Forget The Remake, Original Mortal Kombat Is The Best Video Game Movie Ever Made

If you haven’t seen the original Mortal Kombat in a while, you might just remember it being over the top, shallow, and cheesy. But the thing is, the games have always been that exact same way, so the movie was a perfect reflection of that.

The 2021 Mortal Kombat missed the mark in a lot of ways. Sure, it was cool it had a proper R rating so it could show the violence the franchise is known for. But then it also added things to the movie nobody asked for.

Like trying to give explanations for how the characters develop their powers. Literally no player of the Mortal Kombat games has ever asked that or cared about that.

We just want to see an ice ninja fighting a centaur because it’s cool. Don’t waste time trying to make something that silly try to make sense. People either accept that absurd concept or they don’t.

Meanwhile the 1995 Mortal Kombat added things to the movie that enhanced the overall franchise. Prior to the movie, nothing had established Kano as Australian. But that addition added so much more personality to him that it wound up being added into the games.

Even the 2021 reboot kept that detail. Not to mention the iconic song “Techno Syndrome” that was made for the 1995 film and used throughout the movie. It was so good that, again, the 2021 film kept a remixed version for its credits.

Sure, the 1995 Mortal Kombat has some dated aspects, like its ugly mid ‘90s CGI. But the fight scenes throughout the movie are great, even without being able to get too gory. And every classic character in the movie got to have their moments to shine, even in a tight runtime of just 101 minutes.

When Scorpion and Sub-Zero first appeared on screen in the 1995 movie, audiences were cheering in the theater. But audiences for the 2021 film barely had anything to cheer for, with Scorpion being sidelined until the end of the movie in favor of making time for the universally panned original character, Cole Young.

If you are still not convinced the 1995 Mortal Kombat did it better, just look at the box office returns. The 1995 movie pulled in $122.2 million against a $20 million budget. The reboot made $84.4 million off a $55 million budget.

How is the 2021 movie going to do so much worse when the game franchise has built up so much more of a fan base over the ensuing years? And in the Mortal Kombat 11 game, there were alternate costumes inspired by the 1995 movie. Somehow I doubt anyone will be begging for inclusions of costumes from the 2021 film.

Sure, The Super Mario Bros. Movie was good, but it does not deserve credit for being the first great video game movie. And neither does the 2021 Mortal Kombat. We already got that in 1995 with the original Mortal Kombat. If you are doubting that, go back and give it a watch for yourself. I guarantee that if you are a fan of the games, this will feel like the closest thing to watching them come to life on screen.