KOMBAT BEGINS.
Three martial arts pros (Robin Shou, Linden Ashby, Bridgette Wilson) compete for world domination in a tournament that is set on an island. This flick belongs to one of the genres the 1990s never learned to master ā movies based on video games. The production design looks alright, but thereās nothing here but uninspired fights and contrived jokes. For better or worse, Christopher Lambertās appearance as an āelectricalā god elevates his acting from wooden into the plain ridiculous.
1995-U.S. 102 min. Color. Directed byĀ Paul W.S. Anderson. Cast: Christopher Lambert (Lord Rayden), Robin Shou (Liu Kang), Linden Ashby (Johnny Cage), Bridgette Wilson (Sonya Blade), Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, Talisa Soto.Ā
Trivia:Ā Followed byĀ Mortal Kombat: AnnihilationĀ (1997) and two TV series in 1995 (animated) and 1998; rebooted as Mortal KombatĀ (2021).
