Sure, it is very easy to label Mortal Kombat Annihilation as pure garbage, but for me, it does have a bit of charm to it. I feel that so bad, it is good is perhaps the best way to look at this movie. It is nowhere near as good as 1995’s Mortal Kombat, but I was still very excited to check this out when it was released in 1997.
How to Download Mortal Kombat Annihilation
Mortal Kombat Annihilation was released on November 21, 1997. You can download or stream the film from a digital platform. Click on the Download button at the end of this review and make your choice.
The Movie Review
Mortal Kombat Was Still Huge in 1997
In just two years since Mortal Kombat was released in 1995, Mortal Kombat was still one of the biggest video game franchises around. There was Mortal Kombat Trilogy, Mortal Kombat 4, and the Mortal Kombat animated series released as well as Mortal Kombat Annihilation between 1996 and 1997. There was also the video game, Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero, but the less said about that the better although, we may come back to this later on. The point I am making is that Mortal Kombat was still a big deal in 1997 when this movie was released.
The Story – Shao Khan Invades Earthrealm
This is a direct sequel as It follows on from Mortal Kombat, with Shao Khan the emperor of Outworld invading Earthrealm. Hey, I was all about this as Shao Khan showing up right at the end of the first movie was such a kickass way to bring that movie to a close and get you pumped up for the sequel. Let me tell you, I had Mortal Kombat on VHS and I watched that movie over and over again, so I was very excited to see how Lui Kang and the crew were going to deal with Shao Khan.
Major Character Changes and Recasts
The first thing you notice about Mortal Kombat Annihilation is that they kill off Johnny Cage right at the start, he was my favorite character so that sucked. Also, apart from Robin Shou as Lui Kang and the gorgeous Talisa Soto as Kitana, the returning characters have all been recast. We now have James Remar as Raiden, Sandra Hess as Sonya Blade, and Red Williams as Jax.
The Mortal Kombat 3 Influence
The plot of Mortal Kombat Annihilation is based on mostly Mortal Kombat 3 as well as a little bit of Mortal Kombat 4 as well. Shao Khan has resurrected Kitana’s dead mother, Queen Sindel and this is what has allowed him to invade Earthrealm without besting Earthrealm in Mortal Kombat.
Raiden is at a loss for how the Elder Gods have allowed Shao Khan to do this and seeks wisdom from them, but they just confuse matters. Raiden is told that to close the rift from Outworld to Earthrealm which will stop the invasion he must reunite Queen Sindel with Kitana and also defeat Shao Khan, two things that are easier said than done.
Liu Kang and the Animality Twist
Well, Kitana ends up kidnapped so she is no help. However, Lui Kang hears about a mystic warrior called Nightwolf who can teach him about Animalities which may help him defeat Shao Khan. This is pretty fun as Animalities were one of the new features that were added in for Mortal Kombat 3. Granted, the execution of Lui Kang’s animality is some of the absolute worst 90s CGI you will ever see, but as I said in the intro, it is so bad that it is good.
Too Many Characters, Not Enough Development
The first Mortal Kombat movie had a ton of fan service and it was packed with a lot of characters from Mortal Kombat and Mortal Kombat II, without it feeling too stuffed. Mortal Kombat Annihilation, on the other hand, tries to do the same thing, but there are so many characters in this movie, that most of them are kind of just there.
You do get some great scenes with some awesome fight choreography, but Mortal Kombat Annihilation is kind of like going from one video game cutscene to the next, with very little character development in between. There are a phenomenal 22 Mortal Kombat characters in this movie! 13 (14 if we count Shao Khan) who were not in the first Mortal Kombat movie. Hey, seeing all these characters on the big screen was awesome, but as I said, most of them are just kind of there.
So Bad It’s Good
Mortal Kombat Annihilation is just so cheesy and over the top that I have a fun time with this every time I have watched it. I would have no argument with anyone who told me that they watched this and thought it was dumb and one of the worst movies they have seen! However, while it is very, very inferior to that first awesome Mortal Kombat movie, I do have a little bit of a soft spot for this, hence why my score is probably higher than most other people. I will use the phrase “so bad it is good” once again to bring this to a close!
