"M" is for Mortal Kombat

Flawless victory!

I'll admit I played a lot of Mortal Kombat when it hit the arcades. I played Lord Rayden really well, but could never beat a friend of mine when he played Scorpion against me. Then when Mortal Kombat II came out, I kicked his butt all over the place with Kitana's whirling blades. I was a goddess! Or something.

Then I grew up a little bit, only to have the movie Mortal Kombat completely suck me back into immaturity. I don't regret a thing.

This movie set the standard for how a movie based on a video game of all things should be done. Great sets, lots of detail, plenty of nods to the game itself that the hard core players would notice, but the uninitiated need not know about to still enjoy the flick. Yes, the characters are stereotypes, because they're based on a video game, but there's still a lot more back story and depth to them than I see in a lot of the movies I sit through today (even big screen, big budget ones).

It was smart of them to concentrate on a core three: Liu Kang, Sonya Blade, and Johnny Cage, but with plenty of support from other major characters such as Lord Rayden and the big bad Shang Tsung. We also get Scorpion, Sub Zero, Kano, Goro, and even Reptile. They introduce Kitana's character here, but she's pre-kick ass warrior gal, so she has one fight just so she can pass words of wisdom to Liu Kang.

The plot is nice and basic, and plays along with the theme of the game. Again, even those who never played it can still follow along and just appreciate it for the cheesy story it is. There's a tournament that only the most elite of fighters are invited to. It's on a mysterious island where radios and other communication devices are useless. To get there you have to take a big boat that looks like something Vikings would sail on. On the journey you meet the wise Lord Rayden who is trying to steer our three favorite fights into winning, since, well, the fate of the world rests on their victory. No pressure.

The fight sequences are very choreographed, but are still really cool to watch. Most of them keep to the time limit set by the video game, which keeps them short and sweet. The CGI and costuming are just awesome. Many of the sets and details are culled straight from the game, including the giant tower that gauges your progress towards fighting Goro.

Basically this is just a great popcorn-muncher of a movie. It's probably a little too much for really young kids, but it doesn't have gore, it doesn't have sex or nudity, and I can't think of any cuss words at all, other than a stray 'Damn!' here and there. It's a fun action movie with a decent plot, good guys you can root for, bad guys you can boo and hiss at, and plenty of tongue in cheek humor along the way. It definitely doesn't take itself too seriously.

Sadly the sequel, Mortal Kombat: Annihilation sucked so badly that it created a whirling vortex of hostility towards it's creators in my living room as I watched it. I didn't even torture myself with subsequent ones. I flinch at the idea of the planned 2010 'reboot', but have a faint, very faint glimmer of hope for it because it's rumored that Christopher Lambert will reprise his role. Just like I raced to watch Street Fighter: The Legend Of Chun Li, I will ignore that banshee voice in the back of my head shrilly telling me how much a 'reboot' of one of my favorite movies will blow chunky monkeys. I just can't resist the siren call of a potentially great, but most likely bad, movie.

Be that as it may, if you've never watched the original Mortal Kombat, grab yourself a copy at the outstandingly great price of $5.99 from Amazon. Pop a giant bowl of popcorn. Get a box of Junior Mints and Good 'N Plenty. Invite over friends who will appreciate the cheese factor. And don't be ashamed of the Play Station you have hiding in a corner of your house that you bought all those years ago just so you could play a little Mortal Kombat II. There's no shame in wanting to relive those goddess moments as you shred Scorpion with Kitana's whirling blades.