Mortal Kombat
Some films just are what they are, which in this case is where the sum of its parts are greater than the whole. Paul W.S. Andersonâs adaptation of the legendary video game (which in itself was based on Robert Clouseâs Enter The Dragon) is his best work to date, despite the fact that neither the cast nor filmmakers seemed to be taking the material that seriously. Regardless, the film for the most part is just flat-out fun, moving along at a fast enough clip that we donât really hash over the dumber aspects. As with the game, the main selling points are the one-on-one fights themselves, with Liu Kang vs. Reptile stealing the show and easily being the filmâs coolest highlight, along with Sub-Zeroâs one hit fatality win. The others range from very good (Johnny Cage vs. Scorpion) to borderline pathetic (Sonya vs. Kano). The cast here is mostly a mixed bag: Linden Ashbyâs Cage lacks any presence whatsoever, and is not helped by Ashbyâs wooden acting as the âVan Dammeâ type character; Cary Hiroyuki-Tagawa seems to be having a good time chewing the scenery as Shang Tsung, spouting his clichĂ©d bad guy lines with a certain relish; Robin Shou is an acceptable choice as Liu Kang, though his fight choreography, especially during the aforementioned fight with Reptile, is outstanding; Bridgette Wilson as Sonya Blade obviously knows very little about the martial arts, but we forgive her simply for having one of the cutest perpetual pouts in the history of cinema; Talisa Soto brings a lot of class to the centuries-old Princess Kitana; while Trevor Goddard is a disappointment as Kano, playing the part as a goofy, clichĂ©d Aussie-accented thug; and then there is Christopher Lambert as Lord Rayden: The screen legend is forced to wrap himself around some of the most awkwardly painful dialogue the script has to offer, but does it with good cheer. Of course, the coolest character for me was Prince Goro, a monstrous creation with a kick-ass attitude whose demise actually had me feeling rather sad. Yes, the primitive CGI has more than its fair share of seams showing, and yes, the final showdown does play off as being VERY anticlimactic, and yes, the dialogue does contain some real groaners (âDonât you dare try to protect me, Johnny Cage!â), but in the end the viewer is still left with a goony grin from the kinetic and well-staged fight scenes and catchy music by George S. Clinton which helps make it (in a genre loaded with shit films) one of the best martial arts films of all time almost by defaultâŠ
7/10