MORTAL KOMBAT!!! I am the chosen one. Your soul is mine. This is a Mortal Kombat movie made for Mortal Kombat fans. It wasn't ashamed of its source material. It respected it. I think it deserves an s-rank. 95 movie is still my favorite. 95 tied and Scorpions Revenge. 95 moves obviously the best one. MORTAL KOMBAT!!! Mortal Kombat is a 1995 martial arts film
based on the video game franchise Mortal Kombat. Directed by Paul W.S. Anderson. A young aspiring director who has only done one film before this. I've always been interested no matter what I've done
in making movies for young people. It's the market that I really like it's the audience that I like. It's what, I like to make movies that I grew up enjoying. And produced by Lawrence Kasanoff. Who was also the producer of Terminator and True Lies. We had two main goals in making Mortal Kombat. We wanted to combine special effects and martial arts into a
mythic story in a way that had never been done before. And our second goal was to have an absolute blast doing it and make a movie that everyone would have an absolute blast watching. The movie was a big hit back in the 90s. It has been a
debate on whether it was a good video game movie for decades. Considering the laughable Street Fighter movie of last year
and the even greater fiasco of the Super Mario Brothers effort. We can only hope that when it opens next month. Mortal Kombat will prove that you can have a film based on a video game that isn't cack. And in today's video, I'm going to bully it. Just kidding. I quite like this movie if you couldn't tell from the title. I thought I'd take a nostalgic trip back in time to check out this ancient media that kickstarted this franchise. The stuff that worked, and the stuff that's outdated. And stay tuned to the end of the video.
Where I reveal my true intentions as to why I've made this review. So let's bicycle kick right into : Mortal Kombat 1995 We start the movie with Shang Tsung b!tch slapping a child. I always love my morning cup of child abuse. Your brother's soul is mine. Liu!!! Shang Tsung is played by Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa.
And his performance is so phenomenal. That it scared the local children. Cary Tagawa was so absorbed in his role as Shang Tsung. That local Thai children watching filming of the movie's opening scene became frightened and ran away. Then Liu Kang wakes up from this nightmare. In his beautifully lit Matrix apartment. Liu Kang is played by Hong Kong martial artist action star Robin Shou. Liu Kang receives a letter that reads : BROTHER DEAD RETURN HOME. GRANDFATHER Boy I'd love to receive a Hello Kitty postcard that wrote like that. Next we go to Hong Kong to check on Sonya Blade. Played by American actress, model, and singer... You and I can be Like Romeo and Juliet~~ Bridgette Wilson. The Special Forces are here to capture Kano. Played by Trevor Goddard. And we almost had another 2021 Kano situation. We actually weren't gonna shoot his face to be half metal. Because we thought it would look like some other movies that Al and I have done. As we were designing the characters. We had little kids in and they would see all the character designs and approve them and approve them. And when they saw Kano. The original Kano without his metal faceplate. The kids started huffing and puffing like an exasperated bull.
And almost exploded thinking that Kano wouldn't have a metal faceplate. They kept repeating it. Kano has a metal faceplate!!! So we changed back to the original design of the character from the game and that's what you see here. Trust me Sonya! I trust one person on this planet Jax. You're talking to her. You and I can be Like Romeo and Juliet~~ Sonya then starts moving through the crowd. By punching them. Not physically. But only by sound. Shang Tsung wants Sonya to follow Kano. So that she can join the tournament. This is also the beginning of Shang Tsung's creepy obsession with Sonya. If you so much as touch her Kano. You're going to need a seeing eye dog. Your eye is doing the thing. We'll get back onto this later. Sonya continues to punch people. Shoots one of Kano's good boy. And asks where he is. Where's Kano? And the lackey farts out a response. Where is he? Next we get introduced to Johnny Cage. Played by Linden Ashby. He's about to be attacked by a couple of thugs. I love this shot where the weapons they show get progressively more and more lethal. Let's dance~ This is where you fall down. This is where you fall. Fall down. FALL!! This is where you HAYACOO Then it all turns out to be a movie set. And Johnny is pissed at the director. Fun fact, Steven Spielberg was actually suppose to make a cameo here. But due to scheduling issues. He couldn't make it. However, they still gotta look alike for this part. The guy you're about to see clearly...
maybe maybe looks like somebody who we won't mention. A director? Famous director? Also, shame on you The4thSnake. For getting something wrong about this fact. Supposedly he was actually considered to direct the original movie. I made a severe and continuous lapse in my judgment.
And I don't expect to be forgiven. I'm simply here to apologize.
What we came across that day in the Living Forest was obviously unplanned. Alright, how long is the video. 3 MIN!!!! OK, uh. I accept your apology. Thank you very much.
Uhhh go to The4thSnake's channel to watch the full thing. Moving on. Johnny then meets up with Master Boyd.
Who suggests to join a fighting tournament. To gain back his reputation. But of course. This is another one of Shang Tsung's manipulations. Next up, we see Liu Kang going back to his hometown. The Temple of Light. I guess calling it the Shaolin Temple wasn't cool enough.
Also, this place is not filmed in China. But in Thailand. The interesting thing about Thailand was other than the fact that
it was beautiful and gorgeous exactly what we imagined. What we thought of when we were writing the script. Is here. I've never seen those temples put on film I've never seen them done in a western movie in the way we did them and that's very exciting. Liu Kang meets his grandfather. Where he explains his brother's death. What happened? After you left for America, he followed in your footsteps. So they don't really explain why Shang Tsung came here to fight Chan.
But my theory is Shang came here to challenge "the chosen one". And Chan decided to face Shang in Liu Kang's place. Liu Kang decides to join the tournament, to find his brother's killer. And this is where we get introduced to the thunder god himself. Raiden. Played by Christopher Lambert.
Who is probably the biggest actor in the cast. Due to highlander. When we first previewed the film we actually heard people scream out Highlander.
So they did recognize him. And his first line in this movie. Already hits home for Liu Kang. That's why you left the temple and ran away.
The great tournament was too much responsibility. But vengeance. That's so much simpler. Raiden pinpoints exactly what Liu Kang's inner struggles are.
Exactly what a good mentor would do. Then he embarrasses Liu Kang You make me feel like sh!t. Liu Kang then doesn't care about getting his elders approval.
And goes off to the tournament. Now let me pause this video and talk about... RACISM!! Yep, we're going there. In an article that came out in 2021. Mehcad Brooks, the actor who played Jax in MK2021. Talks about the whitewashing issues in MK1995. Where Christopher Lambert, a white male.
Is casted as a character who is depicted as Japanese. And now Mehcad's statement has painted the 95 movie
as just another whitewashed property. Now you have Mortal Kombat. They got Asian people to be in it. Unlike that 80s one where it's a bunch of white people. Like Raiden's a white guy. And like here it's like actually Asian people they speak Japanese and Chinese. Now to be fair. I agree with Mehcad's statement on this issue with many other movies. But I genuinely think Mortal Kombat 1995 does not fall into it. So now I'm going to talk about diversity in the 95 movie. The main character and main villain of the movie are played by Asian actors. And I find that to be pretty Poggres. I didn't have to play any serial typical kind of token Asian
That got killed in the end or something. Yeah something like that. This guy actually saved the world and I go wow this is really cool. And as a Chinese American myself. I quite look up to these legends. After the movie came out the impact on the people I can't I just... Just so amazing because all the kids were so excited about my character in the film. Now on to Scorpion and Sub-Zero.
Scorpion is supposed to be Japanese. And Sub-Zero is supposed to be Chinese. But both of them are white. Now there's a couple of factors to keep in mind. For one, their characteristics aren't really established until later on in the series. Where as in this movie. They are just mindless jobbers working for Shang Tsung.
So representation wasn't the biggest concern for their characters. And also, the criteria of the casting is to find people who can fight. It was our goal that every actor in Mortal Kombat either was a martial artist who we taught to act, or was an actor who we taught martial arts. And the first day I was there there was like 100 people.
