What? You don’t recognize the Lambert name? Shame on you! Ok, not really. Lambert is best known for playing an immortal in “Highlander” and Lord Raiden (the God of Thunder) in the 1995 video game movie adaptation — “Mortal Kombat”.
What better way than to bring Lambert back into the limelight than by having him team up with international martial arts legend, Jean Claude Van Damme (who, rather ironically, played Guile in the video game movie adaptation “Street Fighter” (1994)?
Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. The crazy doesn’t end there though. Lambert is set to portray a villain in a sequel to a rebooted series that hasn’t even come out yet. This rebooted series begins with “Kickboxer: Vengeance”, which is set to come out in theaters on September 2nd. ‘Vengeance’ will star JCVD, Dave Bautista, Gina Carano and Alain Moussi. Check out the trailer for “Kickboxer: Vengeance” below!
The producers believe ‘Vengeance’ will be a big enough hit that they have already started principal photography on the sequel, “Kickboxer: Retaliation”. The cast continues to get more interesting though. “Game of Thrones” star Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson (The Mountain) will be set as the movie big bad, with Lambert playing a godfather of underground fighting and a scientist who helped create Bjornsson’s character using HGH, steroids, etc.
Classic JCVD in “Kickboxer” (1989).
‘Vengeance’ is directed by John Stockwell (“Into the Blue”, “Blue Crush”). Well, at least I really enjoyed “Blue Crush”. The sequel, ‘Retaliation’, is set to be directed by Dimitri Logothetis.
I’m surprised there isn’t a movie title predictor for Jean Claude Van Damme’s upcoming movies. Just saying. A betting man would find as many synonyms for ‘revenge’ as possible.
It’s Van Damme and company versus Christopher Lambert and his ‘warriors’ in this edition of Cinematic Showdown. It was the 1990s and video game adaptations were just starting to take off (not really) with “Super Mario Bros.” (a movie hate crime), “Double Dragon” (please stop), and “Wing Commander” (nope). Suffice it to say; what is arguably the most seen of these adaptations were “Mortal Kombat” and “Street Fighter”. Both of these are based off wildly successful video game series (duh!) and both had adaptations that came out within a year of each other. With these similarities, I thought it fitting to throw these two in the ring with each other.
Notes:
“Mortal Kombat” was directed by Paul W.S. Anderson, who later went on to annoy you with the “Resident Evil” films. Certainly not to ever be confused with prolific director, Paul Thomas Anderson (“Boogie Nights”, “There Will Be Blood”).
“Street Fighter” was directed by Steven E. de Souza. He hasn’t done anything high profile since ‘Fighter’. This is probably for good reason.
Factors to consider in this showdown:
1.Story – How well are these characters brought to life? Is the movie engaging?
2.Performances – This aspect sticks out the most. We have the talents of Robin Shou (also known for “Beverly Hills Ninja”), Bridgette Wilson (before she was Mrs. Pete Sampras), Christopher Lambert (the “Highlander”), and Jean Claude Van Damme (who is arguably one of the biggest martials arts stars in the world). I hope you know I’m being sarcastic! I wouldn’t call any of these actors ‘real actors’.
3.Fight Choreography – This is a unique category that is obviously a big part of both of these movies.
4.Box Office – How much money did these movies make?
5.Rotten Tomatoes – aggregator website that statistically creates a consensus amongst other known critics.
6.Legacy – How is the film viewed today? Is it remembered fondly?
1.Story
“Mortal Kombat”
It begins very serious (with Liu Kang having a nightmare – Shang Tsung killing his brother, Chan, for some unknown reason) and then deviates (and quickly) into sheer out there land. It is fitting since these stupid warriors are being recruited by Thunder God, Raiden (a laughing Christopher Lambert), to some alternate dimension (called Outworld) in a fight to the death competition called (you guessed it) ‘Mortal Kombat’.
These warriors (Kang, Cage, and Sonya) all really joined the tournament because they seek revenge or, in Johnny Cage’s case, seek to show the public that he’s not just some action movie star but can kick a$$ off screen. The Cage subplot doesn’t make sense either as the entire tournament is not taking place on Earth, where no one can be witness to his ‘feats’ or his splits/balls punch to Goro.
Trivia: Van Damme was the inspiration for Johnny Cage in the “Mortal Kombat” video game ironically.
I still don’t know the rationale behind having Raiden on screen but not fighting. I mean, he’s one of the gods but also an inter-dimensional recruiter of some kind? Okay, I’ll relax. It’s just a video game movie. ‘A’ doesn’t always have to equal ‘B’. Ok, so in the end everyone gets redeemed and the Earth is saved, well, until Shao Kahn appears stating he wants everyone’s souls or something. The story was run of the mill but it was gratifying and fun to watch. My personal favorite was the Liu Kang and Reptile fight.
“Street Fighter”
Whereas “Mortal Kombat” may have been a predictable film, “Street Fighter” was a roundabout mess. In it, you have obscure characters briefly appearing in the film (Dee Jay, Zangief, Dhalsim) to one of the worst performances to go ‘out on’ – referring to Raul Julia’s General M. Bison (this was Julia’s last film). The plot surrounds how two forces are at war with one another in a Southeast Asian city (Shadaloo City) – Dictator Bison versus the Allied Nations (a multinational military) led by Colonel Guile (Jean Claude Van Damme). Bison requests that the Allied Nations must divvy up $20 billion or he will kill off hostages. This doesn’t bode well with Guile.
