Mortal Kombat: Annihilation is a so-bad-its-good kind of movie. The movie is a sequel to the successful original Mortal Kombat movie, but a combination of new actors for old roles and a disconnected storyline doomed it to fail at the box office.
It's incredibly fun for what it is: a romp through the Mortal Kombat universe with unapologetic 90's filming techniques and motifs. Look past the nightmarish 3D animation and don't take it too seriously and you just might have a great time with this cheesy martial arts flick.
Updated November 8, 2021 by Erik Petrovich: Mortal Kombat: Annihilation is one of those films that will never truly disappear. Yes, it is not considered "good" by any stretch of the imagination, but the movie is so over-the-top in its awfulness that it can still be entertaining. As a property, Mortal Kombat is as popular in 2021 as it was in 1997, with the franchise even producing a decent film that might be used as a launching pad for more stories. For all of its flaws, Mortal Kombat: Annihilation does have quite a few fascinating facts attached to it. This article has been expanded to include a few more.
13 Mileena Is Played By Dana Hee, A Gold Medalist Olympian...
Mileena is known to Mortal Kombat fans for her terrifying set of chompers which have been a part of her character since the very start. In Mortal Kombat Annihilation, though, the audience doesn't get to see Mileena's iconic fanged mouth, as its hidden by a pink face mask (similar to how she looks while fighting in the games.)
Dana Hee, the 1988 Olympic Gold Medalist for Taekwondo, was the actress behind the mask. Interestingly enough, she was also the stunt double for Kitana in the first Mortal Kombat movie, and in the series' lore Mileena is a kind of evil-clone-copy of Kitana, meaning that Dana Hee playing both characters makes sense, in a way.
12 ...And Motaro and Jax Are Played By American Gladiators
While it might be more impressive to many to win an Olympic Gold Medal, the show American Gladiators was home to its own champions of martial and physical prowess too. Two of these American Gladiators were featured in Mortal Kombat Annihilation: Deron McBee and Lynn "Red" Williams.
Deron McBee played the centaur warrior Motaro (with two legs, as opposed to four) and Lynn "Red" Williams played Jax. The original casting choice for Jax was Michael Jai White, but he left the movie when he was cast in "Spawn". Later on, White would be cast as Jax again in Mortal Kombat: Legacy.
11 Sheeva's Quick Death Was Due To Budget Cuts
Sheeva is shown in Mortal Kombat Annihilation as a kind of feminine version of Prince Goro, though there's nothing dainty about this bestial warrior. Sheeva hails from Outworld and also has four limbs, but while Goro was able to show all all of his brawn and skill in the first Mortal Kombat movie, Sheeva never really got a chance to in the sequel.
Played by Marjean Holden, Sheeva was supposed to show off her skills in several special effects-led scenes. Because the movie's budget was slashed in production, these scenes had to be cut, and as a result Sheeva's death feels much faster than it probably ought to.
10 It's Loosely Based On The Mortal Kombat 3 Storyline
Mortal Kombat 3's storyline was based around Shao Kahn, recently defeated by Liu Kang, who revived Queen Sindel not in Outworld but in Earthrealm. He reached across the realms to take her once again, unintentionally merging Outworld and Earthrealm in the process.
The movie differs slightly from this plot (Queen Sindel is just called "the Key" to Shao Kahn's portals) and Shao Kahn had not yet faced Liu Kang at the beginning of Mortal Kombat Annihilation. Otherwise, though, the story is very much the same in an overarching sense.
9 In The Script, Nightwolf Wears a Stone Temple Pilots Shirt
In the original filming script and novelization of Mortal Kombat Annihilation, Nightwolf had a bit more of a grungy look. Nightwolf originally wore Oakleys and wore a Stone Temple Pilots t-shirt instead of his iconic Native American appearance.
The film came out in 1997, a few years after Grunge took the world by storm and when the Stone Temple Pilots were at their height. It would have been odd to see Nightwolf in Outworld with a Stone Temple Pilots shirt, but then again, there are weirder things that happen in Mortal Kombat Annihilation that were left in.