And I went back and there was like 50. And I'm like... Man it's hard to get into a big budget film like I didn't realize it was that difficult. And both Chris Casamassa and François Petit definitely fit that. The director walked over and said hey um...you guys mind taking off your shirt? I'm kind of a smart ass. And it gets me in trouble sometimes. I looked at him and I said well... If it'll get me the part I'll come back to your trailer too. Everybody laughs when I tell the story. That's hilarious. Deadpan. And I go OMG I'm like this dude's gonna kill me. Paul Anderson shakes my hand he goes :
Welcome to Mortal Kombat, you're gonna be Scorpion. Would it be nice for Scorpion and Sub-Zero to be Asian? Sure. But I don't think it's that big of an issue.
Since they're just no named thugs with cool abilities. And I guess it wasn't an issue for Mr. Mehcad's since he didn't even mention them. But that's just get to the meat of the topic. Raiden. And who would know a thunder god is French. For sure, one of the reasons they casted Lambert. Was for his star power. But they also casted him because they thought he'd fit the role of a mysterious funny mentor. We cast Christopher not because he's a famous actor per se
But because when you make a list of the people who have enough presence. In our case cause Raiden is a devilish god. Humor. It's a short list.
And Christopher was the top of our list we just liked him for the role. And I think it's fine that Raiden wasn't played by an Asian. Because he's a god. I am a god. If we're going with MK lore accuracy.
It's established that Raiden goes by many names. And takes different forms. If we're going with real-life mythology. Raiden is based off the Japanese thunder god Raijin. Who looks like this. By Mehcad's logic. Tornadus, Thundurus and Landorus are Asain. By Mehcad's logic. All the Elder Gods in Battle of the Realms are Asain.
Because they can turn into Eastern Dragons. Of course. Raiden's attire is Japanese based.
Which is why Tadanobu Asano is casted as Raiden in the 2021 movie. And I think that's great. I think diversity in the MK franchise is great. But don't all the sudden throw the 95 movie into your "Hollywood Bigotry" issue. When it never had that problem in the first place. Especially when Mortal Kombat 1995 had awesome Asain representation. So I was watching the ending. And then it's like me and Cary. That's it! 2 Asian dudes! I go wow! Next we head to the docks. Where we see Johnny Cage pissed that someone is reading his scandal. Fun fact! This is the exact same newspaper Master Boyd was reading. Just in Chinese. Even the side articles are the same. However, one of the article reads :
98.4% of all products made in Ohio. But the Chinese version didn't put "98.4%" in it. So it just reads : Of all products made in Ohio. This is where we get introduced to Art Lean.
Also one of the fighters joining the tournament. Liu Kang arrives. And Johnny asks him to carry his luggage. Because...you know... He has long hair. Liu Kang rejects Johnny's "Hollywood Bigotry". And tosses his stuff into the sea. B!tch! We see Sonya and Jax looking for Kano. As a giant boat appears. Which I must say. Actually looks pretty great. And the whole thing is CG. The entire ghost ship is actually
completely created in the computer. Kano appears. And Sonya goes after him onto the boat. Sonya! Don't get on that thing. Hey Sonya! I trust one person on this planet. You're talking to her. *sad Romeo and Juliet starts playing Then we see the three of our main characters interacting. Hey you. Alright tough guy you want to get... Out of my way. Just another star struck fan huh. B!tch! Well that went well. Sonya continues to look for Kano.
And she meets Shang Tsung. It's an honor to finally meet you Sonya. Shang Tsung at your service. If you'd like a tour I'd love to give it to you myself. Hey, be nice to the lady. I mean...he was quite nice to her(?) This is where we get introduced to Scorpion and Sub-Zero. Who don't want to kill each other.
Cause they are pretty much just mindless jobbers here. Sonya's gun gets frozen. Which they totally referenced in the 2021 movie. Scorpion shows his living Kunai spear. Which I'm kinda shocked they never bring this into the games. But before they can attack. Raiden shows up to save them. I personally think Raiden is extra protective now.
Because this was the same way Chan got killed. Raiden then takes our heroes to
the top of the boat to explain what is going on here. You have been chosen to defend the realm of Earth in a tournament called Mortal Kombat. He said the thing! Tournament to save the world. Blah~ Blah~ Blah~ You get the gist of it. Sorry Can you believe this legendary laugh was improvised! Christopher adlibs a laugh in here.
Completely sets the entire tone of his character. He is a thunder god he is saying something incredibly important. But he's also a devilish and he's funny Has sense of humor about it. Move! Nein! Whatever you say Jack. You're the master race. Can you still do the Raiden laugh? Next we get the classic line from Shang Tsung. IT HAS IT HAS GUN We then arrive onto Shang Tsung's beautiful island.
Which was also shot in Thailand. Struck by the haunting beauty
of the remote beaches in the Thai region of Krabi. Where they filmed the scenes on Shang Tsung's island. Oddly shaped limestone spires jutting out of the sea
hundreds of feet into the air near Krabi. Made it clear to producers
they had discovered a unique location. They take small boats to get onto the island. And this is where we get the best joke in the movie. Jax this is Sonya. Do you copy? While you're at it why don't you call my agent. Do I look like your secretary? Where the hell are we? Do i look like your travel agent? Fine (ﾉ °益°)ﾉ Now I'd like to take some time to
talk about Chinese Mortal Kombat titles. In the movie, the invitation Johnny received reads : 生死搏鬥 Which roughly translates to "The Battle of Life and Death". However, later on in the movie. The flags on the beach read : 致命格鬥 Which means "Deadly Brawl". So that's two different names in the same movie. But we're not done yet. In Scorpion's Revenge.
They reference the invitation in the 95 movie. And it reads : 凡人戰鬥 Which roughly means "Normal Person Battle". It's weird. But I think it's because the word "Mortal" can mean "Person" in Chinese. Because if you can die, then you're just a regular person. Now on to the actual Chinese title : 真人快打 Is the official translation for Mortal Kombat.
And it means "Real Person Combat". Definitely the worst out of the bunch.
My guess as to why it's called this. Is because the original Mortal Kombat was shot with real people. Or like Scorpions Revenge, real person = mortal. And we're still not done yet.
Back when this movie came out. The Chinese title was : 格鬥之王 Which literally means "King of Fighters". And the Taiwanese title is : 魔宮帝國 帝國 means empire. And 魔宮 isn't a real word. But if i had to try. It would mean "Demon King Palace". "Demon King" is kinda used as a final boss kind of deal. And the word "Palace" is used here
probably because of Shang Tsung's island. But mainly it's called this. Because 魔宮 sounds like mortal. So the full translation is "Demon King Palace Empire". This is terrible. And there you have it. 6 different Mortal Kombat titles. Tell me what your favorite one is. I still hate the one we currently have. Hi, Sonic from the future here.
I'm literally just about to finish making this video. But then I came across something quite interesting on Youtube. I was watching a video talking about
the history of video game movies. And then I came across this! A 7th Mortal Kombat Chinese title! And by the way this is no cheap rip-off
knock-off title or something like that. No this is legit something that you can still buy online today.
It is actually called this. So apparently this is a Japanese version of Mortal Kombat. So I'm assuming that this is an English Mortal Kombat title translated into Japanese and then translated into Chinese. So the title is : 神拳降臨傳說 And the translation for it is... "God Fist Descending Legend". Now...yeah~ Godfist descending is stupid.
And really doesn't make any sense. But I will give it some points
for the fact that they use the word "Legend" here. I actually don't think that's too
bad of a thing to put in the Mortal Kombat title. So yeah there you go I accidentally just found another one. If there ever is a 8th or 9th Chinese title that exists out there called like Doo Doo Fighter or something. I'll be sure to update guys on never. Our heroes climb the stairs and make it into the palace.
And Johnny lost his luggage while walking up the stairs. In here, we see statues of fighters from previous tournaments. The statuary garden on Shang Tsung's island. Honors the memories of former Mortal Kombat warriors throughout the centuries. Both from our world and other realms. And here we get introduced to Princess Kitana. Giving Liu Kang the "Do me Simba" eyes. What is this by the way? Are you getting a sunbathe in the cave? While hooded figure watches over you? So something funny i find about Kitana. In the game lore, Kitana will slowly find out about the evil doings of Outwarlord. And be imprisoned for her treacheries. Here however, she's already rebelling against Outworld. She's really with the good guys. And Shang Tsung knows this. She's our most dangerous adversary.
