Mortal Kommmmbbbaaaattt!
That intro along with the techno soundtrack gave me goosebumps. I think I was around 16 when the movie came out and since I worked at a movie theatre, I watched it several times. The fight scenes never got old.
But that was back then, what about now? I must admit, the movie is a bit outdated. The fight scenes aren’t as cool and the techno is a bit cheesy. But the nostalgia is still there so I enjoyed it.
The story is about Liu Kang (Robin Shou) avenging his brother’s death in the hands of sorcerer, Shang Tsung (Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa), in a tournament called Mortal Kombat. Kang is partnered up with Johnny Cage (Linden Ashby) and Sonya Blade (Bridgette Wilson – she can’t act, but she’s smokin!). Lord Rayden (Christopher Lambert) makes a pointless appearance as Liu Kang’s mentor.
The movie is based on the video game so don’t expect this to be a masterpiece. But it delivers the good in terms of the references. Most of the well known characters are here including Sub Zero, Scorpion, Goro and Kano. My favorite fight scene had to be between Liu Kang and Reptile. I like the music and the way Reptile was shot. It didn’t make sense how he became a ninja but he had awesome moves.
There’s basically no story to this movie and the dialog is terrible. But you watch it for the fight scenes, not for character development. They’re not as cool as when I saw it at the cinema but still worthwhile.
Grade: B
Video
The video is presented in 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen. The transfer is better than the DVD but it’s not great. The colors and flesh tones look dull. There’s also edge enhancement. I’ve noticed WB does this a lot with their catalog titles. They should take care of their older titles and have better transfers.
Grade: C+
Audio
The audio is presented in lossless DTS-HD 5.1. It’s a better transfer than the video but not by much. It’s mostly front loaded and the use of the surrounds is barely used. I expected more bass for this techno driven soundtrack. I can’t even bust out my glow sticks because it doesn’t feel like a party. I was looking forward to the track and I was pretty disappointed with it.
Grade: B-
Extras
The extras included an animated/cg Mortal Kombat short movie. It’s about 50 minutes long and only watch it if you want to get tortured. This is a waste of time. I remember my friend buying this on VHS when it first came out and felt rip off afterwards. There’s also artwork from the short movie as well as trailers for the theatrical movie and game (came out today). The last bonus is a classic Jade costume code for the PS3 game (Sorry Xbox owners)
Grade: B
Conclusion:
The movie is worth watching if you’re a Mortal Kombat fan. It’s still one of the best video game to movie adapatation. The soundtrack definitely makes the movie outdated but then you realize that the fight scenes could be better even though it’s still entertaining. The transfers could’ve been way better, I don’t like how WB isn’t handling this better. The extras are decent. I say buy it when it goes down to $10.
The Blu-Ray is available now or you can download it for $10 on iTunes.
Grade: B-
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