Mortal Kombat Kollection 4K UHD Review

4 star restoration of a true 90’s guilty pleasure.

Mortal Kombat Kollection comprises Mortal Kombat, an American martial arts fantasy film originally released in 1995 and directed by Paul W.S. Anderson (Soldier, Event Horizon) as well as the 1997 sequel Mortal Kombat Annihilation, directed by John R. Leonetti (Annabelle, The Silence).

Both films are based on the hit video game series Mortal Kombat, bringing our favourite fighting characters to glorious buttkicking life on the screen. They have both enjoyed a full director approved 4K restoration and the Kollection is available to own now on 4K UHD, courtesy of Arrow Video.

“Get over here!”

Mortal Kombat is a martial arts competition which takes place once a generation between the Mortal Realm of Earth and the dimension of Outworld. If Outworld wins ten consecutive contests, they will invade and conquer the Earthrealm. Unfortunately for the current set of Earth representatives, they are on their ninth straight defeat and consequently, the fate of the Earth is in their hands.

Defender of Earthrealm and God of Thunder Raiden (Christopher Lambert – Highlander, Kickboxer: Retaliation) has selected three contestants to represent Earth, Shaolin monk Lui Kang (Robin Shou – Death Race, Mortal Enemies), action film star Johnny Cage (Linden Ashby – Trust, Purple Hearts) and Special Forces Officer Sonya Blade (Bridgette Wilson-Sampras – I Know What You Did Last Summer).

Each have their own agenda, Lui seeks revenge over tournament host Shang Tsung (Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa – 47 Ronin, Tekken) for the murder of his brother, Sonya seeks justice for her partner, murdered by crime boss Kano (Trevor Goddard – Deep Rising, Men of War) and Cage just wants to prove that he isn’t a fake. They arrive at Shang Tsung’s island, where they will meet some familiar faces such as Sub-zero (Francois Petit – First Strike), Scorpion (Chris Casamassa – It’s Dark Here) and Kitana (Talisa Soto – La Mission, Flypaper). Let battle commence!

“Flawless victory!”

Mortal Kombat Annihilation takes place immediately following the events of Mortal Kombat, as the armies of the Emperor of Outworld Shao Kahn (Brian Thompson – The Terminator, Cobra) begin to flood through into the Earthrealm. Since Earth should now be safe for at least a generation, Lord Raiden (James Remar – Oppenheimer, Dexter (TV Series)) is desperate to find out how he has managed to break the rules and invade anyway.

He has resurrected Princess Kitana’s dead mother Sindel (Musetta Vander – Wild Wild West,  Kicking and Screaming) and believe reuniting them is the key to victory. Once again the fate of Earth is on the line, as Sonya Blade (Sandra Hess – Encino Man) seeks the help of her former partner Jax (Lynn ‘Red’ Williams – Middle Man) and Kitana (Talisa Soto) and Liu (Robin Shou) set out to find Nightwolf (Litefoot – The Indian in the Cupboard), who may know the secret to defeating Kahn. Again they face a host of familiar faces, including Jade (Irina Pantaeva – Zoolander), Motaro (Deron McBee – T-Force) and Sheeva (Marjean Holden – Hostage). Can our heroes prevail?

“The Earth was created in six days; so too shall it be destroyed; and on the seventh day, mankind will rest… in peace!”

Mortal Kombat Kollection is an excellent package with plenty of special features including brand new interviews and commentaries and both original and newly commissioned artworks.

Both of the films look great in 4K, with just enough graining to retain the nineties vibe, but plenty of crispy detail. The first film does look better than the sequel as the special effects were much better and fall down a bit in the second film. It’s a shame so few of the actors reprised their roles from the original, the replacements are good but it stands out more when you watch the films back to back.

All in all, this release drips with nostalgia and it’s great to see a video game film adaptation which actually works, a rare creature indeed. Well worth adding to your 4K collection.

“The essence of Mortal Kombat is not about death, but life. Mortal men and women defending your own world.”

Mortal Kombat Kollection is available to own now on Limited Edition 4K UHD.

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 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