Keep her away from these humans. Yet he does not dare lay a finger on her.
Because she's the Princess of Outworld. Shang Tsung dare not try and steal her soul.
Because she is a princess. She's family. So to speak. She's literally the spoiled brat that no one dares mess with. Because of her corporate billionaire daddy. Shang Tsung appears. After walking up 1000 steps. And this is where we seeone of the worst looking reptile design. Is that a fking cat??? Hi, sorry. I didn't mean to do a finger cam rant here. But I am losing brain cells figuring out who thought this was okay? It's like they saw the latest Jurassic Park movie and thought. Yeah. We could do worse than that! They had a semi-decent blueprint in the MK2 Reptile arcade ending. Where he shows more of his dinosaur face. They could have done something like that.
But no instead they made a cockroach! It's like if a kid from kindergarten brought back their cute dinosaur drawing. And the parents were so disappointed with it. That they scrunched it up,
and Paul Anderson walked in and said : Yeah! We'll use that!!! You know, it wasn't until I took one hour to draw that dinosaur. That I found out how bad
the color scheme on this damn thing is. It's like if somebody wanted to decorate Christmas.
With their own body fluids! Upon observing this closer.
I have realized that I think what they're trying to do. Is a thermal imaging type kind of a thing. Conceptually speaking that sounds pretty cool. But the outcome is a barf. It's getting worse and worse the more that I look at this thing. The proportions and the 3D modeling is so bad even for 1995. What are those toes!? What are those silicone toes!?!? Why couldn't they just make a good looking
Kabal or a Velociraptor. As a person with the Digimon Velociraptor profile picture.
I am genuinely offended by this. It doesn't even look reptilian anymore! Why couldn't they
consult like a Furry artist to help out on this. Do you remember the last time corporate tried to
make a cat anthro movie without consulting Furries? This looks worse than that somehow!!! I hate this Reptile design. It is a disgrace to Reptile's legacy. I'd rather take the monsters from Annihilation. With that being said though, it's time to "Yassify" it~~ Hello. Hi. So uh~ Can you help me make this thing sexy? Unbelievable. I can't believe you are asking me to do this again. You have a problem. *argue sounds *Bridgette Wilson "Romeo and Juliet" So Shang Tsung orders Reptile
to keep Kitana away from the humans. If Shang can't get no b!tches. Then neither can Liu Kang. Next we see our heroes having a delicious meal.
With a side of creepy staring. Shang Tsung then begins his opening ceremony. Some of you will even have the distinct honor, and pleasure. We shall show you every pleasure. Every pleasure? What? And then he gives us a little taste of things to come.
By getting a bunch of muscular, oily, MEN. We got to rub baby oil on them~ no no just kidding just kidding. To start knocking over food onto the ground.
That magically disappear in the next scene. Poor guy. Must have lost his head. Ha ha ha~ Flawless victory. Ah chills~ literal chills~ Our gang decide to follow Shang Tsung to get more information. And they see Kano chatting with the champion of Mortal Kombat. Goro. Voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson. Who voiced many of your favorite characters.
And even reprised his role in Scorpion's Revenge. I'm half and half with Goro. For one, he's not CG.
And the animatronic puppeteer technology is revolutionary. He was a huge big deal.
He was the last of the great animatronics. Before movies started going much more to creature CG. Goro is three kinds of different puppets.
It's a guy in a light weight suit. Who has great mobility. It's an animatronic puppet. There's a guy inside but the top arms and the head are controlled through wires. Running down the back of his body down through his foot. So you can only see him in a medium shot. Not in close shots. And it is a completely radio-controlled guy in a suit. Whose upper arms and facial expressions are radio-controlled. The latter one had never been done before. It was someone inside. Yeah Tom Woodruff. Carrying the entire thing.
That was over 8ft tall. It was weighing 150 pounds. And he had to move the whole thing it was very complicated. And Kevin's voice is fantastic. I am Goro! Prince of the subterranean realm of Shokan But on the other hand. He looks quite fake. And probably due to how hard it was to animate him.
His fights look pretty bad. He was a big animatronic puppet. That never fking worked. I think Goro probably caused me more hard takes
than any other actor on the set. And everyone joked is Goro coming out of his trailer yet. Because there'd always be some kind of delay. I think he got paid more than me and Linden and Robin combined Damn That chicken looks really good. And all this food on this table it was real. You're some kind of royalty too, right? How lucky for them. Back home Hello baby. Did you miss me? Then Shang Tsung shows up. And starts roasting Kano. Look at him. No dignity. No manners. Then Shang Tsung notices they are being watched. Then our gang continue to wander around.
As they see Princess Kitana. Liu Kang goes after that hot piece of 10000 year old... Wisdom. And then he gets ambushed by stinky breath. You know what. Reptile doesn't look too bad.
When you can barely see him. The gang catch up. And Johnny takes them to Kitana.
Because he can smell her perfume. I can smell her perfume. Despite the fact that the way they went is full of cobwebs. As they're breaking through the cobwebs. That must have been there for like... EVER You know that she couldn't have been there. I smell something. FK BALLS And then our gang fight a bunch of thugs.
And it's a really fun fight. That goes along with the beat of the Mortal Kombat theme. They beat them. And Raiden congratulates them. So why don't you show me what you plan to do about... Them. You gotta be kidding me. Luckily, this isn't part of the tournament.
And Raiden can intervene. Raiden warns them of the dangers of Goro and Shang Tsung. So now you've seen what you'll be facing in the tournament. You mean Goro. And Shang Tsung. Wait. Hang on. What about me Gandalf?
What does my fortune cookie say. And finally, the tournament begins.
Liu Kang faces off against a cool looking black dude. Come on. Yeah. A pretty good fight for the beginning of the tournament. After defeating him. Shang Tsung gives him a soul suck. Damn I can't believe he whitewashed him. Next we see Sonya vs. *kiss As Liu Kang gets a nice front row seat. It put a big small on your partner though. Ear to ear. We get a semi fun fight. People were all trying to volunteer. To be the stunt between the legs double. And then, something really weird happens. Ah give you a break. Okay. Sonya wins, and kills Kano. Originally she didn't do what she's about to do
which is snap our friends neck. Originally she was a bit nicer.
But we screened and we thought. Why not. I actually don't think this was a great move. For starters, that's the end of this version of Kano. He starts off intimidating. And funny. But then he has one fight. And dies. I genuinely feel like if Trevor Goddard got more screen time.
He could rival Josh Lawson's Kano. Fking whoops. And second, Sonya's arc is pretty much finished within the first 45 minutes. Her ultimate goal was to kill Kano. Kano is the man my mission in this entire situation
is to kill this man to get this man to beat this man. Of course. She has another arc. But she basically just chills for the rest of the movie.
Until it comes up again. In my opinion. I think Sonya should have lost. She's not to be harmed. Only humiliated. And have her rematch Kano later on in the movie. But have it end with Sonya trusting Johnny to give the finishing blow. I can't believe I'm saying this. But I think the Sonya and Kano arc is done a bit better
in Scorpion's Revenge. Sonya's arc is the same. She wants to kill Kano. And doesn't trust her teammates. In the end of the movie. Sonya confronts Kano. But she's overwhelmed by the monsters. Because she didn't ask for help from her friends. So when Johnny shows up to save her. Sonya realizes.
That having partners. Isn't too bad. And you'll never see me complement
Scorpion's Revenge ever again. Next we head off to a very very beautiful forest. Now this is a rubber cherry plantation from the beaches of Krabi. Where we were simply driving by one day and said : Whoa! We gotta shoot something there. And we originally didn't have the time or the money to shoot the scene. It was just really an idea we got much much later to tag on
to the beginning of this fight. And this is where Johnny fights Scorpion. Scorpion shoots out his bad CGI to chase Johnny. And then the living Kunai spear dies getting stuck in a tree. Yes, it died. It comes out of his hand and has an attitude. Of course that one doesn't have an attitude anymore. R.I.P. little one. You won't be missed. Johnny shadow kicks Scorpion.
