Review: First "MORTAL KOMBAT" Film Has Not Lost its Immortal Charm

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 50 of 2023 (No. 1939) by Leroy Douresseaux

Mortal Kombat (1995)

Running time:  101 minutes (1 hour, 41 minutes)

MPAA – PG-13 for non-stop martial arts action and some violence

DIRECTOR:  Paul Anderson

WRITER:  Kevin Droney (based on the video game created by Ed Boon and John Tobias)

PRODUCER:  Lawrence Kasanoff

CINEMATOGRAPHER:  John R. Leonetti (D.o.P.)

EDITOR:  Martin Hunter

COMPOSER:  George S. Clinton

MARTIAL ARTS/ACTION

Starring:  Robin Shou, Christopher Lambert, Linden Ashby, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, Bridgette Wilson, Talisa Soto, Trevor Goddard, Chris Casamassa, Francois Petit, Keith H. Cooke, Steven Ho, Gregory McKinney, and the voices of Frank Welker, Ed Boon, and Kevin Michael Richardson

Mortal Kombat is a 1995 martial arts and action fantasy film directed by Paul W. S. Anderson.  It is the first film in the Mortal Kombat film franchise, and is based on the video game series, Mortal Kombat, which began in 1992.  Mortal Kombat the movie focuses on three martial artists who find themselves entered into a martial arts tournament that will decide the fate of Earth.

Mortal Kombat opens in the dreams of Liu Kang (Robin Shou), a former Shaolin monk.  Kang dreams of the death of his brother, Chan (Steven Ho), at the hands of Shang Tsung (Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa), a powerful sorcerer.  Now, Kang is determined to avenge his brother's death, and to do this, his most enter the tournament, Mortal Kombat.

Mortal Kombat is a martial arts tournament that is held once every generation between the representatives of the realms of Earth and Outworld .  There have been nine previous editions of the tournament, and the realm of Earth has lost all of them.  If the warriors of Earth lose this tenth tournament, the realm of Outworld and its Emperor will invade the realm of Earth.

Although Kang's former comrades in “the Order of Light” are reluctant to have him represent them in the tournament, Lord Rayden (Christopher Lambert), the god of thunder and defender of the realm of Earth, believes Kang is the right choice.  In addition to Kang, Rayden has chosen two other entrants, Johnny Cage (Linden Ashby), a movie star who wants to prove that his martial arts skills are legitimate, and Sonya Blade (Bridgette Wilson), an American special forces operative, who is hunting another entrant in Mortal Kombat.  That would be Kano (Trevor Goddard), a criminal allied with Shang Tsung.

Kang, Cage, and Blade travel to Shang Tsung's island where they meet Princess Kitana (Talisa Soto), the Emperor's adopted daughter, who wants to ally with the Earth warriors.  With its strange rules, Tsung's weird warriors, and lurking danger, Mortal Kombat will test the warriors from the realm of Earth to their limits.

I first saw Mortal Kombat when it was initially released to theaters in August 1995.  I liked the movie, but at the time, I was not overwhelmed by it.  I do remember it fondly because I saw it with coworker who was a fellow college student and also a dear friend for many years.  Since then, I have grown fond of Mortal Kombat, and I have wondered why over the years.

The Mortal Kombat video game and subsequent film adaptation are hugely influenced by the legendary Bruce Lee's classic 1973 martial arts film, Enter the Dragon.  There seems to be some kind of mental and dream time connection in my mind and imagination between this first Mortal Kombat film and Enter the Dragon, which is one of my all-time favorite films.  [However, I have only watched the 1997 sequel, Mortal Kombat Annihilation, in its entirety once, and I have not seen the 2021 franchise reboot, Mortal Kombat.]

Mortal Kombat is by no means perfect.  Some of the dialogue is stiff, and is made stiffer by the actors' deliveries, especially in the case of Bridgette Wilson as Sonya Blade and Linden Ashby as Johnny Cage.  However, the two aren't always bad, and I find them rather likable.  Christopher Lambert is unfortunate as Lord Rayden, I'm sad to say; everything about his character is forced and contrived.  Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa is over the top and melodramatic as Shang Tsung, but I really dig his performance and his character.  I think there isn't enough of Tagawa's Shang Tsung.

The two best things about Mortal Kombat 1995 are Robin Shou as Liu Kang and the film's soundtrack.  Shou, an underutilized Hong Kong-born actor, is magnetic as Kang, and Shou is the one that makes the film more than just a standard martial arts/action-fantasy film.  Mortal Kombat also features The Immortals' single, “Techno-Syndrome,” with its signature yell of “Mortal Kombat!”  It lifts this movie any time a few strains of it are played, and the music certainly creates a sense of anticipation for me.

So Mortal Kombat is by no means a great film; it may even be a mediocre film.  For me, however, it seems to get better each time I watch it.  I think I hear the opening notes of “Techno-Sydrome” now.  “MORTAL KOMBAT!”

