Earth's strongest warriors have only six days to stop
​an invasion from the Outworld emperor Shao Kahn.

ACTION/FANTASY

Mortal Kombat: Annihilation (1997)

Directed by John R. Leonetti 
 
Written by Brent V. Friedman and Bryce Zabel 
 
Starring Robin Shou, Talisa Soto, James Remar, Sandra Hess,
Lynn Red Williams, Brian Thompson, Reiner Schone,
Musetta Vander, Irina Pantaeva 
 
Sequel to 1995’s Mortal Kombat 
 
Based on the video game from Midway Games 

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Caleb Leger

May 2, 2021

1/10

Dear God. I finally sat through this travesty of a film. After the huge success of the original film, work was quickly done to get a sequel made. Now, whereas the original was a huge hit and has become a beloved cult classic; this has not had that luxury. Instead, Annihilation has regularly been regarded as one of the worst sequels and films ever made. Not only did it flop horrendously at the box office and failed to connect to both audiences and critics; it also stalled the film franchise for over two decades. But I decided to check it out and complete my viewing of these films. In short, I immensely regret this one and never want to see it again. As for my longer review, keep on reading. 
 
First, I don’t think I’ve ever sat through a film so intent on shoving as many characters as it can during its runtime to the point where I was losing track of who’s who and what their purpose was to the plot. Speaking of plot, this is almost nonexistent as there is never a time where they slow down and try to explain anything. Instead, the filmmakers rely on a completely recast roster of characters and terrible fight scenes in the hope fans won’t notice. Or, worse, care. And, before I go on, that’s right, only two actors from the original film come back for this sequel. Literally everyone else is played by a different actor. The last thing I want to rant about is the beyond terrible CGI. From the horrendously made supernatural creatures to clear moments where the background is fake, this film helps prove why CGI can suck at times. 
 
To keep it simple, this film sucks. The story sucks. The fight scenes suck. The CGI especially sucks. And only two original cast members return. I can see why fans hate this film and why it stalled the film franchise for over two decades. This film performed one hell of a fatality to fans.