And that is the end of the fight. No seriously. Johnny was going to knock out Scorpion. And end the fight. He ran at me in the jungle. Did that kick. And knocked me over. Luckily, the test audience wanted more action scenes. What I was told when they had the test screening. They said no way. There's no way that he would beat him that easy. And there were literally protests that's what Larry told me. He was telling me when we shot his fight
in the rubber plantation in Thailand. He's saying you know man. You don't have it. I should really be fighting for another week. But you know he was right. Eventually we did. Say that again. It happens occasionally. So we live in an alternate timeline where this fight continues. And we got one of the best fights in this franchise. Welcome. First off. The set is so cool.
It's probably one of the best sets in the movie. Scorpion's lair is built on a sound stage in Los Angeles.
And it's built without walls. These are just lights evaporating into a sort of ethereal infinity. Which is a really really kind of bold thing to do
from a production design standpoint. Designers created a complicated multi-tiered set. Which allowed Scorpion and Johnny Cage to fight on different levels in Scorpion's horrific death realm. We actually shot that fight scene up on a platform like that wasn't CGI we were 20ftup in the air doing that entire fight scene. So you had a 20 foot a real 20-foot drop
on either side of that platform. Robin Shou worked with designer Mick Strawn on the concept. Which is based on Shou's knowledge
of ancient Tibetan burial practices. A long time ago in Tibet people bury their families or relatives. Like at levels. The reason for that was the higher you go the closer to heaven you get. That's where we got the idea of the bamboo and the idea of the rap mummies. And we just kinda went with that. And put it into a limbo. So it just went on forever. But the reason why this fight is awesome.
Is because it's just non-stop fighting for almost two minutes. Non-stop kicking and punching and kicking and punching. A camera technique here that we use throughout the movie is where we hung a camera in a glass box. Allowing the actors and the martial arts to actually punch the camera giving a sort of POV of the punch coming in. And actually hit the box which looks like it hit the camera. And they are really going at it.
The actors actually got hurt doing this. I bent over this railing. And he did this axe kick.
I think I was padded up. But his heel just hit right where
there was no pad and at the kidney. And I remember just going... You try to be a tough guy right? And I'm like. *painful Linden noises And I go give me a minute give me a minute. It was not great. Robin who were the uh... The Power Ranger guys. He was insane. He doubled for Scorpion.
And he had to do this gymnastic thing. And he just hit this a steel bar so hard. Was he okay? No. But it all culminates to a badass relentless martial art fight. I was able to convince Linden
that you're gonna look fantastic. If I could just hit you in the face. Because you actually see the actor doing it themselves.
So it's true to the game and true to the film. Johnny then does some gymnastics. Great job Johnny. You got the high ground. Now what? No seriously. What's the plan? Why did you go up there? Get down here. Then Scorpion reveals his true self.
And Johnny uses the power of Kung Lao to save him I have no quarrel with you. I now have a quarrel with you. And slashes Scorpion. Sub-Zero should have spanked you more. Then we get a Michael Bay explosion. And end the fight with Johnny giving a lovely signature
for his fan. Which is a reference to his MK2 friendship. This. Fight. Rocks. We're really proud of that scene.
We think it's one of the best fights in the movie. Next we see Liu Kang heading off to the next fight. No manners. This whole island is full of people wasting food. He faces Kitana. She always gets whistles when she walks out. They don't really fight. It's more of a back and forth dance.
With Kitana giving some obscure hints. If you won't fight with all of your heart there is no hope. To win your next match use the element which brings life. Yeah use the force Lex. Spider-Man's real... What? Spider-man's real name is #%@$+ Spider-man's name is Pet... Kitana! That's enough! You disappoint me. Not very wise. But I'm not going to do anything. Because you're the emperor's daughter. We had to our next fight. Where we see Raiden putting some "element which brings life" into the arena. So I suppose Raiden is working with Kitana. Liu Kang fights Sub-Zero. It's an ight fight.
I like this part where they jump off the slope. Sub-Zero then starts using his OP AOE move. Use the element which brings life. GET OUT OF ME HEAD!!! Liu Kang then figures out the riddle. It's Mortal Kombat. The essence of Mortal Kombat is not about death, but life. The answer was water... Yes of course. I'd rather the answer be my di... Liu Kang tosses the bucket of water.
Somehow turning it into an icicle. Which makes Rain Sub-Zero's worst nightmare. And penetrates Sub-Zero. I love the behind the scene of Sub-Zero getting tossed. Martial arts expert François Petit prepares for
what will ultimately be his frozen finale. Pretty good huh. Next we see Shang Tsung looking for Goro. Can you believe they have all this amazing food
just lying around here? We do not tolerate wasting consumables. I'm sure Ferra Torr is loving this. Ain't that right you two? Error Tor? Error Macro? I could have sworn there was more people here. Reptile! Yo Master Shang! You're supposed to be spying on Kitana.
And what are you doing here Ermac? Can't a dude just chill here? Oh come on. What is she gonna do? Stare her way to victory? She gave Liu Kang a hint. And now Sub-Zero is dead. Yeah, well. If I were fighting. And I saw a bucket of water. I throw that sh!t too. Do not disobey me. You imbecile! Okay fine, geez. And revert back to your centipede form. You're not supposed to Centipede? Yeah, for some reason. He doesn't know that I'm a Xenomorph. Do it! Aye aye captain. Shang Tsung tells Goro to unleash hell. And then he goes on a killing spree. Next we see Jax going up against Goro. Oh my bad. I meant Art Lean. I must have gotten it confused. Cause some bozo put this fight on Youtube. And titled it Goro vs. Jax. With almost 800,000 views.
And after six years still hasn't corrected it. You disappoint me. And because it's Goro. I'm half and half with this fight again. On one hand, Kevin Michael Richard's screams
are really powerful. And Goro's figure looks big and threatening. But on the other hand. Some of Goro's punches look really fake. They're not even making contact.
Again, I'm sure this is due to how difficult Goro was to film. There was no Primadonna moment. There's not one actor. Let's talk about Goro a little bit.
He would get hot and he'd get stuck and he would Ayayayayayaya And he'd lock up. There's no Primadonnas but it sounds like
Goro was kind of a Primadonna. Which is probably why they have a lot of jump cuts
to hide the impact. Overall, it's still fun.
But it's a lot worse compared to the other fights. Art Lean gets knocked down. NOOOOOOOO!!! Oh no. Not Art Lean. NOOOOOOOO!!! The guy who talked to Johnny once. NOOOOOOOO!!! And have dinner with them in one scene. NOOOOOOOO!!!
NOOOOOOOO!!! Flawless victory. It isn't though(?) And now our heroes are worried.
So Raiden gives a little pep talk. He tells Johnny that he's only doing this to prove that he's not a fraud. And will rush into things without thinking. Bravely enough, but foolishly. He tells Sonya that she needs to trust a little more. If you are afraid to trust. You will lose~ Wait. Where's my seductive whisper pep talk. Raiden tells Liu Kang to face his destiny. And that he can't keep blaming himself for the death of Chan. Every mortal is responsible for his own destiny.
Chan believed this. Why can't you? Our heroes ponder about this. And Johnny decides to fight Goro. Not because he wants to prove himself.
But because he wants to protect his friends. So he asks Shang Tsung's permission. Are you, that eager to die? I'm not the one who's gonna die. No, I can't laugh yet. I've gotta hold it in. Shang agrees. But also adds in a new rule. I reserve the right to challenge the winner myself. Raiden objects to this. I don't think so. But Johnny assures him that he'll win. This is our tournament remember? Mortal Kombat. We fight it. And Raiden breathes a smile of relief.
