History Film / MortalKombat

** The love interest angle of Kitana and Liu Kang, as well as Johnny Cage and Sonya. By the new timeline established by ''VideoGame/MortalKombat9'' and ''VideoGame/MortalKombatX'', [[spoiler:Johhny and Sonya have a daughter while Liu Kang and Kitana (while brainwashed) rule the Netherrealm together.]]

** Trevor Goddard's interpretation of Kano was so well received that Kano was made into an Australian in the games following this movie [[note]]Ironically, Goddard himself wasn't actually Australian, but British[[/note]]. He has also in at least one game had a move called "Ear to Ear", named after a line in the movie.

** Trevor Goddard's interpretation of Kano was so well received that Kano was made into an Australian in the games following this movie. He has also in at least one game had a move called "Ear to Ear", named after a line in the movie.

* AdaptationalEarlyAppearance: This movie adapted the events of [[VideoGame/MortalKombat1 the first game]] features two characters[[note]] Shao Kahn doesn't appear until after Shang Tsung is killed at the end (thus being the end of [=MK1=]'s story) as a SequelHook, and thus doesn't count.[[/note]] that didn't debut until VideoGame/MortalKombatII. While Jax only makes a cameo appearance (which in turn serves as an EarlyBirdCameo in relation to Film/MortalKombatAnnihilation), Kitana plays a prominent role as [[BigBad Shang Tsung's]] personal assassin who does a HeelFaceTurn to aid the heroes in defeating the EvilSorcerer. Though it is interesting to note that when [=MK1=] was being developed, her prototype character, named "Kitsune", was going to be in the game as the daughter of Shang Tsung, but was scrapped from the final product. Thus, her appearance in the movie doubles as both an adaptational early appearance and a DevelopmentGag.

** [[spoiler: Shang Tsung]] also dies this way, but the film clearly shows the impact and aftermath.

** The love interest angle of Kitana and Liu Kang, as well as Johnny Cage and Sonya. By the new timeline established by ''VideoGame/MortalKombat9'' and ''VideoGame/MortalKombatX'', [[spoiler:Johhny and Sonya have a daughter.]]

* GroinAttack: Johnny does the leg splits against ''Goro'', in order to buy him time to lead him to the cliff and kill him. Amusingly, even Goro's nads are tough enough that Johnny hurts his hand doing it!
** Especially satisfying since Goro was immune to that particular attack in the game.

'''''Mortal Kombat''''', a 1995 film directed by Creator/PaulWSAnderson based on the long running ''Franchise/MortalKombat'' fighting game franchise, incorporates elements from the series' first two games - with a decided emphasis on the first game.

[[CriticalDissonance Although it got mixed reviews from critics, the movie received praise from fans and casual moviegoers alike]] and it is seen today as the best [[AvertedTrope aversion]] of VideoGameMoviesSuck. The film was also a commercial hit, enjoying a three week run as the number one grossing movie at the box office and the soundtrack charted in the Top 10 of the Billboard album charts, going platinum in 10 days. This led to a sequel -- ''Film/MortalKombatAnnihilation'' -- which did not achieve the same acclaim or success. Because of this film's success, elements of its story [[{{RetCanon}} eventually became woven into the canon of the games]].

* BlackDudeDiesFirst: Twice: Liu Kang's first (black) opponent ends up having his soul sucked out by Shang Tsung after Liu refuses to finish him, and Art Lean is the first island ally to die, ending up dead at Goro's hands before having his soul sucked out in a major [[KickTheDog kick the dog]] moment by Shang Tsung.

[[CriticalDissonance Although it got mixed reviews from critics, the movie received praise from fans and casual moviegoers alike]] and it is seen today as the best [[AvertedTrope aversion]] of VideoGameMoviesSuck. The film was also a commercial hit, enjoying a three week run as the number one grossing movie at the box office and the soundtrack charted in the Top 10, going platinum in 10 days. This led to a sequel -- ''Film/MortalKombatAnnihilation'' -- which did not achieve the same acclaim or success. Because of this film's success, elements of its story [[{{RetCanon}} eventually became woven into the canon of the games]].

[[CriticalDissonance Although it got mixed reviews from critics, the movie received praise from fans and casual moviegoers alike]] and it is seen today as the best [[AvertedTrope aversion]] of VideoGameMoviesSuck. The film was a commercial hit, enjoying a three week run as the number one grossing movie at the box office. This led to a sequel -- ''Film/MortalKombatAnnihilation'' -- which did not achieve the same acclaim or success. Because of this film's success, elements of its story [[{{RetCanon}} eventually became woven into the canon of the games]].

