History Film / MortalKombat

* AdaptationDecay: Scorpion and Sub-Zero are mindless slaves to Shang Tsung in the first movie, [[CharacterDerailment completely derailing]] their stories from the original game (Sub-Zero was only there to kill Shang Tsung, Scorpion was only there to kill Sub-Zero).
** Although some people (including TheNostalgiaCritic) have said that part of the reason Sub-Zero and Scorpion are cool in the movie is because they don't talk much. VideoGames can give character biographies but it isn't always practical for a movie. The second movie hints at their rivalry and the LegacyCharacter aspect, but that doesn't make it any better.
** In the first movie, Shang Tsung does mention that they were "deadliest of enemies". This suggests that their backstories remained essentially the same, the only change to their characters is being mind-controlled slaves as opposed to entering the tournament willingly.
** Their backstories and motivations are expounded upon in the animated prequel ''The Journey Begins'', sort of. There's no explanation for why Sub Zero is working for Shang Tsung, but Scorpion IS there just to kill Sub Zero and is merely manipulated by Shang Tsung into going after the trio so that they don't kill his prey before he does.

-->Shang Tsung: "...until we reach the island, where you have no dominion."
-->Raiden: "My dominions are well known to me, sorcerer!"

* BigLippedAlligatorMoment: The fight against Reptile, added to the movie in the last minute. Without explanation the CG critter Reptile fuses with a statue he was kicked inside to take an appearance similar as in the games, and have a long fight sequence with Liu Kang. It's never mentioned again.

* BondOneLiner: Along with nearly every other one of Johnny Cage's lines, these two:
--> ''Those were [[MemeticMutation five hundred dollars sunglasses, asshole]].''
--> ''This is where you fall down.''

* CrowningMomentOfAwesome: When Liu Kang bicycle kicks Reptile near the end of the first film.
* CrowningMomentOfFunny: Johnny Cage's GroinAttack towards Goro.
** Less so but still good, Cage leaves an autographed photo after defeating Scorpion as a nod to his Friendship from the games.
** When the PowerTrio are leaving Shang Tsung's throne room and are trying to find Kitana, Cage is certain she went down a certain passageway ([[WhatAnIdiot despite the fact there are hallway-wide spider webs still intact]]). The passageway ends up leading them right back into the throne room.
* CrowningMusicOfAwesome: The soundtracks, especially the opening theme, which doubles as an EarWorm. The fact that it hasn't become a CanonImmigrant and appeared in the games themselves is inexcusable.

--> "I'm in a hostile environment. I'm totally unprepared. And I'm surrounded by a bunch of guys who probably want to kick my ass... it's like being back in high school."

* DroppedABridgeOnHim: Goro in the first movie and Sheeva in the second movie, though with her, [[spoiler: a cage gets dropped on her]]. The filmmakers seem to really hate the Shokan.

* FauxActionGirl: Certainly a fault of the writing in the first movie. 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 the hammerlock she stops even trying to fight back. To compare, Johnny Cage kills Scorpion and Goro, while Liu Kang has five fights throughout the movie. Sonya didn't get much of a chance to really prove herself so that we see how strong Shang Tsung is.
** Although could be seen as a good thing considering Wilson is not exactly convincing in her action scenes...
* FridgeLogic: So if Mortal Kombat is a tournament...how come Liu Kang has a bunch of fights and Sonya only fights once?
** To which FridgeBrilliance says, Shang Tsung set it up that way, since the tournament is corrupted in his hands, he's trying to duck Liu Kang and have Sonya emerge to the final, even telling Kano she is not to be harmed.

--> "This is where you fall down."

* LargeHam: Shang Tsung, Raiden, Kano, Goro... and this is just from the first film!
** Shao Kahn in the second, bordering on HamAndCheese.
* LiteralCliffHanger: Goro in the first film. [[spoiler: He falls and dies.]]

* {{Narm}}: Almost every line out of Kitana's mouth in the first film--either blunt exposition or hokey, faux-'deep' nonsense.
** [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MIt0VY7Yg2w "Too bad YOU.............will DIE!"]]

* SoBadItsGood: The more charitable viewpoint some people have of the second film.