Meanwhile, two con artists, Ryu (Byron Mann) and Ken (Damian Chapa) try to swindle criminals Sagat (Wes Studi) and Vega (Jay Tavare) but are eventually captured by Guile and his men. Guile recruits them to help find Bison in exchange for their freedom or something. They all end up staging the death of Guile to throw off everyone. Then there’s the other subplot with Chun-Li and her TV broadcasting friends – Balrog and E. Honda wanting revenge against Bison and Sagat but this idea is tossed aside when Guile and his men assault Bison’s base and everyone gets to fight each other. In the end, Guile’s best friend, Blanka, ended up a Frankenstein monster (which was created by Dhalsim (Roshan Seth)), Ryu and Ken redeem themselves, the hostages are safe, and Guile bests Bison. It all ended abruptly with all the fighters striking poses from “Street Fighter II”.
Who has the edge? “Mortal Kombat”. Not even close here. With an actual coherent storyline, ‘Kombat’ uppercuts “Street Fighter”.
2.Performances
“Mortal Kombat”
There are a lot of ‘over the top’ performances in this gem, especially Christopher Lambert, who would rather laugh at his own jokes and impart (what he calls) wisdom on his recruits. Boy, let me tell you though, the performances are all a lot of fun. The movies big bad, Shang Tsung (Cary Tagawa), is written to strictly utter quick, albeit effective one-liners like — “Flawless Victory”, “Your soul is mine!” or “Finish Him!”. From a fan of the video games, this is easy to revel in.
“Street Fighter”
Never give Van Damme a speech in a movie. My goodness! He was supposed to ‘rally’ his troops in a ‘pivotal’ scene of the film. He is almost completely indiscernible due to his strangely thicker than normal accent. Now, if you research a little bit about the production of this film, you’ll find out that Van Damme was going through a divorce and abusing the sh*t out of cocaine. There have been known production problems and many cast members were essentially put on hold between breaks while filming in Thailand (and many were enjoying the country’s prostitutes when they weren’t filming). Even the casting budget, outside of Raul Julia and JCVD, only left so much for the rest of the cast (this explains the lack of star power, especially with the most popular characters of the video game series – Ryu and Ken).
Who has the edge? “Mortal Kombat”. The reason rests with the fact that even though the performances weren’t that believable, you can at least tell that everyone was having a good time. Also, Christopher Lambert is the best worst actor (whenever he speaks English that is).
3.Fight Choreography
“Mortal Kombat”
No one is especially impressive here except Robin Shou, who is an actual martial artist. This is likely why he is featured in more than one fight in the film. However, when you couple the fight scenes with incredible, upbeat music and elaborate (enough) sets and the fight scenes are more impressive than what they really are. Heck, nothing can really beat that “Mortal Kombat” soundtrack.
“Street Fighter”
Benny “the Jet”Urquidez was actually hired to physically train the actors. The Jet is actually a karate champion in his own right. Of course, you have the European Kickboxing Champion and action superstar, Van Damme headlining the film. Although Van Damme may not be able to act (at all), he more than makes up for it in his physicality, athleticism, and screen presence.
Who has the edge? “Street Fighter” actually has more credibility in this arena but certainly doesn’t look as cool without a killer soundtrack to back up action sequences like ‘Kombat’ does.
4. Box Office
“Mortal Kombat” – Production Budget: $18 million (Source: IMDb); Worldwide Take: $122,195,920 (Source: Box Office Mojo)
“Street Fighter” – Production Budget: $35 million ; Worldwide Take: $99,423,521 (Source: Box Office Mojo)
Who has the edge? “Mortal Kombat” bicycle kicks “Street Fighter” to easily being the more profitable film.
5.Rotten Tomatoes Scores
“Mortal Kombat” – 33% Most thought the film had subpar acting and laughable dialogue. (Couldn’t agree more!)
“Street Fighter” – 12% Most critics blamed the campiness and uneven story line.
Who has the edge? “Mortal Kombat”. Geez, those are both some rotten scores. Do these critics know they are watching movies that aren’t meant to be taken ‘that’ seriously?
The WIN: “Mortal Kombat”. That was almost a ‘Flawless Victory’!
I look back on “Mortal Kombat” and smile. It still remains a really fun movie. You’d probably have to pay me to rewatch the disasterpiece that is “Street Fighter” though. What a wasted opportunity. To many, ‘Kombat’ is the best video game film adaptation we have had thus far (yes, even over “Resident Evil”). Will the upcoming “Warcraft” film (debuting June 10th), based off of the “World of Warcraft” online games, be able to take the throne? I remain skeptical. I just hope they have another “Mortal Kombat” film that’ll feature more fatalities, animalities (you transform into your spirit animal and kill your opponent) and babalities (opponents are transformed into babies).
“Mortal Kombat” 
“Street Fighter”
“Mortal Kombat”
“Street Fighter”
I look back on “Mortal Kombat” and smile. It still remains a really fun movie. You’d probably have to pay me to rewatch the disasterpiece that is “Street Fighter” though. What a wasted opportunity. To many, ‘Kombat’ is the best video game film adaptation we have had thus far (yes, even over “Resident Evil”). Will the upcoming “Warcraft” film (debuting June 10th), based off of the “World of Warcraft” online games, be able to take the throne? I remain skeptical. I just hope they have another “Mortal Kombat” film that’ll feature more fatalities, animalities (you transform into your spirit animal and kill your opponent) and babalities (opponents are transformed into babies).
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