At the end of the first Mortal Kombat film, they left it quite wide open for a sequel to be made. I guess the idea, was that there were enough new characters that they could foster a second film, and if the first one was a success it could quickly become a cash-cow franchise. Using a lot of B-Actors, the first film was a huge profit-maker, and the second film (Annihilation) went into the works right away. Unfortunately they lost one of the better actors in Christopher Lambert as Rayden, and Bridgette Wilson decided to not return as heroine Sonja Blade. Unfortunately for all moviegoers, they were replaced with lesser-known actors who were worse off in the dialogue department than the people they replaced. It was a terrible move in my opinion, because it removed a lot of the fan-base who actually liked those two characters. So with the old bad guy killed off, a new cast of actors in the supporting roles, and a host of new characters that were going to be thrown into the story, Mortal Kombat: Annihilation was formatted. At least they brought back our hero Robin Shou as Liu Kang.

For those unfamiliar with Mortal Kombat, it was a violent video game that became very popular in the mid-1990's. This led to a film being created as a spin-off, which though not that great itself, created a new fan-base which showed they were willing to pay the extra money to see these characters played out on the big screen. The first film took a lot of time introducing the parts, and giving us a glimpse of what they could do, and this second film was a continuing journey to allow them to show off "cool" moves and deadly combinations of fighting styles. Here is where I try to explain the weak plot lines that help to create the plot for the second film. The evil Shao Kahn has decided that he wants to take over Earth by merging it with Outworld, and sending his millions of fighters spilling over to defeat Earth's greatest fighters. The only thing standing between Shao Kahn taking over Earth (and virtually destroying it) are martial arts expert Liu Kang, a supernatural leader named Rayden, and a group of fighters with different attributes that each add a new "cool" factor to the movie.

With the threat hanging over their heads of the Earth getting taken over in 6 days, the heroes of the story must figure out a way to overcome the evil Shao Kahn and his baddies. Brian Alexander is Kahn, who played the bounty hunter on X-Files for those that watched the show. He is a pretty mean looking guy, but really lacks the real acting chops to make his character very sinister. He is of course very strong, and it is going to take a lot to destroy him. This is about where the film gets really flaky, because the slimmest of threads holds the plot together. Kahn has somehow been able to bend the rules of Mortal Kombat, and now has the ability to take over Earth without having to fight for it. Where normally a planet is given the chance to defend itself, this time is going to be different, and the only rational explanation I could find, was that it fit well into the script that they were creating. So of course, the intended dramatic part of the story is the attempt of the good fighters to figure out what has happened and put a stop to it before it is too late. From there we get a lot of one-on-one fighting sequences as one new good guy character faces off against one new bad-guy character, all intended to show off their attributes.

This film exemplifies why video game and comic book adaptations to film were getting such a bad name in the mid-1990's. The interpretation was horrible, and it really wasn't something that should have been made with the script they had. I understand that it was going to be produced simply because it stood the chance at making a lot of money, but in the end it really took something away from the fans, and left them with a sour taste in their mouths. Where the first film was slightly good, and had a campy quality to it, this one goes too far to try and impress with flashy moves and special effects that really looked fake. Just like in the Batman franchise, this one killed it, and it has been 10 years since they seriously talked about making a third film. It is inevitable that they will, but everyone needs to forget about how weak of a chapter this one was in the series. The acting is bad, but made worse by an inept script and writing team. All of the effects left something to be desired, and you top that off with a bad guy that creates no drama on screen. In the end there was nothing left holding the film together, and I am disappointed to say that I have seen this movie more than once now. It won't be happening again though, and my recommendation is that nobody else put himself or herself through it either.





Recommended:
No

Viewing Format: DVD