The Movies That Moved Me: Paul W.S. Anderson’s MORTAL KOMBAT
Have you ever found yourself among film circles online and spotting some anniversarial post of a film you once saw that you only caught onto right then or like a day after? I have. I remember this just as we approach Sunday’s 30th anniversary of the release of Paul W.S. Anderson’s Mortal Kombat, a film that stands to be one of the biggest moviegoing experiences I had as a kid.
I was twelve. I was in a real Karate school for the first time in my life – obsessed with martial arts films and never having even been exposed to other markets for the martial arts genre until this video game adaptation arose; It would only be through New Line Cinema’s marketing and subsequent repackaging and release of Stanley Tong’s Rumble In The Bronx for Western audiences that the Hong Kong films would become my latest fixation going forward.
I remember seeing stills of Mortal Kombat in a gaming magazine and wondering just how these images would actually translate on the big screen. Would the costumes and aesthetics match? Would the vibe be any different? Indeed, the film’s watered-down PG-13 treatment would only factor in so much, with Pat Johnson and actor Robin Shou’s high-energy fight action and stunt coordination contributing immensely to the entertainment.
I think we ended up buying the VHS from a local pharmacy thereafter, and all I could do was sleep with the damn thing under my pillow. I had poster too but I have no idea what happened to it, and of course, the sequel arrived years later, falling short of expectations and ensuing a complete dry period for anyone wondering what the progress was on a third installment despite whatever talk there was at the time.
I was consumed by the fandom though, always going to the forums to see if anyone knew anything on the matter. This was a time long before the internet would give rise to trade news websites like The Hollywood Reporter, Variety and Deadline which had long existed for decades in print media (my jams at the time were Kung Fu Cinema, KFC Cinema, and Twitchfilm, with the latter being a significant favorite due to its coverage of martial arts and other cult spaces of cinema).
I write all this (it’s March 23 as I’m drafting this article) having remembered that this THR article interviewing the creators and stars of the Mortal Kombat game and 1995 film is nearly ten years old – published two years into my life as an independent journalist with my own platform. Looking back now, yes, I feel a little (LOL) older, and time has slipped by faster than I can say whatever that shit Raiden says during one of his special moves. It’s also fascinating reading some of the memories shared by Shou has, as well as by actors Linden Ashby and Bridgette Wilson-Sampras, and producer Larry Kasanoff, and creator Ed Boon.
To that end, while Mortal Kombat Annihilation didn’t produce better fruit for the IP at the time, I’m thankful that this film exists. It gave kids like me great cinema that endures to this day, great fight scenes and costumes, and a killer soundtrack that stands the test of time. I used to go for walks at night with my sister, mother and dog, listening on my walkman and vibing to several of my favorite tracks. Fear Factory, KMFDM, Orbital, Traci Lords, and Gravity Kills, the latter which plays as the credits for the ’95 film roll…
Come to think of it, this song slaps more now than it did when I first heard it.
Lead image: New Line Cinema
