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critics consensus

Despite an effective otherwordly atmosphere and appropriately cheesy visuals, Mortal Kombat suffers from its poorly constructed plot, laughable dialogue, and subpar acting. Read critic reviews

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Movie Info

Lord Rayden (Christopher Lambert) handpicks three martial artists -- federal agent Sonya Blade (Bridgette Wilson), Shaolin monk Lui Kang (Robin Shou) and action movie sensation Johnny Cage (Linden Ashby) -- and mentors them. After intense training, Rayden transports the trio to Outworld, the site of an inter-dimensional fighting tournament. There, the three humans must defeat the demonic warriors of the evil Shang Sung (Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa) -- or allow Sung to take over the Earth.
  • Rating:
    PG-13
  • Genre:
    action
  • Original Language:
    English
  • Director:
    Paul W.S. Anderson
  • Producer:
    Lawrence Kasanoff
  • Writer:
    Kevin Droney
  • Release Date (Streaming):
  • Box Office (Gross USA):
    $70.5M
  • Runtime:
  • Production Co:
    New Line Cinema
  • Sound Mix:
    Surround, Stereo

Cast & Crew

Robin Shou
Liu Kang
Linden Ashby
Johnny Cage
Bridgette Wilson-Sampras
Sonya Blade
Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa
Shang Tsung
Talisa Soto
Princess Kitana
Christopher Lambert
Lord Rayden
Trevor Goddard
Kano
Chris Casamassa
Scorpion
Paul W.S. Anderson
Director
Lawrence Kasanoff
Producer
Kevin Droney
Screenwriter
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News & Interviews for Mortal Kombat

Everything We Know About Mortal Kombat
Hear Us Out: Paul W.S. Anderson Has Been Crushing It for 25 Years
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Critic Reviews for Mortal Kombat

All Critics (43) | Top Critics (14) | Fresh (19) | Rotten (24)

  • It is too violent for children and too silly for anyone else.

    March 17, 2021 | Full Review…

    Nigel Andrews

    Financial Times

  • Novices may find the ground rules difficult to follow, though if you cut away the baroque detail you are left with a blunt, noisy, violent fight between good and evil.

    March 17, 2021 | Full Review…

    Geoff Brown

    Times (UK)

  • The only decent video game turned into a movie. Why? Obviously because the filmmakers have really tried to offer some eye-popping visuals that can provide the same stimuli as the video game itself.

    September 14, 2020 | Rating: 3/4 | Full Review…

    Gene Siskel

    Chicago Tribune

  • 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.

    April 18, 2019 | Full Review…

    Kevin Thomas

    Los Angeles Times

  • The guys in the recording studio who made the ooofff! augghhhh! sounds are the ones who really had all the fun.

    September 7, 2011 | Rating: C+ | Full Review…

    Lisa Schwarzbaum

    Entertainment Weekly

  • Anderson does a good job of edging humour into dumbness - Lambert gets a few witty looks - and the art direction and effects are okay.

    April 7, 2010 | Rating: 3/5 | Full Review…

    Kim Newman

    Empire Magazine
View All Critic Reviews (43)

Audience Reviews for Mortal Kombat

  • Jun 03, 2016
    Truly bad, but in a 100% watchable way.
    Gimly M Super Reviewer
  • Sep 12, 2015
    Probably one of the most underrated game to movies around as it's very loyal to the games with using most of the main characters from the game, The plot was abit silly but it had to be for this film to exist, The fight scenes were pretty good but should of been better, The acting was poor but if you go into a film like this expecting great acting then you need more film knowledge, At the end of the day it's one of the better game to films there is outside the Resident Evil franchise.
    Jamie C Super Reviewer
  • Jun 18, 2015
    Having never played the games and just taking the movie for itself Mortal Kombat succeeds with intriguing characters, awesome action sequences, and great sets. I can't give it a 5 because of some of the cheesy CGI. Its a great popcorn movie and will always impress action junkies like myself.
    Ian I Super Reviewer
  • Jun 24, 2014
    Fans would enjoy this adaptation from the popular yet controversial series. I can see the effort but it didn't work out as what it promised. First of all, the dialogues were laughable, I honestly don't know how badly written it could be. Secondly, there were a bunch of random extras that served no purpose. Lastly, the film tried to be humourous, which was the ultimate downfall of the film, stick with the gore please. On the bright side, the fight between Johnny Cage and Scorpion was pretty good, other than that, the film could go straight to the rubbish bin.
    Sylvester K Super Reviewer
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