20 Things You Didn't Know About Mortal Kombat
The greatest video game movie of all time turns 25 years old.
Though movies based on video games still struggle to be taken seriously today, things are certainly getting better, and an early trailblazer was Paul W.S. Anderson's 1995 Mortal Kombat adaptation.
Released 25 years ago this month, Mortal Kombat was at the time of its release the most critically and commercially successful video game of all time, following up the disastrous launches of video game movie duds like Super Mario Bros., Double Dragon, and Street Fighter.
To date it remains the fifth-best reviewed video game adaptation, and though undeniably an aged product of '90s culture, endures as a ludicrously entertaining B-movie blast.
Despite its success and cult fandom, however, Mortal Kombat was a troubled project for New Line Cinema, produced on a budget barely half that of Street Fighter and largely expected to come and go without much fanfare.
Production was a tough sprint, between its inexperienced young director, unexpected cast changes, a host of technical issues, and a tricky location shoot.
And yet, without all this turmoil, Mortal Kombat wouldn't be quite the same giddily entertaining slice of mid-90s action cheese that it is. Who would have it any other way?
20. Mortal Kombat Creator Ed Boon Voiced Scorpion
Though the part of legendary Mortal Kombat fighter Scorpion was played by Chris Casamassa, the voice for his iconic catchphrase "Get over here!" was actually provided by series creator Ed Boon himself.
In fact, Boon was only carrying on the tradition from the video games, as he's voiced Scorpion since the very beginning of the franchise and continues to do so to this very day.
Boon even landed himself in the 2008 Guinness World Records Gamer's Edition as a result, earning the distinction of the longest-serving video game voice actor in history.
In addition to lending his voice to this movie, Boon also provided vocals for Scorpion in the much-maligned sequel, Mortal Kombat: Annihilation.