7 of 10

B+

★★★½ out of 4 stars

Monday, December 4, 2023

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"Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance" Raises a Little Hell

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 69 (of 2012) by Leroy Douresseaux


Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance (2012)
Running time: 95 minutes (1 hour, 35 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for intense sequences of action and violence, some disturbing images, and language
DIRECTOR: Neveldine/Taylor
WRITERS: Scott M. Gimple & Seth Hoffman and David S. Goyer; from a story by David S. Goyer (based upon the Marvel Comics character)
PRODUCERS: Ashok Amritraj, Ari Arad, Avi Arad, Michael De Luca, and Steven Paul
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Brandon Trost
EDITOR: Brian Berdan
COMPOSER: David Sardy

SUPERHERO/ACTION/HORROR

Starring: Nicolas Cage, Violante Placido, Ciaran Hinds, Idris Elba, Johnny Whitmorth, Fergus Riordan, Anthony Head, and Christopher Lambert

The subject of this movie review is Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance, a 2012 superhero, action, and horror movie from directors Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor, who jointly work under the moniker, Neveldine/Taylor. Ghost Rider is a Marvel Comics character that was created by writers Roy Thomas and Mark Friedrich and artist Mike Ploog and that first appeared in the comics magazine, Marvel Spotlight #5 (1972).

Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance is a sequel to the 2007 film, Ghost Rider, and, as in the first film, Oscar-winning actor, Nicolas Cage, plays the title roll. Spirit of Vengeance, which finds Ghost Rider trying to protect a child from the devil, is much better than the first film, although it is by no means great.

Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance opens in a monastery in Eastern Europe. There, the monk, Benedict (Anthony Head), and his brothers are hiding a mother, Nadya (Violante Placido), and her son, Danny (Fergus Riordan). Apparently, the Devil Mephisto wants Danny in order to complete some kind of ritual.

A French priest named Moreau (Idris Elba) decides to take matters into his own hands after Mephisto’s forces attack the monastery. Moreau seeks out Johnny Blaze (Nicolas Cage), who is also the Ghost Rider, the fiery spirit of vengeance whose head is a flaming skull. Blaze sold his soul to Mephisto, who is currently going by the name, Roarke (Ciaran Hinds), which is why the Ghost Rider is inside him. After Ghost Rider proves to be too much of problem for him, Roarke turns one of his stooges into Blackout (Johnny Whitmorth), a supernatural creature that can take on the Rider.

One thing I can say about the directing team, Neveldine/Taylor, is that the duo has style, and Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance has got style. The film is visually snazzy, spunky, and even cool. The action scenes are quite good, and the computer effects (CGI) don’t look phony and are an improvement over the CGI in the first film.

The story is different, seeming unique although it mines familiar territory – the hero trying to save a vulnerable woman or child from being possessed by the Devil. That’s probably because Spirit of Vengeance is not like other movies based on comic book superheroes, and of course, Ghost Rider isn’t like other superheroes. The script has some good ideas, which is not surprising considering that one of Spirit of Vengeance’s screenwriters is David S. Goyer, who has written horror movies and movies based on comic books, including the Blade franchise, which combines both.

The problems with Spirit of Vengeance are the characters and the acting. There is no character development, nor are the characters really interesting. There are some novel and interesting things about them, but that does not translate into wholly interesting characters. The acting is bad. Sometimes, I cannot tell if Nicolas Cage is hamming for the cameras or is simply phoning in a performance. Idris Elba tries, but even his honest effort cannot save Moreau from seeming unintentionally comical or not funny when the character is supposed to be comical.

Still, I find Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance to be much better than the first film. The action and the visual effects pop enough to make me actually want more of this.

6 of 10
B

Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Review: "The Hunted" - White Ninja for Dummies

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 68 (of 2004) by Leroy Douresseaux


The Hunted (1995)
Running time: 111 minutes (1 hour, 51 minutes)
MPAA – R for strong bloody ninja violence and some sexuality
WRITER/DIRECTOR: J.F. Lawton
PRODUCERS: John Davis and Gary W. Goldstein
CINEMATOGRAPHER: John Conroy
EDITORS: Robert A. Ferretti and Eric Strand

DRAMA/MARTIAL ARTS with elements of a thriller

Starring: Christopher Lambert, John Lone, Joan Chen, Yoshido Harada, Yôko Shimada, Mari Natsuki, and Michael Warren

J.F. Lawton wrote two very successful movies – the hugely popular film Pretty Woman (which sent Julia Robert’s career into orbit) and Under Siege (the action film that briefly put Steven Seagal on the A- list), and he created the TV series V.I.P. Thus, he may never be remembered for the film he wrote and directed in the mid-90’s, the so-so Far East martial arts drama/thriller, The Hunted. It’s the story of an American businessman (Christopher Lambert) who witnesses the assassination of a prostitute(?) and earns the ire of her assassin, Kinjo (John Lone), a ninja killer with a rep of legendary proportions. His self-appointed protector is Takeda (Yoshido Harada), a samurai whose family has a centuries old grudge against Kinjo’s clan.

The film is combination of a few things, none of them very well done. Half the film is a low rent martial arts drama and revenge story that borrows Asian customs in the sort of half-assed way syndicated television series do. Basically, an American filmmaker makes a thoroughly mediocre version of what a Hong Kong, Chinese, or Japanese director would make. The other half of the film is a crime drama. A critic in the midst of reviewing the Coen Bros. Miller’s Crossing once said that every American director who aspires to greatness has to do a mob movie or movie about organized crime. This is Lawton’s attempt at it with ninja’s replacing the Irish, Jews, and Italians of American mob pictures.

The really offensive thing about this film is that Paul Racine, the American played by Lambert (of Highlander fame), ends up saving the day. After nearly two hours of grinding an ancient grudge between Japanese clans, the Westerner ends up the last man standing, and he gets the Japanese girl. I have to admit that I really liked this film the first time I saw it, except for Racine coming out on top, which is politically correct in terms of making big bucks at the American box office. Upon second viewing, I realized that this is a tepid flick that goes on for too long. Although it has lots of potential and a few interesting scenes, The Hunted struggles just to be an average flick.

3 of 10
C-