May 15, 2022 – Having seen the 2021 version of Mortal Kombat (based on a video game) I picked up a bluray three-pack at a pawn shop that includes Mortal Kombat, Mortal Kombat: Annihilation and Mortal Kombat: Legacy, thinking it had at least one good movie in the box.

It turns out this three-pack has the 1995 Mortal Kombat movie (here is my review of that one) not the 2021 remake. In fact, two of these features were made in the 1990s, while the last one, Mortal Kombat: Legacy was made in 2011. According to the box, Mortal Kombat Legacy (a web series) is 104 minutes long. This consists of a number of high quality short ‘origin story’ videos of Mortal Kombat characters, plus some extra features. Reportedly, this bluray is an uncensored version of the YouTube videos.

I barely managed to make it through Mortal Kombat Annihilation because the dialog is terrible, the story makes no sense and the kung fu action scenes are substandard. I like good kung fu action scenes, but the ones in this movie were so uninspired and repetitive, they started to bore me. The special effects are not very good, either. I've seen much better martial arts fights in grade B action films like “Triple Threat” (2019).

This movie was so bad, it almost killed the whole Mortal Kombat franchise, despite its potential, but Mortal Kombat did make a comeback, thanks to Kevin Tancharoen, who gained a big following on YouTube with the 2010 release of “Mortal Kombat: Rebirth.” This short streaming video, made for $7,500, re-imagined and revived the franchise. His Mortal Kombat: Legacy series on YouTube is a huge step up in quality over ‘Mortal Kombat: Annihilation.’

Mortal Kombat isn't just about Kung-Fu, it is also about a whole world of supernatural beings with the powers of superheroes. In “Mortal Kombat: Annihilation,” these supernatural beings invade our world and threaten to wipe out mankind, just because they are evil. This invasion violates the rules of Mortal Kombat because Earth's mightiest hero, Liu Kang (Robin Shou) won the Mortal Kombat tournament (featured in the 1995 Mortal Kombat movie) shortly before the invasion happened.

Earth's protector, Lord Raiden (James Remar) approaches the Elder Gods, telling them that the rules are being broken by Shinnok (Reiner Schoene) and his son, Shao Kahn (Brian Thompson) but the Elder Gods just overlook the rule violation because they want to watch another Mortal Kombat contest between Shao Kahn and Liu Kang.

Family ties don't mean much in this film. Shinnok threatens to kill his son and Sindel (Musetta Vander) tries to kill her daughter Kitana (Talisa Soto). Sindel, a mercurial character, dies, then is brought back to life as a villain, then is later turned back into a good person. At the same time, others, like Jax (Lynn 'Red' Williams) who initially says he is not interested in being a hero, abruptly becomes committed to heroic life and death combat. I liked the Jax character, because he seemed to be the only one who was aware of what a joke this movie is. Character motivations in this movie are as messed up as the plot. This film rates an F.

Click here for links to places to buy or rent this movie in digital formats, or to buy the soundtrack, posters, books, even used videos, games, electronics and lots of other stuff (no extra charges apply). I suggest you shop at least two of these places before buying anything. Prices seem to vary continuously. For more information on this film, click on this link to The Internet Movie Database. Type in the name of the movie in the search box and press enter. You will be able to find background information on the film, the actors, and links to much more information.

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