WTF Happened to Mortal Kombat (1995)?

In the late eighties, the rise of video games took the entertainment industry by storm. Suddenly, they were losing money at the box office because kids stayed home and played their Nintendo. So what was a studio to do? The obvious answer, or so it seemed, was to take some of these popular video game characters and make them into movies. Alas, that was easier said than done, with the earliest examples, 1993’s Super Mario Bros and 1994’s Double Dragon, being massive flops. Suddenly the term “video game movie” became toxic – UNTIL New Line Cinema made Mortal Kombat in 1995.

Taking all the elements people loved about the game, meaning the mythology and the fighting, and turning it into a legit martial arts adventure, the film was a major success for the studio. It helped put its talented young director, Paul W.S. Anderson, on the map. While it had a TERRIBLE sequel, the original stands out as one of the best video game-to-movie adaptations ever. In fact, many fans of the franchise prefer this now twenty-seven year old movie (which was never a particularly lavish production to begin with) over Warner Bros’ recent big-budget reboot. In this episode of WTF Happened to this Movie, we get into how 1995’s Mortal Kombat came to be and its lasting legacy.

This episode of WTF Happened to this Movie is written by Brad Hamerly, edited by Diane Baldwin, narrated by Dave Davis, produced by Ben Cantler and executive produced by Berge Garabedian. Watch previous episodes below and let us know if you think 1995’s Mortal Kombat holds up!