** [[FinalFight Real Ninjas wear Nikes!]]

-->"I have looked into their souls and yours. One of you three will decide the outcome of the tournament, the fate of billions will depend upon you. [[SarcasmMode Heh Heh]]... sorry."
--> ''Raiden''

* AntiClimaxBoss: In the first movie, Goro is "reigning champion", is shown easily defeating numerous challengers, and viciously kills [[spoiler:Art]]. When he is challendged by Johnny Cage, he gets [[GroinAttack punched in the balls]] by Cage, who then runs away. Goro chases him. Cage gives Goro a one liner, hits him a few times, and then he [[spoiler: falls off a cliff and hangs off the ledge]]. Cage gives him another one liner, which causes him [[spoiler: to fall to his death.]]

* HeyItsThatGuy: [[{{Highlander}} Connor MacLeod]] plays Raiden. In the second movie, [[{{Dexter}} Harry Morgan]] [[TheOtherMarty takes over]] as Raiden.

* OlderThanTheyThink: Believe it or not the "MORTAL KOMBAT!!" scream so often heard in the music track Techno Syndrome (Better known as the movie theme) actually debuted in the commercial for the first game's console ports.

* WhatCouldHaveBeen: Cameron Diaz was originally cast as Sonya, but in training for the movie she injured herself, with Bridgette Wilson stepping in.

** Apparently, they originally wanted Ron Livingston to play Goro. [[WTHCastingAgency Yes... they wanted Peter from]] ''[[WTHCastingAgency OfficeSpace]]'' [[WTHCastingAgency to play Goro]].

Picking up straight from the first film, the ManBehindTheMan of the first film, [[BigBad Shao Khan]] (BrianThompson), arrives and proceeds with a full invasion of Earth. The problem is... Liu Kang won the tournament. As Raiden (JamesRemar) leaves to confront the Elder Gods over this violation, he sends Liu to undergo specialized training because [[SortingAlgorithmOfEvil Shao Khan is far more powerful than Shang Tsung.]] Meanwhile, Sonya (SandraHess) reunites with her partner Jax (LynnWilliams) and proceeds to fight off various Outworld creatures that arrive on Earth.

Introducing the franchise, the film shows Liu Kang (RobinShou), Sonya Blade (BridgetteWilson) and Johnny Cage (LindenAshby) meeting up for this supposed super-secret illegal tournament. Only to their surprise it is an interdimensional tournament that is held once a generation. There are multiple "Realms" and in order for Outworld to invade Earth they must challenge their greatest warriors to Mortal Kombat and emerge victorious. Each of the heroes has their own personal reasons for being there, with the [[PhysicalGod lightning god]] Raiden (ChristopherLambert) as a mentor to them and a sympathetic voice from the other side in Princess Kitana (TalisaSoto). They must face [[BigBad Shang Tsung]] (CaryHiroyukiTagawa), his [[TheDragon dragon Goro]] (KevinMichaelRichardson) and the elite soldiers of Sub Zero (FrancoisPetit), Scorpion (ChrisCasamassa), Reptile (KeithCooke) and Kano(TrevorGoddard). Mortal Kombat begins.

Although the critics didn't like it, the movie is considered by most people as either a GuiltyPleasure or just a decent film. It does a fairly faithful recreation of the video game atmosphere with the casting, costumes, special effects and environments. The story is straightforward, the dialogue is fun, the action sequences are well made and there is reasonable CharacterDevelopment. The only frequent complaint is that a proper translation of the games would be a hard R Rating instead of PG-13. In general though, it was good enough to change [[RetCanon several]] [[CanonImmigrant elements]] in the MortalKombat canon, and popular enough to warrant a sequel.

* BBCQuarry: Outworld is oddly gravelly, and the background is [[SpecialEffectFailure CG'd out]] "darkness". The set was built out of an abandoned steel mill, so they only needed to add things for flavor like the statues. This had the side-effect of making the set ''absolutely huge'' and at least one pilot flying over the area when it was properly lit and smoked up called the nearest tower to make sure he hadn't hit some sort of Bermuda Triangle.

* AntiClimaxBoss: In the first movie, Goro is "reigning champion", is shown easily defeating numerous challengers, and viciously kills Art. When he is challendged by Johnny Cage, he gets [[GroinShot punched in the balls]] by Cage, who then runs away. Goro chases him. Cage gives Goro a one liner, hits him a few times, and then he [[spoiler: falls off a cliff and hangs off the ledge]]. Cage gives him another one liner, which causes him [[spoiler: to fall to his death.]]

