review by John Woerts
Mortal Kombat 1995
Rewatched Mar 27, 2012
John Woerts’s review:
Compared to the other big movie about fighting games of it's time, Mortal Kombat is a vastly superior movie - from a technical point of view. The fights are actually well-choreographed and the special effects hold up surprisingly well. But the comparison to Street Fighter: The Movie also needs to acknowledge that Mortal Kombat does not have the charm of Street Fighter. The last third of the movie is not as good as the beginning and middle, and at times the movie ends up being a little boring. Still a fun movie and one of the better martial arts flicks of its time.
I'll agree that it was the best adaptation of a videogame for it's time. I'm probably biased, I also happened to like playing Mortal Kombat more than Street Fighter. It's still corny and over the top, but it has a couple more redeeming qualities. The sequel, though; that was just awful.
Yeah, the sequel is terrible! I also think I liked playing MK more than SF, but SF is probably a better game. I had way more fun watching and talking about Street Fighter than Mortal Kombat, when we watched it for our podcast special on Tuesday - MK is better, but not at crazy as Street Fighter The Movie.
Well, I think it helped that SF didn't take itself as seriously as MK.
Definitely! I don't know if SF is totally "in on the joke", but MK is a little too much like a traditional martial arts movie. The Goro puppet is great though!
I just found SK to have a more camp and "just run with the idea" feel to it, while MK was more traditional, as you say. But I liked both; they bring back memories :)
Definitely - by watching the two movies, I think we managed to record our best podcast yet, so at least the movies have that going for them :)