[[CriticalDissonance Although it got mixed reviews from critics, the movie received praise from ''Mortal Kombat'' fans and casual moviegoers alike]] and it is seen today as the best [[AvertedTrope aversion]] of VideoGameMoviesSuck. The film was a commercial hit, enjoying a three week run as the number one grossing movie at the box office. This led to a sequel -- ''Film/MortalKombatAnnihilation'' -- which did not achieve the same acclaim or success. Because of this film's success, elements of its story [[{{RetCanon}} eventually became woven into the canon of the games]].

Although it got mixed reviews from critics, the movie received praise from ''Mortal Kombat'' fans and casual moviegoers alike and it is seen today as the best [[AvertedTrope aversion]] of VideoGameMoviesSuck. The film was a commercial hit, enjoying a three week run as the number one grossing movie at the box office. This led to a sequel -- ''Film/MortalKombatAnnihilation'' -- which did not achieve the same acclaim or success. Because of this film's success, elements of its story [[{{RetCanon}} eventually became woven into the canon of the games]].

Although it got mixed reviews from critics, the movie received praise from ''Mortal Kombat'' fans and casual moviegoers alike. The film was a commercial hit, enjoying a three week run as the number one grossing movie at the box office. This led to a sequel -- ''Film/MortalKombatAnnihilation'' -- which did not achieve the same acclaim or success. Because of this film's success, elements of its story [[{{RetCanon}} eventually became woven into the canon of the games]].

* FauxActionGirl: Sonya had one tournament fight against Kano (which was proven to be fairly tough) and everyone was involved with the group fight against the mooks earlier. But as soon as Shang Tsung gets her in a hammerlock, she stops even trying to fight back. Compared to the ''very long'' fight scenes of Johnny (who kills Scorpion and Goro) and Liu Kang (who has five fights throughout the movie, including the one against Shang Tsung himself), Sonya didn't get much of a chance to really prove herself. Justified as Sonya was the only one of the main trio whose actress [[RealLifeWritesThePlot didn't know how to fight]], which would have been blatantly obvious if they had given her more fight scenes.

* LoopholeAbuse: Shang Tsung uses Johnny's offer to subvert the tournament structure in combination with his championship right to enter the tournament to essentially force Sonya to fight him for the right to Earthrealm in an attempt to lock out Liu Kang. It doesn't work.

* ItSucksToBeTheChosenOne: Why Liu left home; he couldn't bear the responsibility of saving Earthrealm to the point that he grew cynical about the whole prophecy. His brother being killed gives him enormous guilt about abandoning home and he initially only enters the tournament to get revenge on Shang Tsung, which Raiden warns will only bring the end to him and the world.
* JoinTheArmyTheySaid: How Johnny got into the tournament thanks to his old instructor/Shang Tsung in disguise. "Come join a little tournament, he said. It's good for the career, he said..."

* LoopholeAbuse: Shang Tsung uses Johnny's offer to subvert the tournament structure in combination with his championship right to enter the tournament to essentially force Sonya to fight him for the right to Earthrealm in an attempt to lock out Liu Kang.

--> '''Johnny Cage:''' (after watching his luggage sink) Thank goodness I didn't ask him to park the car.

* {{Revenge}}: What fuels all three protagonists much to Raiden's chagrin: Sonya avenging her partner, Liu avenging Chan, and eventually Johnny [[spoiler: avenging Art]]. Raiden's main task in the movie is to get them to fight for the right reasons instead of their selfish ones.

----

Although it got mixed reviews from critics, the movie received praise from ''Mortal Kombat'' fans and casual moviegoers alike. The film was a box office hit, enjoying a three week run as the number one grossing movie at the box office. This led to a sequel -- ''Film/MortalKombatAnnihilation'' -- which did not achieve the same acclaim or success. Because of this film's success, elements of its story [[{{RetCanon}} eventually became woven into the canon of the games]].

Although it got mixed reviews from critics, the movie received praise from ''Mortal Kombat'' fans and casual moviegoers alike. The film was a box office hit, enjoying a three week run as the number one at the box office. This led to a sequel -- ''Film/MortalKombatAnnihilation'' -- which did not achieve the same acclaim or success. Because of this film's success, elements of its story [[{{RetCanon}} eventually became woven into the canon of the games]].

Although it got mixed reviews from critics, the movie received praise from ''Mortal Kombat'' fans and casual moviegoers alike. The film was a box office hit, enjoying a 3 week run as the number one at the box office. This led to a sequel -- ''Film/MortalKombatAnnihilation'' -- which did not achieve the same acclaim or success. Because of this film's success, elements of its story [[{{RetCanon}} eventually became woven into the canon of the games]].

The movie received praise from ''Mortal Kombat'' fans and became a box office hit, which led to a sequel -- ''Film/MortalKombatAnnihilation'' -- which did not achieve the same acclaim or success. Because of this film's success, elements of its story [[{{RetCanon}} eventually became woven into the canon of the games]].

* BiggerBad: Shao Kahn.

* {{Cloudcuckoolander}}: Raiden (sometimes).