We’re all stuck in the house, right? There’s never been a better time to dig into those retro movies that you’ve always wanted to watch, but never had the time for. Personally, I’m a bit of a retrophile and tend to watch more older flicks than newer ones. On Fangirlish, you can now look forward to a retro review from me each Wednesday in this column. I’ll be highlighting one throwback movie a week, offering a spoiler-free review of the film, any throwback thoughts from my childhood, and where you can watch the movie yourself. Sit back, relax, and enjoy #WayBackWednesday.
With the Mortal Kombat reboot coming out this Friday, April 23, and me having covered the original Mortal Kombat in the inaugural #WayBackWednesday, I felt it only appropriate to cover the 1997 sequel, Mortal Kombat: Annihilation for today’s #WayBackWednesday. I managed to catch this one on TNT a few years after its release on a Sunday afternoon. Did you catch this one back in the 90s when we all had Mortal Kombat fever, long after the heyday of the arcade? Check out the trailer for Mortal Kombat: Annihilation and we’ll get started with #WayBackWednesday.
Mortal Kombat: Annihilation was released on November 21, 1997, and was directed by John R. Leonetti. The film stars Robin Shou (Liu Kang) and Talisa Soto (Kitana). These are the only two actors from Mortal Kombat (1995) to reprise their roles. The film also stars James Remar, Sandra Hess, and Lynn “Red” Williams as Raiden, Sonya Blade, and Jax, respectively. Picking up immediately at the end of Mortal Kombat (1995), our heroes are faced with yet another challenge from the Outworld, and only have 6 days to stop them in order to save the earth.
It’s not a good sign when you make a sequel and almost no one from the first film chooses to come back for various reasons, especially when it’s a theatrical release and not a direct-to-video sequel, of which the 90s were replete. All that being said, Mortal Kombat: Annihilation is still quite enjoyable for a particular segment of movie watchers. Here are the folks I think will enjoy Mortal Kombat: Annihilation.
Franchise Fans
As with any other fandom, if you’re a Mortal Kombat fan, there’s a good chance that you’ll seek out all forms of Mortal Kombat media to get your fix, no matter what the medium or the critical reception. I personally always enjoy watching my comics, cartoons, and video games get live-action adaptations. No matter how silly, it’s still fun to see my favorite characters come to life on the big screen. If you’re a Mortal Kombat fan, pop some corn, grab a drink, and cue up Mortal Kombat: Annihilation.
Martial Arts Movie Aficionados
What Mortal Kombat: Annihilation lacks in plot, it makes up for in stunts and fight scenes. If you enjoy over-the-top action sequences, excellence in martial arts, and Matrix-style aerial fights and stunts, you will probably enjoy Mortal Kombat: Annihilation. Admittedly, the film relied fairly heavily on CGI for certain effects, so by today’s standard, they look much like a SyFy channel-made-for-TV movie from that era. However, if you’re into that sort of thing, by all means, go for it. You’ll have a lot of fun with Mortal Kombat: Annihilation.
Movies for Folks that Like Bad Movies
I don’t know about you, but sometimes I get into a mood to watch an awesomely bad movie. Mortal Kombat: Annihilation definitely fits the bill for that category. In my rewatch for this review, there were several points in the movie where I legit laughed out loud at some of the over-the-top sequences, effects, and dialogue. I also had several moments of, “Wow, they really just did that!” which was a lot of fun. If you need an unintentional good laugh, then you should definitely add Mortal Kombat: Annihilation to your watch list.
Would you like to test your might? Do you enjoy over-the-top, ridiculous action films? Do you just love the Mortal Kombat franchise? Feed your inner completionist and check out Mortal Kombat: Annihilation.
Mortal Kombat: Annihilation is streaming now on HBO MAX.
