"Nothing In This World Has Prepared You For This!"	Year of Release: 1995 Directed by: Paul Anderson Running Time: Approx. 101 minutes Rating: PG-13 Listing on the A.K.A. Page: Nope! A Second Opinion: The Apollo Movie Guide Buy it on DVD at: Amazon.com or Movies Unlimited.com. My Rating:

Liu Kang- Robin Shou! Shaolin martial artist who happens to be the "chosen one" (that term of endearment is SO overused)! He enters the tournament of Mortal Kombat to avenge his brother's death. Since Liu is the "chosen one," he has hardly any trouble defeating Sub-Zero, Reptile, and finally Shang Tsung.

Johnny Cage- Martial arts movie star that's out to prove that he is not a fake! He defeats both Scorpion and Goro, thus tipping the scales in the mortals' favor.

Sonya Blade- Bridgette Wilson! (ROWL!) Government agent that's obsessed with avenging the death of her partner by killing Kano. She ends up as Shang Tsung's hostage, forcing Johnny and Liu to come to the rescue.

Shang Tsung- Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa! Evil sorcerer that steals the souls from his vanquished victims. He's hit by Liu Kang's patented fireball attack and falls upon a pit of spikes.

Lord Rayden- Chrisopher Lambert! The Shaolin God of Thunder and defender of the "Earth Realm." He provides advice and security to our three main heroes.

Scorpion, Sub-Zero, and Reptile- Three similar looking ninjas, each with their own special abilities. Scorpion can shoot a living harpoon from his hand and teleport at will. He explodes after being sliced up by Johnny Cage. Sub-Zero can freeze things at will. He's impaled on an icicle courteousy of Liu Kang. Reptile was originally well ... a reptile until it was engulfed by a statue in Outworld. In it's "human" ninja form, Reptile is a formidable foe, until hit with Liu Kang's patented Bicycle Kick!

Kitana- Talisa Soto! (ROWL AGAIN!) The evil Emperor Shao Kahn's adopted daughter. She helps the mortals win the tournament to save the "Earth Realm."

Goro- Four-armed beast that easily kills almost all comers. He's knocked off a mountain spire by Johnny Cage.

Kano- Murderous convict that killed Sonya's partner (before the movie started I guess because we only hear about it). His neck is broken by Sonya.

The Other Mortal Contenders- Fodder for Shang Tsung and his minions.

Shao Kahn and Jax- Both have short cameos.

Having played several of Midway's "Mortal Kombat" games, I knew as a young(er) teen that this would eventually be made into a film. Unlike most other video game related movies, Mortal Kombat doesn't stray much, if at all, from the game's plotline. The movie opens with Liu Kang dreaming of his young brother's demise at the hands of Shang Tsung. Liu visits his fellow monks at the "Temple of Light" in China and discovers that his dream is actually a reality. Liu then decides to enter the tournament of Mortal Kombat and avenge his brother's death. Also going on this trip are Johnny Cage and Sonya Blade. Johnny has been getting a bad reputation in supermarket tabloids, so he wants to prove that he CAN fight! Sonya ends up at the tournament while tailing her "arch-nemesis," Kano.
These are our three main heroes throughout the movie and from start to finish, each has to learn a valuable lesson to survive the tournament. Liu Kang must conquer the fear he has of his own destiny. Johnny must overcome his fear of being called a fake. Sonya on the other hand, must learn the valuable lesson of teamwork and trust. And what better way to learn all of these things than by kicking some butt right?! Sonya kills Kano, Liu Kang takes out Sub-Zero, and Johnny Cage kills both Scorpion and Goro! While all these "freaks" are finished off, the Earth's other mortal fighters have all been killed. Shang Tsung, seeing the disadvantage of continuing the tournament on Earth, kidnaps Sonya and takes her to Outworld. Johnny and Liu chase after the two and find themselves in a dark, desolate world. As they walk towards a tall stone tower (property of Outworld's Emperor, Shao Kahn) Liu Kang suddenly stops because he hears something.
Since he is the "chosen one," he soon finds the fully camouflaged Reptile and tosses it into a nearby statue's chest cavity. Stringy tendons envelop the ferocious chameleon, thus morphing the statue into a green ninja! Said ninja then begins delivering a ton of punishment to Liu Kang. They fight it out for a while and Liu Kang wins thanks to his patented Bicycle Kick! Reptile returns to it's normal form after it's severe beating, only to be stomped on by Liu! One thing bugged me right here ... where the hell did Johnny Cage go?! During Liu Kang's whole battle with Reptile, Cage was nowhere to be found! Anyways, Princess Kitana suddenly shows up and leads our two masculine heroes to Shao Kahn's tower. Meanwhile, inside the tower, Shang Tsung is trying to trick Sonya into fighting him. She refuses time and again, and keeps telling Shang that "her friends will come."
Well she was right because Johnny, Liu, and Kitana arrive, disguised as evil priests (a must have for any evil sorcerer)! Kitana chides Shang Tsung for his trickery and cowardice in trying to get Sonya to fight. Shang then tries to challenge Johnny but Liu Kang intercedes. "I challenge you Shang Tsung. Do you accept?" Well folks what do you think? Of course he accepts and a fight quickly breaks out between the two. Shang uses his magic powers to call upon dead warriors to fight Liu. Liu Kang defeats these resurrected souls and then confronts his destiny. The two warriors fight a bit longer after Shang Tsung's failed attempt at psychological warfare (he turned into Liu's brother to throw him off). Liu blasts a fireball into Shang Tsung's chest, sending the soul stealing sorcerer reeling onto a bed of jagged spikes. So the mortals claim victory in the tournament and everything is ok right? Wrong! Despite losing the tournament, Shao Khan arrives to conquer the Earth! Can Kitana, Rayden, Liu Kang, Johnny Cage, Sonya, and the other Earthly fighters stop the evil Emperor from succeeding? Watch Mortal Kombat: Annhiliation to find out!

Shang Tsung: "Your soul is mine!"

Shang Tsung: "Flawless Victory."

Johnny Cage: "This is where you fall down."

Johnny Cage: "Let's Dance."

Kano: "Hello baby. Did you miss me?"

Scorpion: "Get over here!"

Liu Kang: "I am the chosen one!"