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Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.

Mortal Kombat
New Line Cinema


8.9

based on 12 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

based on 11 votes
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FILM:

Mortal Kombat: Annihilation

MPAA RATING: PG-13 for non-stop martial arts action and some violence

Starring Christopher Lambert, Robin Shou, Linden Ashby, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, Bridgette Wilson, Talisa Soto, Trevor Goddard, and Chris Casamassa

Summoned to a mysterious island, three martial arts warriors engage in the ultimate battle of good vs. evil. (New Line Cinema)

GENRE(S):	Action \| Adventure \| Fantasy
WRITTEN BY:	Kevin Droney Ed Boon (video games) John Tobias (video games)
DIRECTED BY:	Paul W.S. Anderson
RELEASE DATE:	DVD: March 26, 1997 Video: May 21, 1996 Theatrical: August 18, 1995
RUNNING TIME:	101 minutes, Color
ORIGIN:	USA

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

Los Angeles Times Kevin Thomas

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]

Christian Science Monitor Peter Rainer

It is one continuous fight sequence from opening scene to final credits, but lacks the blood, profanity, and gore that would have merited a more adult rating.

The New York Times Stephen Holden

The movie's extensive martial arts sequences, in which combatants bounce off each other doing triple handsprings, suggest a slightly more earthbound version of the aerial ballets in Hong Kong action-adventure films.

Variety Leonard Klady

But where others have sunk in the mire of imitation, director Paul Anderson and writer Kevin Droney effect a viable balance between exquisitely choreographed action and ironic visual and verbal counterpoint.

TV Guide Staff(not credited)

Expect lots of earsplitting music, garish visuals and badly staged martial arts action.

Washington Post Richard Harrington

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).

Empire Kim Newman

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.

Entertainment Weekly Lisa Schwarzbaum

And although director Paul Anderson treats the story with appropriate deadpan respect, there are enough sparks of humor (particularly generated by Linden Ashby as a shallow martial-arts actor who worries that he's a fake, with good reason) to amuse the adults accompanying the 10-year-old boys in the audience.

The New Yorker Bruce Diones

But soon the movie falls flat under an uninspired good-versus-evil plot and pathetically simpleminded dialogue.

Austin Chronicle Marc Savlov

It is, in essence, the video game transferred part and parcel to the screen, and very well at that.

San Francisco Chronicle Laura Evenson

Mortal Kombat the movie has everything a teenage boy could want: snakes that jut out of a villain's palms, acrobatic kung- fu fighting and a couple of battling babes. Everything, that is, but an interesting plot, decent dialogue and compelling acting

USA Today Susan Wloszczyna

Just like the popular (and more graphically violent) video game it's spun from, kung-fooy and kartoony Kombat shoves plot and personality aside to focus on action cloaked in mystic mumbo-jumbo and gloomy mock-gothic graphics. [21 Aug 1995 Pg. 03.D]

The average user rating for this movie is 8.9 (out of 10) based on 11 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Kevin M gave it a7:
I liked this movie too, but I'm surprised it got this good of reviews, especially from critics.

George K. gave it a10:
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!

Gabbo E. gave it a10:
Mortal Kombat is the greatest movie based on a video game ever made, everything about it was great, it followed the game really well, it was well casted, the special effects were pretty decent for it's time, the fight sequences were excellent and the soundtrack was superb, this movie is definately one of my favorite movies of all-time.

Danieru gave it a10:
Pure fun. And also the best film based on game. I think it really deserves its 10.

josak gave it a7:
Cool movie. If you liked the games at all, your going to enjoy this.

Phail3d gave it a9:
Alhtough the plot went a little too complicated and seperated from the main idea in it's latter parts, I still found Mortal Kombat fun to watch. Because the plot follows one of the original video games kind of well, I have the strange feeling that people who have played the video game(s) get more out of the movie; hence the better rating by users.

Fred Bob gave it a7:
This movie has it's good spots, but the acting could be a little better. It does a great job capturing the intensity and creativity of the Mortal Kombat world.

Mortal Kombat New Line Cinema

Mortal Kombat
New Line Cinema