Mortal Kombat

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Mortal Kombat

PG-13

1995

1h 41m

Action

Adventure

Fantasy

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Popcornmeter

44%

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78 Reviews

58%

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250,000+ Ratings

Lord Raiden (Christopher Lambert) handpicks three martial artists — federal agent Sonya Blade (Bridgette Wilson), Shaolin monk Liu Kang (Robin Shou) and action movie sensation Johnny Cage (Linden Ashby) — and mentors them. After intense training, Raiden transports the trio to Outworld, the site of an interdimensional fighting tournament. There, the three humans must defeat the demonic warriors of the evil Shang Tsung (Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa) — or allow Tsung to take over the Earth.

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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.

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Rob Salem

Toronto Star

Aug 20, 2025

4/5

Let's just say that Mortal Kombat is "way cool" (something I am rarely inclined to do) and leave it at that.

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Betsy Sherman

Boston Globe

Aug 20, 2025

The result has a pleasing, unpretentious B-movie verve, putting a new sheen on the old-time Saturday-matinee serial.

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Manohla Dargis

L.A. Weekly

Aug 20, 2025

Mortal Kombat isn't the worst movie of the year, but it's easily the most forgettable.

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Mitchell Saltzman

IGN

May 6, 2026

6/10

It’s two hours of impressive martial arts, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa’s exceptional performance as Shang Tsung, and the head-bumping riff of Techno Syndrome.

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Philip French

Observer (UK)

Feb 22, 2026

This picture is based on a best-selling video game, though I could believe that it was inspired by Jayne Austin's novel "Sententiousness and Insensitivity."

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Stephen Hunter

Baltimore Sun

Aug 20, 2025

2.5/4

Mortal Kombat is probably the best film ever derived from a video game, but that's a pretty small pea patch of which to be the prince.

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Eric

Jul 20, 2024

My theater played the wrong movie. The 2021 version was shown.

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Ben W

Sep 15, 2023

Super fun and cheesy! Great time!

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Gareth V

@geewah 3 days ago

Strip away the nostalgia and you’re left with a clumsy, half-hearted adaptation that sanded off everything that made the game memorable. This is a truly bad movie.

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Devin L

@RT59174311 Aug 28, 2026

Classic mortal kombat is awesome.

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Jose P

@RT51994180 Aug 18, 2026

Some parts of the movie are OK and even cool, like the set design, choreography, and bits of cinematography... But the script and editing are an absolute disaster. I loved it as a child, but I've always been confused by it. Now I understand that it makes zero sense.

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Vinicius M

@Vini_Monteiro Aug 17, 2026

Looking back at the 90s Mortal Kombat movie without nostalgia goggles reveals a complete mess. Directed by Paul W.S. Anderson, the film suffers from a major identity crisis, bouncing awkwardly between forced melodrama and clumsy comedy. It totally disrespects the games' lore, reducing iconic rivals like Scorpion and Sub-Zero to mute henchmen and turning badass Sonya Blade into a helpless damsel in distress. The action is painful to watch, ruined by choppy editing, bad camera angles, and stiff choreography. The acting is mostly lifeless across the board, with Christopher Lambert's Raiden being a bizarre miscast. Worst of all, the studio sanitized the game's famous gore for a PG-13 rating, killing any real sense of danger. Add in an exhausting techno soundtrack, cheap sets, terrible CGI, and a clunky Goro animatronic, and it fails as an action epic, even if it remains a fun nostalgic trip for some fans.

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Paul W.S. Anderson

Director

Robin Shou

Liu Kang

Linden Ashby

Johnny Cage

Bridgette Wilson-Sampras

Sonya Blade

Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa

Shang Tsung

Talisa Soto

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Synopsis

Lord Raiden (Christopher Lambert) handpicks three martial artists — federal agent Sonya Blade (Bridgette Wilson), Shaolin monk Liu Kang (Robin Shou) and action movie sensation Johnny Cage (Linden Ashby) — and mentors them. After intense training, Raiden transports the trio to Outworld, the site of an interdimensional fighting tournament. There, the three humans must defeat the demonic warriors of the evil Shang Tsung (Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa) — or allow Tsung to take over the Earth.

Director: Paul W.S. Anderson
Producer: Lawrence Kasanoff
Screenwriter: Kevin Droney
Distributor: New Line Cinema
Production Co: New Line Cinema
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Action, Adventure, Fantasy
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Aug 18, 1995, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Sep 1, 2009
Box Office (Gross USA): $70.5M
Runtime: 1h 41m
Sound Mix: Surround, Stereo
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.85:1)

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