Disc Reviews
Mortal Kombat Kollection 4K Review
Arrow Video have a well-placed release window for this double movie disc set – in light of the latest Mortal Kombat II being in cinemas. The original game characters are all present and correct as they should be – bringing friends, foes and the otherworldly to an island for the contest. Each fight has a different set to play with and matches familiar characters against each other. The first film is, perhaps surprisingly, well remembered and thought of. This comes down largely to some of the casting and FX work on screen. Lambert – whether he is miscast or not – is well remembered as thunder god Raiden. The main good-guy cast members each have their moments. Well, Sonya Blade gets one fight, Johnny Cage gets two, and then Robin Shou shamelessly steals the rest of the fights – and he has many! Making the tournament seem somewhat unbalanced.
The bad guys also have plenty of standout characters – The nonspeaking roles have costumes to reflect the game (ala Scorpion and Sub-Zero), but the speaking roles come courtesy of Trevor Goddard’s slobbish Kano, the part puppet/CGI creation of Goro – and of course the recently department Cary Hiroyuki-Tagawa as Shang Tsung who seems made for the role – And a role he would continue into the game series.
1995’s Mortal Kombat got enough of the ingredients right, and Paul Anderson’s direction was assured enough, whilst bowing to the likes of Enter The Dragon along the way to make it an enjoyable affair that is still worthy today.
The same cannot be said for the sequel, however. If excess got away from anything, it was this. Too many nonsensical fights, too many stuntmen in acting roles, or just poor actors in fighting roles. James Remar doesn’t make up for the loss of Christopher Lambert, and Brian Thompson as the new big bad didn’t cut it either. The tone went all serious, and the plot couldn’t match the small budget given to it for an all-out war between the races shown on screen. It’s simply a mess, and if you don’t like a “dance” music soundtrack, then this one will irritate the living hell out of you. So, a surefire lesson in how NOT to go forward with a sequel.
Extras-wise, both films get a couple of new commentary tracks from their respective directors. Weird that Anderson would show up for this, but he didn’t last month for Soldier? Perhaps because Soldier had an existing commentary, and MK seems to have gone without one so far. Either way, he’s here for this, and welcome he is, as Anderson is often very chatty, even when by himself, and he manages to recollect a lot from over 30 years ago. Arrow have released his films Soldier and Event Horizon in recent times – hopefully they will keep going with more of his output.
The picture really pops in the first film, thanks in no small part to some very nicely designed and coloured sets and lighting. Anderson, if anything, does know how to make real sets look real good. Hopefully, something he’ll come back to later in his career and avoid all the CGI route he’s been on largely in the 2000s.
This then, is a decent set of imperfect films. Not a flawless victory, but a victory nonetheless.
Steven Hurst
2-DISC 4K ULTRA HD LIMITED EDITION CONTENTS
• Brand new 4K restorations of the two films by Arrow Films
• 4K (2160p) Ultra HD Blu-ray presentation in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible) of the two films
• Original DTS-HD MA 5.1 surround audio and lossless stereo audio on both films
• Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing for both films
• Collectors’ perfect-bound booklet featuring new writing on the films by Simon Ward and John Torrani
• Reversible sleeves featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Matt Griffin
• Two double-sided foldout posters featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Matt Griffin
DISC 1 – MORTAL KOMBAT
• 4K restoration of the film from the original camera negative by Arrow Films approved by director Paul W.S. Anderson
• Brand new audio commentary with director Paul W.S. Anderson
• Brand new audio commentary with comic book expert and podcast host Dave Baxter
• Cage Match, a newly filmed interview with actor Linden Ashby
• Leveling Up, a newly filmed interview with cinematographer John R. Leonetti
• Quarters to Millions, a newly filmed interview with producer Lawrence Kasanoff
• The Heavyweight, a newly filmed interview with designer and suit performer Tom Woodruff
• Mortal Kombat: A Journey Behind the Scenes featurette
• On-set interview bites with the cast and director and B-roll footage
• Theatrical trailers
• Image gallery
DISC 2 – MORTAL KOMBAT: ANNIHILATION
• 4K restoration of the film from the original camera negative by Arrow Films approved by director John R. Leonetti
• Brand new audio commentary with director John R. Leonetti moderated by filmmaker Gillian Wallace Horvat
• Brand new audio commentary with comic book expert and podcast host Dave Baxter
• The Queen of the Night, a newly filmed interview with actor Musetta Vander
• Techno, Taiko, Orcho, a newly filmed interview with composer George S. Clinton
• The Man of a Thousand Deaths, a newly filmed interview with stunt performer J.J. Perry, who played Cyrax, Scorpion and Noob Saibot
• On-set interview bites with the cast and director and B-roll footage
• Theatrical trailer
• Image gallery
Mortal Kombat Kollection 4K is out on 29th June.