Mortal Kombat (1995)

Regista:

Paul W.S. Anderson

Writers (WGA):

Ed Boon (video games) &
John Tobias (video games) ...

Data di uscita:

18 agosto 1995 (USA)

Genere:

Action | Adventure | Fantasy | Thriller

Slogan:

Choose Your Destiny...

Plot:

Three unknowing martial artists are summoned to a mysterious island to compete in a tournament whose outcome will decide the fate of the world.

Plot Keywords:

Crash Through Glass | Spin Off From Video Game | Movie Set | Woman Fights Man | Invisibility

Premi:

1 win & 1 nomination

Recensioni degli utenti:

Fun Martial Arts/Fantasy Film

Cast

Christopher Lambert	...	Lord Rayden
Robin Shou	...	Liu Kang
Linden Ashby	...	Johnny Cage
Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa	...	Shang Tsung
Bridgette Wilson	...	Sonya Blade
Talisa Soto	...	Princess Kitana
Trevor Goddard	...	Kano
Chris Casamassa	...	Scorpion
François Petit	...	Sub-Zero
Keith Cooke	...	Reptile (as Keith H. Cooke)
Hakim Alston	...	Fighting Monk
Kenneth Edwards	...	Art Lean
John Fujioka	...	Chief Priest
Daniel Haggard	...	Assistant Director
Sandy Helberg	...	Director

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for non-stop martial arts action and some violence.

Durata:

101 min

Nazionalità:

USA

Lingua:

Inglese

Colore:

Colore

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sonoro:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS (8 channels)

Divieti:

Iceland:14 | Japan:R-15 | Iceland:16 (video rating) | Japan:PG-12 (uncut version) | Argentina:Atp | Australia:M | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14A | Finland:K-16 | France:U | Germany:16 | Hong Kong:IIB | Mexico:B | Netherlands:12 (re-rated) | New Zealand:M | Norway:18 (1995) | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:PG | South Korea:15 | Spain:13 | Sweden:15 | Taiwan:R-12 | UK:15 | USA:PG-13

Luoghi delle riprese:

Austin, Texas, USA

Company:

New Line Cinema

Curiosità:

When Johnny Cage defeats Scorpion, he throws at his corpse an autographed photo of himself. In the Mortal Kombat games, this is Cage's "Friendship" finishing move.

Errori:

Varie: When Subzero and Liu Kang are fighting on the higher platform they switch places. Subzero walks to the right and Liu does a spin kick. The kick is dodged but there is still the sound of an impact.

Citazioni:

Liu Kang: You can look into my soul, but you don't own it.

Movie Connections:

Citato in The Making of 'Event Horizon' (2006) (V)

Colonna sonora:

Halcyon + On + On

Fun Martial Arts/Fantasy Film

A number of martial artists converge in China, from which they're taken to a seeming alternate dimension to fight in a tournament that's only held "once each generation". This time, however, the stakes are even higher, as the outcome of the tournament will determine the fate of the Earth.

Believe it or not, this is the first time I've seen this film, and I've not yet had experience with any of the games, the other films, the animated series, the lunchboxes, or anything else related to the Mortal Kombat universe. After watching the first film, however, I definitely will seek out some of the other material, as I enjoyed the film quite a bit--it earns an 8 out of 10 from me. At this point, however, I can't compare it to any other instantiations of Mortal Kombat.

The film is basically a combination of a classic Hong Kong-styled martial arts actioner and a fantasy that leans slightly to the horror side of that genre. To the film's benefit, it's also not something that either director Paul W.S. Anderson or writer Kevin Droney take too seriously--the film is ultimately an adaptation of a popular video game, after all. There is a tongue-in-cheek, slightly campy sense of humor and playful cheesiness throughout the film, the humor being primarily fueled from two characters, Johnny Cage (Linden Ashby) and Lord Rayden (Christopher Lambert). True, Lambert has a kind of almost smarmy campiness to anything he says or does, in any film, but for me, that's part of his attractiveness--it's a large part of what sold me on the Highlander films.

The fantasy aspect was something I didn't expect before watching the film. It was a very pleasant surprise. Being a huge horror fan, I was especially taken with the set design. The fantasy characters, such as Goro, and the fantasy traits of other characters, were well done and even subtle at times.

As for the fights, which are the propelling force behind the film, they're pleasantly varied and well choreographed, although having just watched Master of the Flying Guillotine (1975) again recently, I was slightly disappointed that the fights weren't more brutal and gory (and in fact, this is one of the areas where I subtracted a point). But they almost make up for the lack of violence but their imaginativeness, especially the fights with Sub-Zero and The Scorpion. That cleverness was required over brawn in most instances was also a nice touch.

Overall, this is a great film that any fans of martial arts or fantasy films should enjoy.