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Mortal Kombat
Mortal Kombat Image
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Metascore
58 out of 100

Mixed or average reviews - based on 12 Critics What's this?

User Score
7.7 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 39 Ratings

Your Score
10 out of 10
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  • Starring: Christopher Lambert, Robin Shou
  • Summary: Summoned to a mysterious island, three martial arts warriors engage in the ultimate battle of good vs. evil. (New Line Cinema)
  • Director: Paul W.S. Anderson
  • Genre(s): Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi, Thriller, Fantasy
  • Rating: PG-13
  • Runtime: 101 min
  • More Details and Credits »

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 5 out of 12
  2. Mixed: 7 out of 12
  3. Negative: 0 out of 12
  1. Los Angeles Times
    Reviewed by: Kevin Thomas
    90
    A martial arts action-adventure with wondrous special effects and witty production design, it effectively combines supernatural terror, a mythical slay-the-dragon, save-the-princess odyssey and even a spiritual quest for self-knowledge. [21 Aug 1995 Pg. F3]
    All this critic's reviews
  2. Washington Post
    Reviewed by: Richard Harrington
    60
    A mix of martial-arts and special-effects magic, the film serves its nonstop confrontations either straight up or with a twist (as when they involve Kombatants with special powers, like Sub-Zero, Reptile and Scorpion).
  3. Empire
    Reviewed by: Kim Newman
    60
    The filmmakers try to solve the problem of turning an experience which merely consists of a series of fights into a story by... ignoring it, presenting a film which merely consists of a series of fights.

See all 12 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

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Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 15 out of 18
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 18
  3. Negative: 0 out of 18
  1. GeorgeK.
    10
    Absolutely amazing. Sure it is an old movie now but still it has lavish production design. Everything is created in full detail, good acting, nice injections shots of humor, fascinating fights, excellent editing and one unfuzzy direction from Anderson. Plus the exotic locations. Maybe the story is not serious-which it isn't-but it is presented in a way that makes the movie serious. Another plus-the exotic-atmospheric score by George S.Clinton, the techno soundtrack and the photography. It 's good to see locations that they have a blue feeling(Stage with SubZero), a hellish one(Scorpion) etc.. Cary Hiroyuki Tagawa is simply fantastic!… Expand
    • 1 of 1 users said yes
  2. MKfan95
    10
    4 years since my first review on this movie, and still the best video game movie ever made, Mortal Kombat is what a fighting game movie should be; faithful to the game with a group of well-choreographed fight scenes and spot-on casting that resembles the characters very well, plus, the overall concept is cool, the plot is well-paced, the actors do a great job (especially Robin Shou and Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa), the cinematography and set designs are wonderful, and for a film released in 1995, the special fx are actually nice to look at, I easily recommend this film to any hardcore gamer (especially those who are fans of the MK franchise).… Expand
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  3. grandpajoe6191
    4
    Paul W.S Anderson's "Mortal Kombat" doesn't play out like a game, but like 32 episodes of 'Power Rangers' fused together. Yes, the movie is that much terrible.… Expand
    • 4 of 4 users said yes

See all 18 User Reviews

Trailers

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