Because now he's sure Johnny is prepared. Because all about Mortal Kombat and all about humanity is the theme that humans are supposed to think for themselves. Boy are we philosophical! OMG Then we get the fight. As Goro steps into the ring. Look at him! He's alright I guess~ Apparently, if you look closely.
You can see unCAGEDgamez making a cameo. I can't I can't see... Who's winning? Johnny Cage appears. With his theme.
And the same reflection shot from his first fight. Luckily, Johnny always has extras. I'm so bored~~ OMG it's Mr. Tagawa. This guy really doesn't wanna be here. NOOOOOOOO!!! Ladies STFU. And the fight begins. Let's dance. Here's another place where we got something
from the kids who came into our stage. Every kid who came in No! Don't! I have to. OK. Every kid said to us. Hey! What kind of balls does he have? Take it easy! Sorry. Damn, that hurt. Was he... Hard? Johnny then goes to a cliff. Those were five dollar sunglasses a$$hole. This is where you fall down. So long gay Bowser. So this is one of the weaker fights. If you can even call it that. But i'm fine with it. Again, I'm sure Goro was too much of a pain to handle. Goro got less screen time than they thought he was gonna get. And I like what this scene does for Johnny as a character.
He didn't just rush in and fight. So you'll rush into any fight. He had a plan. He first gave Goro a debuff. And then got him onto a cliff to one shot him. And I'm actually kind of fine with Goro not landing any hits.
Since we just saw him beat up like 20 people. Shang Tsung takes Sonya.
And chooses to fight her as the final fighter. Then he goes to Outworld, where Raiden cannot follow.
Liu Kang and Johnny Cage go and save her. In Outworld if you look hard enough. You will find another guide. I guess Raiden and Kitana are working together. Next we see Outward. A dark and never-ending wasteland. The crew built huge gargoyle statues and shattered stone heads throughout the devastated ruins. Experimental lighting techniques completed the strategy. The MK franchise loved purple Outworld so much.
That they referenced it a bunch of times in the series. I don't know, I expected the sky to be... Purple or something. Don't believe everything you see online. Liu Kang noticed that they are being followed.
And learns from his past experience. Grabs invisible Reptile. I actually have to grab something that is not there.
How should I react to it? Well Robin you know just, grab him and throw him. It's snapping at your face you're terrified. It's easy for me to say that, and then they have to do it. And you have to do it. Throws him to the ground, and curb stomps him. No seriously. That was how it was going to end.
But luckily, we live in an alternate universe where we got more. And we tested the movie that we shot. And we were told by the first test audience we didn't have enough action. So we ended up shooting two extra scenes which was the Johnny Cage Scorpion fight, and the Liu Kang Reptile fight. They're some of the best fights in the movie. Eyy yey it's the best. They were the ones that we got to spend the most time and money on. Cause the audience had told us to go away and do it. Reptile gets tossed into a soul sucking gargoyle. So now the idea is that when he gets into this gargoyle. The gargoyle which absorbs life. It animates and brings to life the gargoyle. As the gargoyle morphs and absorbs him. And the gargoyle turns into Reptile. MK logic just roll with it.
And then we get the best fight in the whole entire movie. This is a three-minute action-packed music video. The banger song being played is titled "Control". By Tracy Lords. From her debut album "1000 Fires". The song was so successful.
They sold the instrumental version to the Mortal Kombat film. That's right. There is a lyric version. Control your soul
Let me control it Apparently, the song is reflecting about drug abuse. But in this movie. I think it's about Reptile getting his new body. If you surrender.
You'll feel no pain. Cause I'm the master.
At this game. Check out "1000 Fires" for more techno goodness. But not only was the music Pogging.
I love the non-stop action Robin and Keith performed. There was a part where Robin even got hurt on set. Well what happened he threw me against a pillar.
I did it one time. And it was fantastic. And Paul Anderson said : Well can you do it again. Because he was such a perfectionist. I wasn't happy with you. He wasn't happy. He said : Robin you can hit harder than that. So we did it 10 times
and on the 10th take I was kind of exhausted. You got thrown to a pillar 10 times? 10 times. OMG And I was kind of tired. So I landed on the edge of the pillar.
And I fractured a couple ribs. It's only ribs. Can you do it again? That's what Paul said. Can you do it again. He had to finish the rest of the time with broken ribs. He will really suck it up to get a good shot. So now the joke is that. If Robin says how many ribs he fractured. That's the degree of the difficulty of the fight. This is a two rib fight. If I had to say a negative. Reptile doesn't use any of his abilities. No acid spit. No invisibility. No tongue. Even though he did show those in his devolved form. I still feel like the fight lacks some "reptilesism". Still a banger fight though. We now have the trifecta Reptile fights in each movie. The 95 having the best fight. The 2021 having the best ability showcase. Scorpions Revenge having a bit of both. And the best design. Reptile gets defeated. And the gargoyle spits him out.
Liu Kang then gives Reptile a nice massage with his foot. Oh yeah~ Lower~ Lower! AHHH ┗|*´Д｀|┛ Kitana shows up. Because Reptile is defeated. But now she can be with him. Cause they've taken away the spy. Liu has killed the spy.
And now she's telling him what he's going to face. I mean, if Shang Tsung doesn't dare lay a finger onto Kitana.
I don't think reptile would. Stay where you are. Oh! Um...Princess Kitana. I had orders not to let the humans. *staring noises Yes, but but master Shang Tsung said to *STARING NOISES INTENSIFIES Okay~ I'll leave. Say by the way. Where was Johnny Cage this whole time? Where the hell was Johnny? What were you doing? You didn't even have his back. His kidneys hurt. So yeah we're walking. And it's like : do you hear it?
And I'm like what what or whatever. And then. And then I think I was in Fontana
and he was on a set in Van Nuys airport. So I couldn't get there. I don't know. I was watching this time
it never bothered me before and now I'm like. Jeez I didn't really have his back. You go get him. You got it. Kitana explains how her world was taken by Outworld. It was beautiful once.
Before Shang Tsung engineered its destruction. And finally, she gives some useful tips. You must face your enemy, you must face yourself,
and you must face your worst fear. We head to the tower. Where Sonya is chained up. Sonya. My sweat Sonya. I really don't understand
why they gave Shang Tsung this creepy flirtatious side. And if you'd like a tour. I'd love to give it to you myself. I have something you want very much. You can thank me later. I have plans for my beautiful Sonya. We know he wants to suck Sonya's soul because she's strong. Shang Tsung needs to lure the world's best warriors to Mortal Kombat. That's why he does what he does in the beginning. He needs to get them there because only by taking their souls can he win Earth. But why is he so frisky? I mean, I guess she is Miss Teen USA am i right~ Ha Ha Ha Shang Tsung asks her one last time to fight. Go to hell. My friends will come. And thus, this concludes Sonya's arc. It turns out the gang were here all along. Liu Kang challenges Shang Tsung to Mortal Kombat. Coming up is uh my favorite scene in the movie.
When robin takes his... SHIRT OFF!! And we get the Mortal Kombat theme one last time. Yes! Guys only want one thing. And it's to have the Mortal Kombat theme in the fking Mortal Kombat movie. You disappoint me. They spar for a bit. Now Shang's realizing, wait a minute. The only drop of blood in the movie by the way. Shang Tsung then summons his enslaved warriors. These are enslaved warriors within Shang Tsung.
Which you're about to see, implants to surround him. And since these guys are more of illusions
created by Shang Tsung of what's inside of him. He's able to vanquish him by not being scared
and by facing his fear. Oh yeah, these are totally Shang Tsung's soul warriors. Totally not just thugs he had placed there to help him.
Definitely just illusions. Wink~ Wink~ After defeating them. Liu Kang faces Shang Tsung one last time. And now I'm going to bring out the finger cam. Hey y'all. The finger cam rany is back. Except this time, it's not the finger cam rant. It's the finger cam love. Salanghaeyo~~ So I thought I'd dedicate this moment to really really express how I feel about Liu Kang's character. And his whole arc in general. Because in my opinion.
