Mortal Kombat Movies: 5 Characters That Were Accurately Depicted (& 5 That Missed The Mark)
The Mortal Kombat video game series has some of the most iconic characters of all time. But how well did those characters translate to the big screen?
The Mortal Kombat movies really are a hit or miss affair. The first film has its share of fans, most of whom harbor nostalgic memories of watching it as children. Annihilation is widely hated and often regarded as one of the worst movies ever made. And the recent 2021 reboot was moderately received, earning praise for its action scenes and violence (which, let's be serious, is why people love Mortal Kombat).
The cloudy nature of the franchise's quality is mirrored in its depiction of individual characters. Some characters are accurately represented and beloved. Others are adapted terribly and are barely recognizable.
10 Accurately Depicted: Liu Kang
It was important that the filmmakers accurately depict Liu Kang, as he served as the main protagonist of the first movie. Liu Kang made his debut all the way back in the original Mortal Kombat, serving as a martial arts expert and a four-time Mortal Kombat champion.
Playing Liu Kang was the professional martial artist and Hong Kong movie action star Robin Shou. Shou's acting left something to be desired, but his physicality and talents as a fighter ensured an accurate depiction of the series' resident martial arts expert.
9 Missed The Mark: Sonya Blade
Sonya Blade is a Mortal Kombat legend, but Bridgette Wilson was unfortunately miscast in the original movie. Wilson is an actor, not a fighter, and it shows. She was a popular actor throughout the early '90s, appearing in the likes of Last Action Hero and Billy Madison.
Wilson does what she can with the fighting scenes, but her fighting often makes for some awkward - and often unintentionally hilarious - action sequences. Her fight with Kano is particularly unconvincing owing to both the enormous size difference and Sonya's obvious lack of fighting skill.
8 Accurately Depicted: Scorpion
No matter the movie, Scorpion is accurately depicted. And it's probably for the best, considering he's the franchise's most popular character. He is a standout in the original Mortal Kombat, complete with his eerie white eyes and creepy Hell-ish domicile.
Many of Scorpion's signature aspects were also depicted, including his hand spear...thing, his fire breath, "GET OVER HERE!", and his skull face. 2021's Mortal Kombat updated the character in various ways but kept the ethos intact. All told, there's no going wrong with Scorpion.
7 Missed The Mark: Goro
Goro is one of the most memorable Mortal Kombat characters, being a giant with four arms and all. Goro is a former champion of Mortal Kombat and originally served as the underling boss to primary antagonist Shang Tsung. So it is in this movie, and Goro is accurately depicted - at least physically.
However, the puppetry borders on the unintentionally hilarious, and the filmmakers made the odd decision to turn Goro into comedic relief of sorts, including a bizarre sequence in which he's punched in the nether regions.
6 Accurately Depicted: Kano
Like Scorpion, Kano is a standout character in both iterations of Mortal Kombat. In fact, many people find Kano to be the greatest character of the 2021 reboot, which is in large part due to Josh Lawson's hilarious performance.
Kano is accurately depicted as Australian in both films (even though he's played by the English Trevor Goddard in the original), and in both, he's depicted with his signature red eye. The 2021 reboot also contains the famous fatality that sees Kano ripping out his opponent's heart with his bare hands.
5 Missed The Mark: Shinnok
Serving as The Elder God of Death, Shinnok is one of the primary antagonists of the Mortal Kombat franchise, and he first appeared in the game Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero. He is clearly some type of mythical being, but viewers wouldn't know it watching Annihilation.
Shinnok appears sporadically throughout Annihilation, but there is very little linking him to his video game counterpart. In fact, it's very likely that viewers, even die-hard Mortal Kombat viewers, didn't realize that this random man was supposed to be Shinnok.
4 Accurately Depicted: Shang Tsung
Shang Tsung is the original antagonist of Mortal Kombat, appearing as the final boss in the first game. Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa's performance as Shang Tsung was one of the greatest aspects of the original Mortal Kombat, and the character received a generally faithful adaptation from the video game.
He performed the famous "soul sucking" power on a number of deceased fighters, and he often uttered the famous catchphrase, "Your soul is mine!" He also proved a capable fighter, owing largely to Tagawa's experience as a professional martial artist.
3 Missed The Mark: Mileena
Mileena made her first appearance in Mortal Kombat II, serving as a genetic creation of Shang Tsung and an adopted daughter of Shao Kahn. Mileena also appears in Annihilation, but like Shinnok, there's virtually nothing linking her to her video game counterpart.
There are no references to her links with Shang Tsung and Shao Kahn, and her name isn't even mentioned. Sonya Blade refers to her as "a woman", and it's not until the credits that the name "Mileena" first appears. By all accounts, this could have been some random ninja assassin.
2 Accurately Depicted: Sub Zero
There are two characters that truly define Mortal Kombat, Scorpion and Sub Zero. And, like Scorpion, Sub Zero has received some great adaptations throughout the movie series. The best adaptation obviously comes in the 2021 reboot.
His personal rivalry with Scorpion was accurately depicted, and a number of his most famous moves made the transition between game and movie, including Ground Ice and Ice Clone.
1 Missed The Mark: Shao Kahn
Shao Kahn is arguably the biggest and baddest villain in the entire Mortal Kombat canon, and fans were quite excited to see him depicted in Annihilation. But, like virtually everything else in the movie, his depiction was woefully problematic.
Actor Brian Thompson does what he can with the horrible material and laughable dialogue, but it wasn't enough. Kahn wasn't a great fighter, his pure villainy was watered down, he went out like a punk, and the special effects behind his Animality was some of the worst of the 1990s. It's a real shame.