the dialogue was subdued in many places, and the volume was a little low overall. One part sounded a bit muffled. But otherwise, it is mostly clean and clear.Extras include a God-awful 40-minute animated feature, a trailer, and BD-Live capability. The first release of this disc includes a digital copy and a PSN download to unlock a costume in the latest MK game. It wouldn't surprise me if future editions of this movie excluse the PSN code and DC.Film:Back in the 90s, I remember when the classic video game hit the markets and caused a stir. Not only did it make a huge commercial splash, but it was also quite controversial for its graphicness. I honestly never had the pleasure of playing these MK games, and in this day and age, fighting games are not my forte. But action and martial arts movies certainly are, especially when they're based on popular video games.The "Mortal Kombat" movie offers plenty of fun. It's got enough fight scenes to satisfy; some are short and some are pretty cheesy, but some fights hold up really well and are a blast. It's got some very old-school special effects that, even though appear gaudy by today's standards, are good in concept and design. Above all, this is a film that doesn't take itself that seriously; it's probably an important aspect for a film with such a weak story and with so many limitations. Most of the movie's flaws are forgivable given the tongue-in-cheek attitude, and altogether it's not too far off from the original video game.For better or for worse though, the story suffers tremendously. Of course, fighting games like this don't usually have a story to draw upon, so the movie does the best it can to extrapolate the characters and tournament-themed conflict into an "Enter the Dragon"-style plot. It works for the most part, but I find it pretty darn shallow, unoriginal, and lacking in proper immersion. Some more depth to the story, characters, or environment would probably have helped.The film shows fine photography and editing, with some interesting lighting effects. Acting is pretty hammy all around; Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa is almost laughable with his facial expressions and over-zealous dialogue, and I found it hard to take Christopher Lambert seriously. But, the three main leads (Robin Shou, Linden Ashby, and Bridgette Wilson) fit their roles respectably. Writing is not terribly sophisticated at all. The production shows some limitations with its horrid CGI-graphics and some fake-looking sets and props. But, the designs are awesome and the costumes aren't bad. Music is really smashing.I'm sure this film will appeal to kids wanting something exciting and don't mind something slightly cheesy. Video game fans and folks who grew up with this movie will probably get a nostalgic kick out of it too. Otherwise, I can only recommend it as a rental.3/5 (entertainment: 4/5, story: 2/5, film: 3/5)

Chances are you're not going to be watching this unless you played the game and therefore know all about the premise and the tournament. Most the characters make an appearance, with varying success on transferring their personas from game to film. The film is cheap, camp, ridiculous and a whole host of other naff adjectives, all of which make it a great fun watch!

Could not move past menu screen as would not accept " play" button.

Just received it today 3 days before it's due excellent service excellent film good buy

It's alright

Five stars. Solid five. I'd give Street Fighter four.If this movie doesn't make you hype, then you're wrong. Soundtrack + cutting edge special effects? Gold. Went around spelling every 'c' word with a 'k' for at least a week afterward.