I think they handled it very great. So the very TL;DR version of Liu Kang's arc is he needs to save the world and he needs to stop being so fixated on revenge. That's the very simplified version of it. However, I think there
is much more things to digest so let's just start breaking it down. For starters, his "revenge arc". From the very beginning of the movie you can tell that the only reason he wanted to join the tournament was to get revenge. I want to represent the Order of Light at the tournament. For what reason? The man who killed my brother will be there. But there is a little bit more to that. Later on Raiden shows up and tells Liu Kang that he fled to America because joining the tournament and representing Earthrealm was too much responsibility for him. That's why you left the temple and ran away.
The great tournament was too much responsibility. Which is why Liu Kang blames himself for the death of Chan. Because he ran away and he was not here to save Chan. You already fled once when you went to America.
It has brought you guilt for the death of your brother. So while his motive is revenge. It's actually more upon seeking redemption for Chan's death. Because he could not forgive himself for letting Chan die to Shang Tsung. And then the other side of his arc is the whole destiny thing. Now i'm not a really big fan of the uh... It is written only Link can defeat Ganon. The kind of like oh it's fated that
you're the chosen one so you're going to win kind of a plot line. He is the chosen. But again there is much more to this. And it's when Raiden says to Liu Kang every mortal is responsible for their own destiny. Every mortal is responsible for his own destiny. Which essentially just boils down to you are responsible for your own decisions. While yes it might have been prophesied that maybe Liu kang was going to win the tournament. But at the end of the day he has to decide that for himself.
Mortal Kombat is mortal men and women defending their own realms. Mortal men and women defending your own world. Because all about Mortal Kombat and all about humanity is the theme that humans are supposed to think for themselves. He needs to choose to go down this path and not the path of revenge. Basically throughout the movie it's a balance between these two arcs and Liu Kang struggling which one he wants. Does he want to avenge his brother, or does he want to save the world. And it all culminates beautifully at the very end of the movie when Liu Kang confronts Shang Tsung. In my opinion I think Liu fighting Shang
wasn't even the hard part for himself. I think the hardest thing for him
was when Shang Tsung turned into Chan. Liu Kang had to confront the man that he believed he killed. And this is where both of Liu Kang's inner struggles
really really crash. Now I've heard some arguments saying that how can Liu Kang be tricked so easily. Shang Tsung literally changes in front of him. But to me at least I think emotionally speaking
this is his worst fear. Face your worst fear. Like this is one of the most important person in his life. And of course he wasn't completely buying it too. Even he had his doubts. But then Shang Tsung says the promise he made. Remember when our parents died.
And you promised that you would always take care of me. This is where it hits Liu Kang the hardest. And not only that, but we now understand why Liu Kang blames himself so much. Because he made that promise to Chan. Then the next thing that happens is...I'm not too sure of the best word to use. The word that I'm thinking is : Cruel. Chan forgives Liu Kang. And he rejects him. I forgive you for letting me die. No! Now in most of these sort of medias
where people are looking for redemption. And somehow somebody forgives them. I don't think I've ever seen the main character reject them.
And that is honestly so cruel, but it's also very honest for him. Liu has to admit the fact that it is not his fault. That Chan chose to fight Shang Tsung on his own. He chose that destiny. It wasn't my fault. Chan chose his own path. And Liu Kang needs to see that it is Shang Tsung's fault. Now I know that kind of sounds like ader~ of course it's Shang Tsung's fault. He's the one who killed him. But it's Liu Kang who needs to admit that in order for him to move on. In order for him to seek the other path. And only when Liu Kang tosses away the motive of revenge. Only when he tosses away his selfish desires. What you're about to face
is vastly more important than your quest for revenge. Can he choose to save the world. He can finally pick up what he ran away from. The responsibility of joining the tournament to save his family, to save his friends, to save the world, to become the chosen one. And there's one last thing about Liu Kang's arc that really ties a nice bowl that really just wraps it up amazingly. Throughout the movie, all Liu Kang wanted was revenge.
All he wanted to do was kill Shang Tsung. I'm going to find my brother's killer at the tournament. What about Shang Tsung. Oh still concerned only with vengeance? He is gonna pay for my brother's death. You can't run from me Shang. But at the very end of the movie when he confronts him and when he needs to defeat him in order to win Mortal Kombat. What does he do? He offers mercy. Surrender it's over. This guy literally wanted to kill him.
But at the end he didn't need to anymore. Because all he needed to do was win the Mortal Kombat tournament. And that doesn't involve killing Shang Tsung.
So he gave him the option to surrender. There aren't that many "revenge is bad" plot lines out there that I can really like agree or like follow with. Because for the most part when a hero fights a villain.
I really don't mind if the hero kills the villain. I like Batman. But my goodness he really needs to kill some of those villains. For some of the horrible horrible things that they've done. The ones I can think of the top of my head are like : Katara from Avatar and Roy Mustang from Fullmetal Alchemist. And in this movie Liu Kang offering mercy. Is absolutely amazing. It concludes this character's arc amazingly. It conveys to me that he has grown throughout the story of the movie. And I actually felt something while watching it. I felt wow!
I really liked how they handled Liu Kang in this movie. And that is why I like Liu Kang from this movie.
Of course I could be talking out of my ass. Maybe the creators didn't even intend a lot of these sort of things. But I genuinely loved liu Kang's arc throughout this movie. And I also believe that this is in my opinion the best depiction of Liu Kang in all Mortal Kombat media. It's fine to say that because Chan his brother is literally a
made-up character for this movie for his motivation. But I actually think it works out in the long run.
Because it really humanizes Liu Kang. And it really gives him like a motivation to work for throughout the story. Which in my opinion is quite lacking for the other depictions of Liu Kang. So yep! That is my finger cam love instead of my usual finger cam rant. Because this was actually genuinely something that I quite liked. So I thought I'd do something a little different for you guys.
All right, that's wrap up the rest of the movie. With a finger cam bicycle kick. We continue the fight. Your mine! All those souls and you still don't have one of your own. And Liu Kang gives the final blow to finish him. And in the end. Shang Tsung died with... With no b!tches. Flawless victory. No it's not. Shut up. And our heroes saved the day. So overall, this fight was... Mid. I was hoping to see an epic showdown between Liu Kang and Shang's Tsung. But they only fight for one minute. Then he fights the enslaved warriors for a minute.
And then the rest of it is just a philosophical battle. It's kind of disappointing for a final fight. We did some polls on our social platforms.
Which fight scene was your favorite from Mortal Kombat. Johnny Cage vs. Goro or Liu Kang vs. Shang Tsung. Who do you think our fans hold as their favorite? Goro and Johnny Cage. You guys are right! Johnny Cage vs. Goro was 54% And that fight only contained a nut punch. And a trip. With all that being said though.
I still really like this fight for what it does for Liu Kang's character.
The conclusion for his arc is amazing. This again is a bit of a risk because at the end
of an action movie you have a kind of tender scene. Sometimes it doesn't work. But we were really really passionate about keeping it because it's the heart and soul of the movie. And it actually did work. And we found that the test audience has liked it much to our delight. And it allows Liu Kang to come full circle
which we felt was very important. We come back to the Temple of Light.
Where we see Raiden waiting for them. I've been waiting for you. What took you so long? Oh I don't know. Maybe it's cause
they had to take a fking boat back to Hong Kong. Our heroes celebrate their victory. But then terror emerges. You weak pathetic fools. I've come for your souls. I don't think so. And then the movie ends with the theme of Mortal Kombat. Because daddy Paul loves the MK fans. How could this be because they've won Mortal Kombat.
How could Shao Kahn the emperor be on Earth. Might you need to find the answer to that
in Mortal Kombat 2 the sequel!? Now on to my final review.
Let me start by talking about some negatives. The CGI effects are really outdated.
I'm sure it was revolutionary back then. Because of our goal to show you what these characters are experiencing we need best effects in the world. But looking at it nowadays. Aged like fine milk. The only effects I thought that were good.
Was the boat, and the morphing effect. Especially when Master Boyd turned into Shang Tsung. They weren't lying when they said "awesome morphing sequences". The villains were great.
