6. Mortal Kombat - 1995
Film adaptations of the video game fighting genre have a special place in all our hearts. A place now plagued with sodium-loaded snacks and the reality that we as children always wore drunk goggles. If you were like me as a child you adored this movie. You quoted it and dressed like you were in the Netherrealm. Acted it out in the schoolyard, leaving you and your best friend with bloody lips and noses after countless reminders that those were 500 dollar sunglasses you asshole. Yes, oh yes, Mortal Kombat was our parents worst nightmare in both video game and film form. So nightmarish, that they made a sequel. But it was okay for them because maturity happened. Now Im not saying I still dont love fighting and action movies, they are some of my favorites. But what really happened here? At my first watch in years I thought the film gave a good effort. But then there was Johnny Cage and his cheesy jokes. And the fight sequences that were 12 minutes shorter than I remember. They certainly could not have been as bad as Street Fighter. Well, they weren't really. We could still give this film a passing grade for effort. But the over-the-top seriousness of simple poses, set pieces (still not half-bad at times), and banter really did a number on its own self. One fight scene after another was crammed into a huge montage just to say they happened. It really got corny after awhile. Then just like Street Fighter there was that final pose shot of the film. Was that just a thing during that time period? In a way, it is kind of difficult to compare this film to modern fight films. The choreography is more complex and quick paced now. Scripts (usually) are more polished, giving a bit of more gritty realism. Look at the recent online Mortal Kombat series. So I dont know if I blame childhood or Hollywood for this being better as a kid. But I am going to bank that I could not take it seriously for a second time as a child.