* OrchestraHitTechnoBattle: The infamous titular theme song from The Immortals. Also, Control from Traci Lords during the fight scene with Reptile.

* AdaptationDecay - Scorpion and Sub-Zero are mindless slaves to Shang Tsung in the first movie, [[CharacterDerailment completely derailing]] their stories from the original game (Sub-Zero was only there to kill Shang Tsung, Scorpion was only there to kill Sub-Zero).

* AntiClimaxBoss - In the first movie, Goro is "reigning champion", is shown easily defeating numerous challengers, and viciously kills Art. When he is challendged by Johnny Cage, ge gets [[GroinShot punched in the balls]] by Cage, who then runs away. Goro chases him. Cage gives Goro a one liner, hits him a few times, and then he [[spoiler: falls off a cliff and hangs off the ledge]]. Cage gives him another one liner, which causes him [[spoiler: to fall to his death.]]

* BBCQuarry - Outworld is oddly gravelly, and the background is [[SpecialEffectFailure CG'd out]] "darkness".
** The set was built out of an abandoned steel mill, so they only needed to add things for flavor like the statues. This had the side-effect of making the set ''absolutely huge'' and at least one pilot flying over the area when it was properly lit and smoked up called the nearest tower to make sure he hadn't hit some sort of Bermuda Triangle.
* BlackDudeDiesFirst - Twice, in the same movie! Averted by the sequel.
* BondOneLiner - "This is where you fall down." Along, with nearly every other one of Johnny Cage's lines.
* BroughtDownToNormal - Raiden in the second film.
** And Jax's cybernetics were damaged in his fight at the end of the second movie. In all reality, they never seemed to give him that big of an advantage in the first place.

* CatchPhrase: Raiden's "I don't think so."
** Shang Tsung's "Your soul is mine."
* CharacterDevelopment - Blatantly outlined in the first movie, but it works well enough as each character had room to grow. The sequel unfortunately did a SequelReset where they had to go through that same character development again.
* TheChosenOne - Liu Kang.
* CliffHanger - The end of the first film...
** Actually, that wasn't so much a CliffHanger as it was a HereWeGoAgain...
* TheCoatsAreOff - Shang Tsung casts off his big longcoat prior to facing off with Liu Kang in Final Kombat.
* CrowningMomentOfAwesome - When Liu Kang bicycle kicks Reptile near the end of the first film.
* CrowningMomentOfFunny - Johnny Cage's GroinAttack towards Goro.
** Less so but still good, Cage leaves an autographed photo after defeating Scorpion in reference to his Friendship from the games.
* CrowningMusicOfAwesome - The soundtracks, especially the opening theme, which doubles as an EarWorm.
** The fact that it hasn't become a CanonImmigrant and appeared in the games themselves is inexcusable.
* DarkerAndEdgier - The (by all reports) [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9_MqZn7E-mk new film]] somehow manages to make Mortal Kombat Darker and Edgier. We are as amazed as you.
** Apparently, it's not so much a new film as a short intended to entice a studio into ''making'' a new film in that direction.
* DeadpanSnarker - Johnny Cage

* DesignatedGirlFight - Sonya versus Mileena in the second film.
* TheDragon - Reptile to Shang Tsung. Which as of [=MKII=] was canonical.
* DroppedABridgeOnHim: Goro in the first movie and Shiva in the second movie, though with her, [[spoiler: a cage gets dropped on her]]. The filmmakers seem to really hate the Shokkan.

* FauxActionGirl - Certainly a fault of the writing in the first movie. 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 the hammerlock she stops even trying to fight back. To compare, Johnny Cage kills Scorpion and Goro, while Liu Kang has five fights throughout the movie. Sonya didn't get much of a chance to really prove herself so that we see how strong Shang Tsung is.

