GET OVER HERE! And read this review of the 1990s action adaptation dulology of the parents-pearly-clutching bloody fighting game Mortal Kombat! Both the fondly remembered 1995 Paul WS Anderson film and its less fondly remembered 1997 sequel, Annihilation, by John R. Leonetti, are collected on 4K & Blu-Ray with a fantastic, largest set of features, due at the end of June 2026.
The Films
Arrow collects the original Mortal Kombat and its sequel, Mortal Kombat: Annihilation, for this set: Mortal Kombat Kollection. Don’t expect the 2021 reset, its sequel, currently ending its theatrical run (as of this publication), or the other properties like the various TV shows. This is a big set, so I’m going to be quicker than normal with the film write-ups. But anyone reading this has likely watched them many a time over the years
Mortal Kombat (1995) Directed by Paul WS Anderson; Written by Kevin Droney
Mortal Kombat brings me to the feeling of being a young teenager in the mid-90s. Makes sense, since I was 13 at the release of Mortal Kombat. It may be my nostalgia, but dammit, this works. It did then, and it still does now. (It’s well-loved overall, so not just anyone 13 years old in 1995). No one expected a film version of the well-known (for multiple reasons) fighting game and its sequel to turn out strong. But it does. I’ll tell you why: Goro.
Goro, the nine-foot-tall, four-armed monstrous fighter, looks amazing. He’s no half-assed effect. I love the animatronics for Goro; that alone is worth the watch. Tom Woodruff’s effects bring him to life, and how well they mix with the awesome production design overall is a testament to the work put into the whole film. Even with a small budget, Anderson went as big as he could. Massive sets, extensive fight sequences, and a fully fledged plot (as best as this could go).
I love that it’s not too far removed from the 1973 classic of martial arts: Enter the Dragon. It’s actually a tournament with tons of folks around: rules (until the bad guys cheat directly), planning, banner sewing, etc. Less of a cheap toss together of a film if the actual tournament makes sense (compared to the current MKII). The cast is great: Robin Shou, Bridgette Wilson, Lindon Ashby, Christopher Lambert, and the awesome villainy of Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa’s Sheng Tsung. Anderson hits the right note of winky aweness and trying ot make something genuinely good. Mortal Kombat is not high art, but it is far from a quickie take on a known title while it’s famous; with amazing fights, great production design, and a knowing outlook, Anderson and team performed the combo buttons just right for Fatality!
Mortal Kombat: Annihilation (1997), directed by John R. Leonetti, written by Joshua Wexler.
And then there’s the not-so-TOASTY (!) sequel. The follow-up, helmed by the first film’s cinematographer, is much shit upon. And often deservedly so. It’s a total mess. The story is a hodgepodge of elements as Brian Thompson’s Shao Khan tries to take over the Earthrealm, forcing the heroes (minus a sacrifice of Johnny Cage, sorry dude) to spread out all over the world to do… um.. Something. It’s never particularly clear.
But it’s the sort of mess that has an incredibly high entertainment value. It’s fun to just let the inanity roll over with all the bad lines, oddball plotting, Spirit costumes, and fully random fight scenes as characters come and go with little care for cohesion or continuity. There’s some sort of wild spark that runs through, keeping a big smile of “let’s watch this and riff with some friends.”
I don’t blame Lionetti; he does what he can to make this stupidity stew as tasty as he can. Heck, I don’t blame anyone. Everyone is doing the best they can. From the top down, all were given the short shift, with little time or money from Wexler to write a script in ten minutes, and being told to put in as many characters from Mortal Kombat 3’s roster. Acting wise its a film of one-take wonders, returning Robin Shou, James Remar now as Raiden, more. And yes, THAT line from Marjean Holden’s Queen Sheeva. It’s often the reference point, but I argue she’s playing into the tone. It’s a film of stunt people overacting and putting that in check, yeah. It’s fine. I actually dig Brian Thompson as Shao Kahn.
The fighting isn’t bad, and it’s plentiful. It’s cut to hell, though, but one can see the work of the choreographers and martial artists through the terrible choppy editing.
So yeah, Mortal Kombat Annihilation is a huge step down from the original and easily the worst in the franchise. But I don’t wholly discount it. But then again, I’m a bad movie lover, a champion of the earnest effort that falls flat. So take that with a grain of salt. Offer MK: Annihilation your FRIENDSHIP.
The Packaging
Arrow puts together another amazing package. Each film is on its own 4k UHD or Blu-ray (available on both, but separately: choose your fighter), with a close-up of the new art on each disc. Both discs have their own clear case with reversible sleeves: one side with new art by Matt Griffin. The same art choices are found on the two-fold out mini-posters. A bound booklet fits within the box, which features the MK logo.
Both discs, as to be expected, yell MORTAL KOMBAT (with the theme) every time you go to the menu screen; so expect to hear that a lot as working through the features. My poor wife had so many sighs.