But the ninjas kind of got their personalities shafted. Scorpion, Sub-Zero and Reptile are nothing but mindless slaves working for Shang Tsung. And Mortal Kombat fans won't like how undeveloped they are. The RAGE!!! That being said though. I didn't mind too much.
They wanted to put more focus on other characters. And the ninjas still had the best fights in the movie.
Another character I kind of disliked was Kitana. Her fight was lame. She barely had any lines.
And her guidance was overshadowed by Raiden's. If you won't fight with all of your heart, there is no hope. You fear your own destiny.
You already fled it once when you went to America.
It brought you guilt for the death of your brother. I'm not like offended by her presence or anything.
But she definitely feels lackluster. Weirdly enough though, she gets much more of a
character development in the sequel. Take that with what you will. This movie is rated PG-13. What's the main problem with this film?
Four more syllables. PG-13 Which many fans were disappointed with.
Since the franchise is known for its brutality and gore. We had a big challenge in Mortal Kombat because we wanted to make the movie as cool and as edgy as it could be. But we wanted to also not show the graphic violence
from the game's finishing moves. Whose exact decision was that?
Was that partly you as a director? No. I was brought on as a director for hire.
That decision had already been made before I became involved. My first meeting at New Line and I had my first meeting with Bob Shaye was running the studio. And he looked at me and said. Why the fk are we making this picture? It came as a surprise to me because
it sounded like he didn't really want to make it. And he said you know, the games are very violent. And this movie's it's not very violent. What are you doing? And all these decisions are being made
before I became involved. Though I see this more as a double-edged sword.
Of course I'd love to see more blood. But the film crew got to focus on other things.
Like the martial art action, and creative abilities. We wanted to have these great fights. But at the end replace the graphic violence of the finishing moves with special effects. Which are cooler and people hadn't seen anyway. Which we thought would just tell a better story
so the medium of bringing this to the film. Would add something quite different from the experience of watching it in its prior incarnation. Which was a video game. Sometimes the things you imagine are much more powerful than things you can show. And that's what we try to do with this. We try to suggest things.
Suggest the brutality and the violence of the video game. And you can show this movie to kids. A lot of people got introduced to this franchise because of this. Because even if you'd made an R-rated movie
you would never have gotten into cinemas. One other thing that alleviates this issue. Is the fact that nowadays. We do have a R-rated Mortal Kombat movie. That scratches the brutality and gore fans wanted.
And that movie... Is Scorpion's Revenge. STOP MAKING ME COMPLIMENT THIS FKING MOVIE And my last gripe. Is this movie is extremely 90s.
The acting, the setting, the action. It's all very... Old. Old? Old. This is the hardest pill to swallow. And the biggest reason why it's hard for me to recommend this movie to people I know. Now on to the positives. I think one of the reasons why I like this movie compared to the other MK films. Is just how simple the story is. It's just a gang of heroes going into a mysterious land to save the world. A handful of people on a leaky boat are gonna save the world. Exactly. i love the martial art fights in this movie.
They were so hype and so enjoyable. I think one of the reason why people feel this movie holds up is because there's not a lot of visual effects. Everything is real. We were tired. We were really tired. But then we had fun. And people sometimes don't realize that you have to act
and do all these fight sequences. If you watch today's heavy special effect movie like all these superheroes. There's no powers. There's no power, you don't feel it. Because it's CG. But in our film you can feel the punch and the kick because it's real. No fake, no wind up cut. Everything that's done is really done. We shot at 24 frames per second. We didn't sped anything up. We fought in the normal speed. Because we're good. We do it cleanly and we do it fast. The music is very bopping. It's exhilarating.
It hypes up the fight. It almost feels like a music video. The soundtrack won the BMI film and TV awards.
Went platinum in less than a year. And it's included in the 2011 Guinness World Records Gamers Edition as the most successful video game spin off soundtrack album. Really upbeat driving metal kind of music.
You couldn't sit still when you heard the music. And it matched the action so well.
That I think it just became like an anthem. The sets are magical. Shang Tsung's island really feels like a mystical place that has been lost to time. And I would love to go there for a vacation. Not a bad place to get an Outworld burger. As long as I don't have to fight in a death tournament. Other sets are liked are
Goro's throne room, Scorpion's lair and the Outward tower. The lighting is used very creatively.
The red in Scorpion's layer really makes it feel like you're in hell. And the dark and purple in Outworld
gives it a nightmare wasteland feel. The lighting job was so massive it could be seen for miles.
And spooked a few pilots at the nearby Ontario airport. It was so spectacular that pilots landing at night. When we were shooting over there
were asking the tower if they were still on Earth. They were scared, they were freaked. Like, what is this? What is this!! The characters. I liked a the lot of them. Raiden, Sonya, Johnny Cage, Kano. And the legendary Shang Tsung. After two decades. There still isn't anyone that comes close to how great Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa portrays him. Other than himself of course. His acting and portrayal of this character is staggering.
His expression can go from 0 to 100 in an instant. Your soul is mine. You imbecile. You're mine. Shang Tsung is mystical magical
but also has that aspect of being very human. We're looking at a human being who
through power has been misled misguided. And to have played a character been in a movie that has affected this generation in a certain section so heavily. Was quite a phenomenon. A bit off topic. And a bit of a hot take. I actually liked him more in Mortal Kombat Aftermath. He starts off subtle and cunning.
You know something is sinister with him. But the heroes need to work with him.
So they bear with his smug attitude. Why are we listening to this snake. Because I am a snake who's toiled beside Kronika.
Learning her secrets. I know them Do you? But once he gets the crown, it's go time. He shows his true colors. And reverts back to his deranged 1995 self. Killing Kronika is my destiny.
Yours is to serve me. My obedient subjects. In my new era. Your new era? You underestimate my prowess chosen one.
You are no match for me. I love his performance in the 95 movie.
But I prefer the build up he provides in Aftermath. And finally, the best thing in this movie. Robin Shou. Not only is he the best character. I really wanted to find actors who could play Liu Kang. Who could make Liu Kang really engaging. With actors like Robin Shoe
I think we have the best of both worlds. Here we have a man who can
run 12ft up the wall and do a back flip. But also when he's being hurt when he's talking about the death of his brother. You believe this man he's a good good actor. And I think a combination of great acting and fantastic martial arts that's the recipe for a really strong film. This sounds really lame. I'm glad you got the part. Not only was he fun and charismatic to watch. Liu here turned out to be funnier than we thought.
So we kept playing it up. A lot of the the little bits of humor are things we strove for
but a lot of the things are things we ad-libbed. Not only is he a great martial artist. You were what 84 Wu Shu world champion? Well 82. He's OK. But he also, choreographed your favorite fights. Pat Johnson is a legendary fight coordinator. Who worked on Karate Kid, Ninja Turtles. And of course, this movie. Kasanoff had to secure the services of the world's most experienced fight coordinator, Pat Johnson. Pat Johnson is simply the best fight choreographer. And the most successful fight choreographer
in the history of the movie business. And he said he kicked my butt if I didn't say that. But also, Robin Shou helped with the fight choreography. Pat is here and I'm from Hong Kong
or I've done so much movies in Hong Kong. And then we kind of combined our thinking
and the style we want. And more importantly. He choreographed your favorite fights. We were very fortunate to do the Johnny Cage Scorpion and Liu Kang Reptile fight. You did choreographed... I choreographed those fights. Shou's work on the Scorpion Cage and Liu Kang Reptile fights. Match Johnson's philosophy. Pat's done movies for years
and I have a background in Hong Kong action movies. By joining together we created something really really different. They came to me and asked if I would choreograph the film. Of course! I love that more than acting to be honest.
Choreography it's like directing. If this isn't the definition of MVP. I don't know what is. People ask me like how do I feel about the reboot. I say fine, James Wong's a excellent filmmaker.
But I said no matter how well the reboot is. I will always be Liu Kang. I will always be the chosen one. The movie was a huge success.
