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I remember 1995 like it was yesterday. My parents had dropped my 15-year-old brother and 9-year-old me off at the movie theater to see Mortal Kombat, just the fourth film ever released that was based on a commercial video game. The ones that came before were Super Mario Bros. (1993), Double Dragon (1994), and Street Fighter (1994), and we were disappointed, to say the least. My parents had purchased the Super Nintendo copy of Mortal Kombat for me, which censored the blood and guts that the game became famous for. I don’t think they knew my brother had secretly acquired the Sega Genesis version, which showed it all. Fooled you, mom and dad! I recall standing in line, waiting to get our tickets and into the theater, practicing moves on one another. He would pretend to be Sub-Zero and freeze me. I would Shadow Kick him as Johnny Cage (my favorite – don’t @ me). We went in the theater, and watched our favorite characters unveiled on the big screen. Little did we know that we would be walking out of a movie that would arguably be a top-3 video game film, even 25 years later.
Mortal Kombat is one of those films that you love as a kid, hate as a young adult, and love again as a grown adult. I didn’t know what to expect as a kid, but I remember being blown away by all the amazing sets, the ground-breaking effects, the kick-ass fights, and catchy theme playing relentlessly at theater volume. I remember, after seeing Scorpion’s little creature come out of his hands screaming, looking at my brother and mouthing, “What is that?” but I was so here for it. My favorite character punched Goro in the nuts, and the good guys won.
Once I got a little older, into my late teens and early ’20s, I started to analyze film more, and Hollywood was pumping out gems like Doom, Resident Evil, and House of the Dead. Video game movies were bad, and it was cool to hate on them. Mortal Kombat: Annihilation had come out as well, sullying my most recent thoughts on the original by having even worse special effects, replaced cast members — oh, and (spoiler alert) snapping Johnny Cage’s neck in the first five minutes. Revisiting the original Mortal Kombat as a young adult had me focusing on things like the extremely cheesy acting, the unforgivable CGI Reptile creature that truly would “test my sight.” I used to joke that the creators were saying “Your wallet is MINE” in the Shang Tsung voice, chalking up the original film up to a cash grab. My nine-year-old self would have been ashamed of me.
Watching the film as a grown adult (including my most recent watch in preparation for this retro) that has sat through so many worse films is incredibly different. I smile almost the entire time the film is playing. Sure, you’ve still got the cheesy acting and the stinky ’90s effects, but as soon as that gong hits and those signature notes hit, I’m ready for the fight. The nostalgia comes flowing back and I let go of all the analytical stuff that sometimes comes with watching films. So what if the 10,000 year old stone columns moved like cardboard when people were thrown into them? Who cares if Reptile looks worse than a Sega Saturn cinematic? The film is fun, and it honestly gives us everything it promised. We get to see our favorite characters do their signature moves, sets built from the ground up with the MK dragon symbol plastered across every inch of it, and memorable performances from enjoyable actors like Christopher Lambert and Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa. I got to see Johnny Cage’s signed autograph fatality on Scorpion, and how freaking awesome is that Goro animatronic?
Mortal Kombat is not flawless by any means, but sometimes the flaws in a film are what make them more special and more enjoyable. Aren’t these the reasons why we’re watching films in the first place, to be entertained? 25 years later, Mortal Kombat is still loads of fun, and achieves the victory…and you know what I say to young adult Stephen? “YOU LOSE! FATALITY!”
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Feed My Coffee Addiction