* GroinAttack - Johnny Cage does the leg splits directly from the game, although the attack wasn't effective against ''Goro'' in the games. In all honesty, far too funny to care.
* HeyItsThatGuy: [[{{Highlander}} Connor MacLeod]] plays Raiden!
** In the second movie, [[{{Dexter}} Harry Morgan]] takes over as Raiden.
* HeyItsThatVoice - FrankWelker voices both Goro and Shao Khan, which is very much his traditional beastly humanoid voice.
** Not entirely true. Frank Welker did the vocal EFFECTS for Goro. The true voice for him was Kevin Michael Richardson, who also has a rather beastly awesome voice and also qualifies for this trope.
* ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice - How [[spoiler:Shang Tsung]] meets his end in the first movie's Final Kombat, in {{Homage}} to the [[SpikesOfDoom bed of spikes]] frequently found in the games.
* IronicEcho - Liu Kang saying "Flawless Victory" against Shang Tsung.

* KudzuPlot - The second film goes so far into the politics of the Elder Gods and Outworld that there is no way the uninitiated can understand it. Hell, so little of it comes from the games even the initiated can't understand it.
* LargeHam - Shang Tsung, Raiden, Kano, Goro... and this is just from the first film!

* MauveShirt - The group makes friends with another human fighter named Art Lean in the tournament, only to watch Goro take him apart, prompting Johnny to take Goro on in the very next fight to avenge him and keep him from killing anyone else.
* MookChivalry - Inverted, though probably not on purpose. When Reptile attacks Liu Kang, Johnny Cage (who was standing not thirty feet away) conveniently remains off-screen instead of helping.
** RealLifeWritesThePlot. That fight scene was added after test audiences were dissatisfied with the other fights in the movie. Linden Ashby wouldn't have been on set.
* {{Mordor}} - The film's depiction of Outworld.
* MurderousThighs - Sonya, in the most literal way possible. She gets Kano in a headscissor and then snaps his neck by twisting her legs.
* MyFavoriteShirt - "Those were $500 sunglasses, asshole!"
* {{Narm}} - Almost every line out of Kitana's mouth in the first film--either blunt exposition or hokey, faux-'deep' nonsense.
* TheObiWan - Rayden.
* OhCrap - The way Art Lean immediately stops his pre-match warmup when Goro walks up, and again [[spoiler: right when Goro's about to kill him.]]
* OlderThanTheyThink - Believe it or not the "MORTAL KOMBAT!!" scream so often heard in the music track Techno Syndrome (Better known as the movie theme) actually debuted in the commercial for the first game's console ports.
* OrchestraHitTechnoBattle - The infamous titular theme song from The Immortals. Also, Control from Traci Lords during the fight scene with Reptile.
* PragmaticAdaptation - Rayden becoming a mentor to the others instead of a fellow combatant was seen as an acceptable change by the fans.
* RetCanon - Trevor Goddard's interpretation of Kano was so well-received that Kano was made into an Australian in the games following this. He has also in at least one game had a move called "Ear to Ear", named after a line in the movie.
** The rivalry between Johnny Cage and Goro, the love-interest angle of Kitana and Liu Kang, as well as facts like a realm having to win 10 tournaments in a row, were imported from the film as well.
* SequelHook - Merges right into a CliffHanger.
* SmugSnake - Both {{Big Bad}}s, all the way.
* SoBadItsGood - The more charitable viewpoint some people have of the second film.
* SpecialEffectsFailure - Instead of regular ninja-esque tabi, Scorpion can be seen wearing what look like hoking boots during his fight with Johnny Cage. And in a bit of [[FreezeFrameBonus Freeze Frame Failure]], If you pause the movie while Reptile's doubled over from Liu Kang kicking him over a banister, you can make out a Nike swoosh on the soles of his feet.

* StandardFemaleGrabArea - Sonya is completely subdued by a hammerlock from Shang Tsung. At least he bothered with the hammerlock instead of just dragging her by the arm, though.
* SuddenSequelDeathSyndrome - [[spoiler: Johnny Cage]]
** Which was probably inspired by his death in the third game, which is what the second movie was based on.
* TitleScream - [[EarWorm MORTAL KOOOOOMBAT!]]
* TranquilFury - Johnny when he decides to fight Goro.
* WhatCouldHaveBeen - Cameron Diaz was originally cast as Sonya, but in training for the movie she injured herself, with Bridgette Wilson stepping in.
** Also, Brandon Lee was set to play Johnny Cage, but sadly died before filming.

