Mortal Kombat II: Annihilation

MOVIE DESCRIPTION:

Just when you thought the game was over, along comes the second movie inspired by the popular video game Mortal Kombat. While Liu Kang (Robin Shou) led his warriors Princess Kitana (Talisa Soto), Sonya Blade (Sandra Hess), Rayden (James Remar), and Johnny Cage (Chris Conrad) to victory, and the safety of the world seemed certain, no one counted on the treachery of Shao-Kahn (Brian Thompson), the evil Emperor of the Outerworld, who has a new plan to overtake the Earth. Shao-Kahn has discovered a portal between Earth and Outerworld, and if it stays open for seven days, the two worlds will merge, with Shao-Kahn controlling both planets. Rayden and Sonya set out to find his colleague Jax (Lynn Red Williams), while Liu Kang and Kitana are on the trail of Nightwolf (Litefoot) as they race against time to defeat Shao-Kahn, who has brought Kitana's mother Queen Sindel (Musetta Vander) back from the grave to aid his evil scheme. Mortal Kombat II: Annihilation marked the directorial debut of cinematographer John R. Leonetti. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

DVD FEATURES:

• Region: 1
• Number of Discs: 1
• Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 (Theatre Wide Screen)
• Screen: Pan and Scan
• Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1
• Features:
  • Widescreen and full-frame versions of the film
  • Kombatant biographies
  • 3-D computer models
  • Character sketches
  • Set designs
  • Special "Jump to Fight" feature
  • Original theatrical trailer
  • Animated menus

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

• Cast:

  
       Robin Shou - Liu Kang
       Talisa Soto - Kitana
       James Remar - Rayden
       Sandra Hess - Sonya Blade
       Lynn Red Williams - Jax
       Brian Thompson - Shao-Kahn
       Reiner Schoene - Shinnok
       Musetta Vander - Sindel
       Irina Pantaeva - Jade
       Deron McBee - Motaro
       Marjean Holden - Sheeva
       Litefoot - Nightwolf
       Dana Hee - Mileena

• Director:

  John R. Leonetti

• Producer:

  Lawrence Kasanoff

• Screenwriter:

  Brent V. Friedman, Bryce Zabel

• Cinematographer:

  Matthew Leonetti

• Composer (Music Score):

  George S. Clinton

• Editor:

  Peck Prior

• Production Designer:

  Charles J.H. Wood

• Art Director:

  Nathan Schroeder

• Co-producer:

  Kevin Reidy

• Associate Producer:

  Joshua Wexler

• Executive Producer:

  Carla Fry, Alison Savitch, Brian Witten

• Costume Designer:

  Jennifer Parsons

• Sound/Sound Designer:

  John Midgley

• First Assistant Director:

  Lee Cleary

• Stunts:

  Ray Park

• Casting:

  Fern Champion, Mark Paladini

• Fights Choreographer:

  Robin Shou

• Special Effects Supervisor:

  Chuck Comisky, Alison Savitch

• Second Unit Director:

  Pat E. Johnson

• Short Story Author:

  Tobias John

REVIEW:

• Continuing in the tradition of shockingly putrid video game film adaptations, comes this sequel to Paul W.S. Anderson's surprise hit version of the fighting game Mortal Kombat. Whereas the first film was a guilty schlock pleasure, this sequel is an exercise in the art of genuinely beautiful trash cinema. Directed by acclaimed cinematographer John R. Leonetti, the film portends bad things when the star of the original, Christopher Lambert, is replaced by James Remar and one of the first film's big heroes, Johnny Cage (Chris Conrad), is killed off in the first ten minutes. Mortal Kombat: Annihilation never takes the foot off the accelerator as our heroes fight endless kung fu robots, travel under the Earth in giant balls, and encounter creatures made with some the most offensive CGI effects ever seen. In between all of this, the audience gets to hear some gloriously stupid dialogue and acting so bad it's no shock that much of the film's cast has yet to be seen onscreen since. Perhaps the slogan "Destroy All Expectations" was meant not as a tool to sell the film to the video game-obsessed youth at whom it was targeted, but as a warning to all going into Mortal Kombat Annihilation expecting any kind of reality onscreen. Lovers of extreme cinema will delight in the film, which has already found a devoted cult following, but all others are recommended to keep an extreme distance. ~ Jason Gibner, Rovi