"Mortal Kombat: Annihilation" stands atop the pinnacle of awesomely bad video game movies. It delivers a combo strong enough to knock out both Tomb Raider movies. It performs a fatality on the first Final Fantasy flop.
The movie came out in 1997, two years after the first Mortal Kombat film. The sequel follows Mortal Kombat champion Liu Kang and the gang as they fight to protect Earth from forces bent on its destruction.
A quick disclaimer: If you haven't played the video game, don't expect to understand the movie's plot. And even if you have played, don't expect to understand much more than who the characters are.
In a strange and confusing nutshell, Outworld Emperor Shao Kahn has broken the rules of Mortal Kombat to invade Earth and has brought back Queen Sindel, Princess Kitana's formerly deceased mother, in order to somehow make it OK. Earth begins to merge with Outworld, causing destruction and devastation as the warriors struggle against strange enemies and the clock to save the planet. Again.
But this isn't a movie you watch for the plot, dialogue or character development. You watch it for the sheer guilty pleasure of seeing video game characters brought to life to have the epic battles you yourself have played.
Annihilation is glorious in its cheesiness. The blossoming romance between Liu Kang and Kitana is tested by the deceptive, but easy, Jade. Rayden, the thunder god, gives up his immortality to help the humans and faces off with his sinister brother Shao Kahn. And Jax learns that strength comes from within, not from his super-powered metallic arms.
The movie brings back favorites from the first film, and adds a few from the video game, "Mortal Kombat Trilogy." Johnny Cage makes a brief appearance at the beginning, delivers his signature shadow kick but is quickly dispatched, much to the dismay of police detective Sonya Blade. Blade journeys through the desert with Jax, only to have a gratuitous, mud-filled fight with Mileena, Kitana's pink-clad evil twin sister.
Meanwhile, Liu Kang and Kitana are separated after meeting up with Sub-Zero's brother, who just happens to have the same powers as his sibling, but is fighting for the good guys, even though Liu Kang killed his brother. Obviously, there are a lot of twisted family dynamics.
The best part of the film has to be the showdown at the end in which each of the good guys — Liu Kang, Kitana, Blade and Jax — is paired with one of the bad guys — Shao Kahn, Sindel, Ermac and Motaro, respectively. Of course, each good guy struggles, yet manages to come out on top, using moves taken directly from the game.
The special effects are behind their time, even for a movie from the late '90s. I'm guessing the budget wouldn't allow for much more, but it's not like they spent their money on high-profile actors or talented writers.
For all of its flaws, "Mortal Kombat: Annihilation" is a fun film to watch to relive your old days of duking it out on a Sega Genesis. I mean, the techno-esque theme song is all it takes to pump you up to the point where you scream along with it — "Mortal Kombat!"