The Presentation
Arrow gives new restorations for both films from the 35mm negatives (both approved by their directors), and they look fantastic. I can really appreciate the set and production work on the first film, along with the smoke and darkness, and the second does show its cheapness and fuzzy darkness, but that’s inherent in the work, no matter the format. Nothing is lost with the high-speed footwork, holding together. The details stand out well, especially in the first film. Both sound awesome, with a full range; there’s so much sound going on between the sound effects, blaring score, and that pesky dialogue and it all mixes well. In English only, with English subtitles.
The Features
Since their original releases, at least in the States, Mortal Kombat and its sequel have had few, if any, features. Arrow aims to fix that, and boy, do they. Both discs are fully loaded with commentaries and a slew of new, as well as a few 90s EPK features.
Commentaries
Lumping together here before breaking into the specific discs.
Both films offer two commentaries: one each of the directors, Paul WS Anderson and John R Leonetti (moderated by Gillian Wallace Horvat), and another with Dave Baxter.
All four are great tracks. The directors walk through the creation of the film from idea to reception, getting into the details with energy. Anderson is wonderfully self-deprecating. Funny, the moderator for MK: A clearly likes the movie more than Leonetti, and there’s humor to be found with her building it up and him sweeping the leg out in a clear understanding of the issues within.
Baxter’s pair of commentaries takes the meta-contextual look, detailing the history of the franchise, its overall story, who these characters are, and how they relate to the games. He also speaks to the controversy around the films and games. The pair functions as an entertaining wiki of the MK series.
As for the rest of the features:
Mortal Kombat
Cage Match (new)
Linden Ashby, Johnny Cage, talks his career up to and after MK, finding the right way to play “cocky asshole” and be likable, and working the fight scenes. Great appreciation to everyone involved and the set Anderson made. (16m)
Leveling up (new)
Before directing Annihilation, Leonetti was a cinematographer for MK1 (and for many James Wan projects, that’s why Conjuring looks so good; he also directed Annabelle in that franchise), and here he gets into shooting with the massive, but specifically designed sets, along with all the smoke and fog all around. Fantastic insight into the process (16m)
Quarters to Millions (new)
Producer Lawrence Kasanoff gives a wider view of the creation of the film, how he came to it, got all the pieces together, and so on. Especially cool in how he approached: that this movie and the game are both adaptations of an unseen property. Makes sense in hindsight. (18m)
The Heavyweight (new)
Ah yeah! This is my shit! Special effects master Tom Woodruff shares all about how they brought Goro to life, the ups and downs of his animatronics, and how it all worked. So many behind-the-scenes pictures and footage. So cool! (16m)
A Journey Behind the Scenes (1995)
EPK-style promotional material. Everyone involved gets their time to talk about their passion for the project with so much BTS footage! (15m)
Behind-the-scenes (1995)
More BTS, but unnarrated and structured, fly-on-the-wall type. (13)
Interview Bites (1995)
Six short (less than a minute each) snippets from Paul WS Anderson, Linden Ashby, Robin Shou, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, Bridgette Wilson, and Christopher Lambert.
Image Gallery
599 (!) photos from the set. Lots of how the effects worked, and people building and creating. Love it. Plenty of production and promotional stills. The end gets into advertisements. All presented in one big click-through feature.
Mortal Kombat: Annihilation
Let me say, these features go a long way to give a better appreciation of the film. Thank you, Arrow.
Queen of the Night (new)
Musetta Vander, actor for Queen Sheeva, talks about her career as a stunt person and character actor. Very fun getting into what it was like on this set. (18m)
Tecno, Taiki, Orcho (new)
George S Clinton, the composer of both films, talks about his process, in scoring overall and specifically the tiered design of this pair (as noted in the title) 16m
The Man of a Thousand Deaths (new)
Like the Woodriff interview, this is up my alley! J J Perry is a fighter and stunt person who played (at least) 3 roles in MK: A and over 150 other titles, and has stories for days. While he, of course, focuses on this film, he gets a wider view of how he got into the career and moves to stunt coordination over time. (20m)
Behind-The-Scenes (1997)
Fly on the wall BTS footage (14m)
Soundbites (1997)
Seven interview snippets, about a minute each. This time has John Leonetti, Lawrence Kasnoff, Lynn Red Williams, Sandra Hess, Talisa Soto, Robin Shou
Trailers
Image Gallery
This feature froze out on my check disc. I assume it’s akin to the other disc’s.
Booklet
Included is a 60-page bound booklet. It contains three essays: “Mortal Kombat: Y’know for Kids The Story of The Journey Begins” by Simon Ward (moving from the films to the unlikely children’s TV show/special, a nice essay of odd media), “Mortal Kombat 1995: A Martial Arts Masterpiece from a Gamer’s Perspective” by John Torrani (catching the same wave as me, being a young teen at release of the games and movie and how that approaches how we appreciate the film), and “Mortal Kombat: Annihilation: An Underrated Sci-Fi Sequel” by John Torranti (asking the audience to take it more of an ambitious game filming than a sequel to the previous film) and 25 pages of behind-the-scenes gallery.
Final Thoughts
I loved working through Arrow’s two-disc set, revisiting the 90s, whether a continued triumph of the first film or an initial disappointment of the sequel. With fantastic transfers and finally providing special features, Arrow and I shout FINISH HIM at your wallet when I recommend picking it up.