5. Mortal Kombat: Annihilation (1997)
Paul W.S. Anderson's
Mortal Kombat was far from a great film, but it still stands among the few video game adaptations that are true to the source material while still being half-way coherent, and you know what, somewhat entertaining, cheesy as it is. This sequel - directed by John R. Leonetti, whose only feature directing credit since is the straight-to-video
The Butterfly Effect 2 - commits a cardinal sin right out of the gate, by having series favourite Johnny Cage mercilessly killed by the monstrous Shao Kahn, leaving us with his decidedly less-charismatic comrades, Liu Kang (Robin Shou) and Sonya (Sandra Hess, replacing Bridgette Wilson) to pick up the pieces. The introduction of characters such as Nightwolf do add some light amusement - chiefly because he talks about his "animality" in the most literal and awkward way possible - but by-and-large, the plot is even more perfunctory and one-note than the first film's, and the direction is severely sub-par, combined with risible visual effects, suggesting that, yes, Paul W.S. Anderson isn't quite as braindead as he often seems.