8 Only Two Actors Reprised Their Roles
Robin Shou and Talisa Soto (Liu Kang and Kitana, respectively) were the only two actors from the original movie who reprised their roles in Mortal Kombat Annihilation. Raiden, Sonya Blade, Johnny Cage, and even the masked specters Scorpion and Sub-Zero were played by new actors.
Most of these actors simply refused to sign onto the new project – even though Johnny Cage is only in the movie for the beginning scene, Linden Ashby (the character's actor in the first movie) declined to take the role again because of the awful script. Additionally, Christopher Lambert had other priorities with his 1999 movie Beowulf.
7 Jax's Bionic Arms Are Given A Completely New Origin Story
Jax's bionic arms are as iconic to his character as Scorpion is to the game itself. Jax's arms becoming bionic have many different origins throughout the games, but in all scenarios, his original arms are forcefully ripped off by an enemy – generally Sub-Zero or Kabal.
In Mortal Kombat Annihilation, however, Jax's bionic arms are merely coverings for his still-attached arms. Raiden comments on how his new arms will just get in his way, and in the final scene of the film, he simply discards them.
6 There Are More Than 50 Flips Throughout The Film
Mortal Kombat Annihilation is an acrobatics-heavy movie, even more so than the first Mortal Kombat film. In fact, according to IMDB, there are 54 total flips that take up significant screen space throughout the hour and a half movie. That's about a flip every minute and a half.
There are several infamous scenes where a character flips for no apparent reason. When Shao Kahn talks to his father Shinnok about Raiden, for example, he does a front flip off of his throne just for show. Perhaps they were going for a record...
5 Ray Park (Star Wars' Darth Maul) Debuted In Annihilation
Ray Park, known for his role as Darth Maul in Star Wars Episode One: The Phantom Menace, had his first movie role in Mortal Kombat Annihilation. He plays Raiden's fight double, as well as a raptor and one of the unnamed Tarkatans that fight Liu Kang.
Ray Park had a much more successful career than this movie's prospects. Without this initial foray into movie stunts, we might never have gotten the iconic Star Wars villain.
4 Robin Shou (Liu Kang) Was Also The Fight Choreographer
Robin Shou (right) played two roles in Mortal Kombat Annihilation, one on-screen as Liu Kang, and one off-screen as the movie's fight choreographer. Most of the fights in the movie are not badly choreographed at all, especially for the time and the scope of the film.
However, Shou blames not being on-set for the film's subpar Scorpion vs Sub Zero fight. He said during an anniversary screening of the film that the rhythm of the fight was all off and blamed the shooting schedule for the misstep.
3 There Was A Planned Sequel That Was Scrapped
Despite Mortal Kombat Annihilation's bad reviews and low box office sales, there was a third movie planned in the 90's Mortal Kombat franchise. Rumored to be titled Mortal Kombat: Devastation, the film would have recast the original actors from the first Mortal Kombat movie in their respective roles and continued the story as if Mortal Kombat Annihilation never happened.
For some reason or another, the plans fell through. Online rumors claim that the movie set was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina in 2005, but it's never been officially confirmed whether this is true or not.
2 The Co-Creator of Mortal Kombat Hated Annihilation
Ed Boon, one of the creators of the Mortal Kombat games, has gone on record against the movie altogether. He said that he hates Mortal Kombat: Annihilation, perhaps because it was not true to the original source material of the games at all. Ed Boon is famously referenced in-game with the character Noob Saibot, whose name backwards is the combination of the co-creators' names.
The director of the first Mortal Kombat movie Paul W.S. Anderson and Liu Kang's actor Robin Shou also both said that they disliked this movie during a fan Q&A session.
1 John R Leonetti and James Wan Worked On Annabelle Together
James Wan, the director of the forthcoming Mortal Kombat 2021 reboot, and John R Leonetti, the director of Mortal Kombat: Annihilation both worked together. James Wan was a producer for 2014's Annabelle, which John R Leonetti directed.
It was the first movie he had directed in a number of years. It's probably pure coincidence that they both worked together, but nonetheless interesting that their collaboration was on a horror film, not a martial arts flick.