** Apparently, they originally wanted Ron Livingston to play Goro. Yes...they wanted Peter from ''OfficeSpace'' to play Goro.
*** How is that possible?
* WouldntHitAGirl - Both played straight and subverted. Kano lands some pretty heavy-duty shots on Sonya, including a full on kick to the ribs while she's down. On the other hand, Liu Kang's fight with Kitana consists entirely of exchanging armlocks before Shang Tsung calls it off.
** To ba fair, Kitana was more or less controlling that fight completely. One does not tend to pop someone in the mouth when they're actually trying to help you, after all. Shang Tsung didn't allow her to be killed because she was the princess, so there's that too.
* YourSoulIsMine: TropeNamer.
----
<<|{{Film}}|>>

* AntiClimaxBoss - In the second movie, the mighty four-armed shokan Sheeva gets [[spoiler:[[DroppedABridgeOnHim a cage dropped on her]]]].

* BondOneLiner - "This is where you fall down."

* TheDragon - Reptile to Shang Tsung. Which as of [=MKII=] was canonical.

Although the critics didn't like it, the movie is considered by most people as either a GuiltyPleasure or just a [[SoOkayItsAverage decent film]]. It does a fairly faithful recreation of the video game atmosphere with the casting, costumes, special effects and environments. The story is straightforward, the dialogue is fun, the action sequences are well made and there is reasonable CharacterDevelopment. The only frequent complaint is that a proper translation of the games would be a hard R Rating instead of PG-13. In general though, it was good enough to change [[RetCanon several]] [[CanonImmigrant elements]] in the MortalKombat canon, and popular enough to warrant a sequel.

Introducing the franchise, the film shows Liu Kang (RobinShu), Sonya Blade (BridgetteWilson) and Johnny Cage (LindenAshby) meeting up for this supposed super-secret illegal tournament. Only to their surprise it is an interdimensional tournament that is held once a generation. There are multiple "Realms" and in order for Outworld to invade Earth they must challenge their greatest warriors to Mortal Kombat and emerge victorious. Each of the heroes has their own personal reasons for being there, with the [[PhysicalGod lightning god]] Raiden (ChristopherLambert) as a mentor to them and a sympathetic voice from the other side in Princess Kitana (TalisaSoto). They must face [[BigBad Shang Tsung]] (CaryHiroyukiTagawa), his [[TheDragon dragon Goro]] (KevinMichaelRichardson) and the elite soldiers of Sub Zero (FrancoisPetit), Scorpion (ChrisCasamassa), Reptile (KeithCooke) and Kano(TrevorGoddard). Mortal Kombat begins.

** In the second movie, [[{{TheWarriors}} Ajax]] takes over as Raiden.
*** Um, I think you mean [[{{Dexter}} Harry Morgan]].

** The entire second film falls squarely into this (most egregiously, Sonya and Jax diving away from a stock explosion on a green screen), but I imagine it goes without saying.

* SoBadItsGood - A...charitable assessment of the second movie.

* SoBadItsGood - If the first movie doesn't count, the second does.

Although the critics didn't like it, the movie is considered by most people as either a GuiltyPleasure or just a [[SoOkayItsAverage decent film]]. It does a fairly faithful recreation of the video game atmosphere with the casting, costumes, special effects and environments. The story is straightforward, the dialogue is fun, the action sequences are well made and there is reasonable CharacterDevelopment. The only frequent complaint is that a proper translation of the games would be a hard R Rating instead of PG-13. In general though, it was popular enough to warrant a sequel.

Although the critics didn't like it, the movie is considered by most people as either a GuiltyPleasure or just a decent film. It does a fairly faithful recreation of the video game atmosphere with the casting, costumes, special effects and environments. The story is straightforward, the dialogue is fun, the action sequences are well made and there is reasonable CharacterDevelopment. The only frequent complaint is that a proper translation of the games would be a hard R Rating instead of PG-13. In general though, it was popular enough to warrant a sequel.

* OlderThanTheyThink - Believe it or not the "MORTAL KOMBAT!!" scream so often heard in the music track Techno Syndrome (Better known as the movie theme) actually debuted in the commercial for the first game's console ports.

** The rivalry between Johnny Cage and Goro, as well as facts like a realm having to win 10 tournaments in a row, were imported from the film as well.