Yes both of these films are crap and yes both are based on fighting video games that have a huge fan base. This isn't a question of which video game is better, or really which movie is the better of the two, it's which do you prefer?
MORTAL KOMBAT
Mortal Kombat is based on the video game of the same name, it centres around a tournament called Mortal Kombat in which earth's greatest fighters must fight in order to protect it from the evil sourcerer Shang Tsung.
This was the first film from Paul W.S. Anderson, so no one knew what to expect, nor what future film franchises he would destroy. Upon the film's release it seemed as if everyone hated it. The story was not there, nor was any level os believable performances. The film seemed to only get a few things right.
1: The theme song. Everyone who has watched this film seems to love the theme song more then the movie. Or is it that they just like to shout Mortal Kombat at the top of their lungs?
2: Fight sequences. Here was a film that had martial arts in it and it was pretty decent. Of course this film came out after Seagul, Norris and Van Damme films, but it seemed to catch onto something that those films didn't. It made martial arts films cool (for North America anyway) Soon everyone wanted to take karate or Tae Kwon Doe.
3: Costumes. Specifically Reptile,Scorpion and Sub-Zero. The video games most popular characters and arguably the movie's as well. This one thing was the ONLY redeeming factor of the sequel.
Flash forward more then a decade later and it seems Mortal Kombat has grown into a cult film. It isn't as bad as everyone remembers and it turns out to be a guilty pleasure of many people. I enjoy it for what it is and applaude Anderson for this being his first feature. It doesn't really bring in any new fans, but it has those moments for the fans of the video game world to smile at. It seems MK has turned into one of those it's a bad movie, but we're allowed to say we like it.
STREET FIGHTER
Where oh where did they go wrong? Well, for starters it was written very poorly.
The video game is exactly like Mortal Kombat, a bunch of off the wall characters beating the hell out of each other. The film tries to create an actual plot and story around this and it falls apart before it begins. It fails as a video game movie and it fails as a movie itself.
The movie has americanized the game. Ryu, the fan favourite takes a back seat to Guile, an all american played by someone who can't speak a word of English clearly. Characters in the game are given insane roles in the film, as TV reporters and camera men.
Its almost as if they thought all they had to do was get these characters on the screen and everyone would love it. This could work, if they were cast well. Street Fighter does not do this. With the exception of Zangief (Giant Russian Guy) and to an extent Vega, not only of these characters were cast correctly. In the video game M.Bison is a menacing bulk ass kicking villain, here were are watching Raul Julia ham up a performance that is too comical and not menacing.
This is the films problem, it was a comedy...not an action film, which is what it is suppose to be. Everyone expected an ass kicking time, but instead got jokes, laughable performances and lines like this.
"I'm going to get in my boat. I'm going to go up river and to kick that son of a bitch Bison's ass so HARD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That the next Bison wannabe.........is gonna feel it!"
Well the dust has settled and people can now finally except the fact that this film is indeed a comedy. So much, that it has become drinking game type film. If you can enjoy it for the stupidness of it, then the enjoyment factor will be through the roof. Yes, one character is a boxer in the game....and he out of nowehere has his boxing gloves on in a fight. Where did he get them? Why is he wearing them in an actual fight, as if they give him power or something? I do not know....I do not question anymore.
I sit back, laugh at what I'm watching, then hate myself for sitting down and watching 1:45 minutes of Street Fighter.
MORTAL KOMBAT
Mortal Kombat is based on the video game of the same name, it centres around a tournament called Mortal Kombat in which earth's greatest fighters must fight in order to protect it from the evil sourcerer Shang Tsung.
This was the first film from Paul W.S. Anderson, so no one knew what to expect, nor what future film franchises he would destroy. Upon the film's release it seemed as if everyone hated it. The story was not there, nor was any level os believable performances. The film seemed to only get a few things right.
1: The theme song. Everyone who has watched this film seems to love the theme song more then the movie. Or is it that they just like to shout Mortal Kombat at the top of their lungs?
2: Fight sequences. Here was a film that had martial arts in it and it was pretty decent. Of course this film came out after Seagul, Norris and Van Damme films, but it seemed to catch onto something that those films didn't. It made martial arts films cool (for North America anyway) Soon everyone wanted to take karate or Tae Kwon Doe.
3: Costumes. Specifically Reptile,Scorpion and Sub-Zero. The video games most popular characters and arguably the movie's as well. This one thing was the ONLY redeeming factor of the sequel.
Flash forward more then a decade later and it seems Mortal Kombat has grown into a cult film. It isn't as bad as everyone remembers and it turns out to be a guilty pleasure of many people. I enjoy it for what it is and applaude Anderson for this being his first feature. It doesn't really bring in any new fans, but it has those moments for the fans of the video game world to smile at. It seems MK has turned into one of those it's a bad movie, but we're allowed to say we like it.
STREET FIGHTER
Where oh where did they go wrong? Well, for starters it was written very poorly.
The video game is exactly like Mortal Kombat, a bunch of off the wall characters beating the hell out of each other. The film tries to create an actual plot and story around this and it falls apart before it begins. It fails as a video game movie and it fails as a movie itself.
The movie has americanized the game. Ryu, the fan favourite takes a back seat to Guile, an all american played by someone who can't speak a word of English clearly. Characters in the game are given insane roles in the film, as TV reporters and camera men.
Its almost as if they thought all they had to do was get these characters on the screen and everyone would love it. This could work, if they were cast well. Street Fighter does not do this. With the exception of Zangief (Giant Russian Guy) and to an extent Vega, not only of these characters were cast correctly. In the video game M.Bison is a menacing bulk ass kicking villain, here were are watching Raul Julia ham up a performance that is too comical and not menacing.
This is the films problem, it was a comedy...not an action film, which is what it is suppose to be. Everyone expected an ass kicking time, but instead got jokes, laughable performances and lines like this.
"I'm going to get in my boat. I'm going to go up river and to kick that son of a bitch Bison's ass so HARD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That the next Bison wannabe.........is gonna feel it!"
Well the dust has settled and people can now finally except the fact that this film is indeed a comedy. So much, that it has become drinking game type film. If you can enjoy it for the stupidness of it, then the enjoyment factor will be through the roof. Yes, one character is a boxer in the game....and he out of nowehere has his boxing gloves on in a fight. Where did he get them? Why is he wearing them in an actual fight, as if they give him power or something? I do not know....I do not question anymore.
I sit back, laugh at what I'm watching, then hate myself for sitting down and watching 1:45 minutes of Street Fighter.
__________________
"A laugh can be a very powerful thing. Why, sometimes in life, it's the only weapon we have."
Suspect's Reviews
"A laugh can be a very powerful thing. Why, sometimes in life, it's the only weapon we have."
Suspect's Reviews