Mortal Kombat: Annihilation (1997)

Director:

John R. Leonetti

Writers (WGA):

Ed Boon (video games)
Lawrence Kasanoff (story) ...

Release Date:

21 November 1997 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Fantasy | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

Nothing Will Ever Be The Same

Plot:

A group of martial arts warriors have only six days to save the Earth from an extra-dimensional invasion.

Plot Keywords:

Martial Arts | Mortal Kombat | Centaur | Returning Character Killed Off | Weather Manipulation

US TV Schedule:

Wed. Dec. 2

8:00 AM

FX

Cast

Robin Shou	...	Liu Kang
James Remar	...	Lord Rayden
Talisa Soto	...	Princess Kitana
Sandra Hess	...	Sonya Blade
Brian Thompson	...	Shao Kahn
Lynn 'Red' Williams	...	Jax Briggs
Reiner Schöne	...	Shinnok
Deron McBee	...	Motaro
Musetta Vander	...	Queen Sindel
Marjean Holden	...	Sheeva
Irina Pantaeva	...	Jade
Chris Conrad	...	Johnny Cage
Litefoot	...	Nightwolf
J.J. Perry	...	Cyrax / Scorpion / Noob Saibot
John Medlen	...	Ermac

Also Known As:

Mortal Kombat 2

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for non-stop martial arts violence.

Runtime:

95 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Canada:14A (Ontario) | Netherlands:12 | Iceland:14 | Iceland:16 (video rating) | South Korea:15 | Philippines:PG-13 | UK:15 (cut) | Australia:M | Finland:K-16 | France:U | Germany:18 | Mexico:B | Netherlands:16 | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:PG | USA:PG-13 | Hong Kong:IIB | Sweden:15

Filming Locations:

Ayuthaya, Thailand

Company:

New Line Cinema

Trivia:

James Remar apparently auditioned for Rayden. Christopher Lambert was apparently interested in reprising Rayden but was committed to Beowulf (1999) at the time.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: The skeletons on the Golden Gate bridge are obviously made of clay.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Rayden: [narrating] Mortal Kombat is not about death, but rather the preservation of life. Liu Kang and a few chosen fighters from the Earth realm defeated Outworld sorcerer Shang Tsung. According to the rules of Mortal Kombat, their victory preserved the safety of the Earth for one more generation. Our chosen ones were returned to Liu Kang's home on Earth, only to enjoy a brief period of peace... for someone from Outworld has a different point of view.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Repli-Kate (2002)

Soundtrack:

Leave U Far Behind (V.2 Instrumental Mix)

An unexpected Sequel

This sequel has diminished the image of the first movie, Mortal Kombat. First of all, the death of Johnny Cage in the beginning scene of the movie destroyed a lot of expectations as there were many who became fans of Johnny Cage in particular. In addition to that, the action scenes from Liu Kang were rather fake, in contrary to his action moves in Mortal Kombat. The introduction of Jax was not explained, how did he get into the hospital. Subzero's entry was understandable, but was it the same of Scorpion? Baraka, Mileena, Sheeva, Ermac, Nightwolf, Jade etc. are high profile fighters in the game, but in this movie, they were represented horribly. Sheeva died without a fight, Nightwolf came in just to hit an axe on Liu Kang, Jade was JUST A TRAITOR.

Shao Kahn's acting was the worst. His fighting style lacked the depth and originality like Shang Tsung had in the previous film.

All in all, I would recommend the fans of Mortal Kombat to avoid watching this movie if they want to maintain their good impression of the first movie.