And would kickstart many people's careers. For better or worse. Let him go Cheasel. Dex, what a pleasant surprise. Oh **** ***k *** ***** **** Is that a poop rat? Is that a fking poop rat? You despise me, don't you? Bad touch. Bad touch. Stranger danger. And there are many things that got carried over
from the movie into the MK franchise. This is where the Australian Kano started. Though funny
enough. Trevor was actually trying a Cockney accent. British people be like : Hello baby~ But the Australian origin stuck
due to his accent being misinterpreted. A W for the Aussies. You sound like a sh!t ass American tourist. Sonya's braid and cap design started here. Liu Kang and Kitana's romance. And Johnny and Sonya's romance. Many legendary lines. Your soul is mine. It has begun. Don't you owe me some sunglasses? Scorpion's Revenge took many nods from the 95 movie. And finally, Mortal Kombat 11 is a huge love letter to MK95. Not only bringing back Tagawa to play Shang Tsung
in the Krypt and story mode. But also adding Christopher Lambert, Bridgette Wilson and Linden Ashby back as skins into the game. Was one of the best things MK11 did. Would I give this movie a 10 out of 10? No. It has its flaws. And there are many more martial art movies that are better out there. Heck, I think objectively. The Sonic movies are better video game movies. But as a Mortal Kombat fan. Or a starting point for MK fans.
I think this is the perfect movie. I got one last question it's a very very hard question. What's the best video game movie ever made? Mortal Kombat. That's what I thought. Stupid question. Well now we all know it's definitive and we've
answered it on the show. We're having a blast here because we're making something that we really think would be fun to see. And that's what we want you to experience. Just a lot of fun. And to me because there were so many fans.
It's as if kids would be playing every day like monks. In their own little temples.
And all sudden we gave them a church to come to. The Mortal Kombat church all the monks came out of hiding. And became a family. Interesting, after 25 years since the film.
There's such a family feel to the people, to the fans. And personally, this is my favorite video game movie. Alright cut the sappy music. It's time to reveal the truth. The truth! Of course I made this video because I wanted to show
my appreciation to this movie. But my true intentions are more... Malicious. Every week I get the same exact comment. Which is : SonicHaXD hates Mortal Kombat. Why do you hate MK? Why bother making videos about this series if you hate it. I'm Mauler. What the fk is even going on. Now, I don't mind getting hate comments.
But it's the phrase "I hate Mortal Kombat". That ticks me off. So apparently, me trashing the story and movies of Mortal Kombat. Means I hate the gameplay and characters. No, I don't. That's actually a part of the franchise I like.
And also, I've made a handful of videos praising the series. Yeah. I totally commissioned "Sexy Reptile" art
because I want Warner Brothers to "get owned". Up yours woke moralist. Regardless. I'm still that guy who hates MK. Well, I have now made a one-hour "SUCKS" video.
Where all I've done is compliment and defend this movie. So from now on. If i ever get another fking comment.
Of someone saying "I hate MK". I will personally send you a link to this video myself. You just hate Mortal Kombat. This guy just hates everything Mortal Kombat related. If you hate Mortal Kombat stop making these videos. Why won't you die!? You hate everything. Watch my BEASTARS review. Is there any Mortal Kombat series that you like? Do you just hate Mortal Kombat? Make your own anime series and see how well you... Why do I feel like even if there was
the perfect Mortal Kombat movie. It had everything Sonic wanted. He'd still hate it? I love Mortal Kombat 1995. I love Mortal Kombat. And I love trashing on the sh!tty story mode in Mortal Kombat. Now fk off. Hey guys what is up SonicHaXD here
and thank you all so much for watching this video. I originally had this video planned to be a lot smaller.
I like the 95 movie. What else could I say? And then i talked about the whitewashing issues, the Chinese Mortal Kombat titles, the Reptile rant, the Liu Kang love. Not to mention half the video were interesting behind the scenes stories. And uhhh here we are. Another hour later. With that all being said though I really enjoyed
a lot of things that I did in this video. Including the skits, including the funny edits.
But I really enjoyed looking up the behind the scenes stuff. I had to look through like nine hours of random interviews with these actors. It was a lot more of a different experience compared to what I did in the past. Because for the most part yes I'm looking at reasons as to why the director decided to do that in the movie yada yada. But I'm also looking up stuff that clearly contradicts what they're doing in the movie. And usually just showing these interviews to shoot themselves in the foot. You can see that a lot in my 2021 movie review.
And it's a lot of fun it's really funny. But this time it genuinely is just
a lot of interesting stories and a lot of love for the movie. I hope you guys like that. I personally do, but I'm really not too sure if you guys enjoyed the behind the scenes shenanigans. But it was a fresh new take for me. Now for some thanks that I'd like to give in this video. I'd like to thank BK_Hat. Not only for drawing the amazing commissions for this video. But also doing that little skit with me,
kink shaming my Reptile fetish. I'd like to thank Miffix thank you for
the awesome commission you drew for me. I love these expressions
and I can't wait to use these as stickers. I'd like to thank The4thSnake.
Thank you for making another cameo in my video. Sorry I had to cut you short. I highly recommend watching the full thing. It has a lot of funny references. And it gets more and more funny as the video goes on. So check it out. And lastly I'd like to thank my members who decided to donate some money for me. Special thanks to my ten dollar members : plush town, Matt, Trevor Sumner and SYA史斯宇 And thanks to my two dollar supporters : BlackHawkGawd, Shaden99, Berserk Saturn, EphemeralSean, TsundereDragon, Crying Tomatohead and Steve Ardilla. Now these are the members that I have
by the time i'm recording this. So I'm sure that I have a couple more new members and I'm sorry I didn't mention you. But I promise I will in the next video. Thank you for donating to this channel nonetheless. So, where do we go from here? Well, if you guys don't know. I've been doing a thing known as "one for me one for them". My last video "MK vs. DC" was voted the most.
And that's why I did that. And then this video was something that I wanted to do. Because I felt like it would be something fitting for the SonicHaXD channel. And now we have something
on this channel that isn't like sh!t talking MK only. Now we're gonna do another vote. So you guys can vote for what I do next. And looking from the previous votes.
It seems like MK9 was winning second place by 10%. But I still think there's a chance that something might overtake it. So that's why I'm gonna do a vote again. Your options are MK9, and I thought
I'll put in Injustice Gods Among Us too. I think both of these are some of the more older but also things that people still are interested in hearing my opinions about. I don't mind talking about both of these games. But the third option.
Heck, the whole reason I even really wanted to make a 95 movie. Is just so I can make an Annihilation video. OMG if there ever was a time
where I had a very big personal preference. Oh you guys can vote for anything you want~ But if you asked me. If you asked me. Annihilation! OMG please~ vote for Annihilation.
That movie is so bad. But I love it so much. I really just want to dive deep into that movie
and really try to analyze it. That thing like broke me.
That thing destroyed my mind the first time I watched it. So these are the three videos you can vote for.
And the votes will start probably next week. So be sure to vote whichever one you want to see me do next. Please pick Annihilation~ So i'd like to close this off by talking about
some other things that I've done. So I recently helped my brother with his music video.
I basically edited the whole thing for him. So I would really appreciate you guys checking it out.
He basically gets drunk. And sees Bob Ross singing at him.
So I think you guys might find that to be pretty epic. Next up I did a collab in Kaius's video where I talk about
the story mode in fighting games. And why they're kinda trash in general.
And I give my opinions about that. And finally I got invited to The4thSnakes channel with TrueUnderDawg to do a Mortal Kombat Iceberg video. And it was basically kind of like a mini game where we were doing like a point system. To see how many we could get right.
And that was a ton of fun too. So check those out if you want to see
more of what I've been doing recently. Because I haven't been uploading a lot on this channel. Except for the Smash or Pass video. Sorry for prolonging this too much.
I hope you guys are having a wonderful summer vacation. And I'll see you guys next time. Bye bye~ No more Shadow Step too.
So I really can't have her using Water Flow. No Golden Parry. YES!!!!! I didn't I wasn't even paying attention to her health. Blood! Shed! Shut up Malenia you're dead. Shut up. SHUT UP!!!!!!
