Starring Linden Ashby, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, Robin Shou, Bridgette Wilson, Talisa Soto, and Christopher Lambert, the film follows a group of heroes who participate in the eponymous Mortal Kombat tournament to protect Earth from being conquered by malevolent forces.

Development of a film adaptation began shortly after the release of Mortal Kombat II when independent producer Lawrence Kasanoff acquired the rights from Midway Games.

Shaolin monk Liu Kang, movie star Johnny Cage and Special Forces officer Sonya Blade are chosen by Rayden, the god of thunder and defender of Earthrealm, to prevent Outworld from winning their tenth straight tournament.

Shou was a wushu champion turned Hong Kong stuntman and actor, whose only prior credit in an American film was in the made-for-television feature Forbidden Nights.

Shou, who just quit Hong Kong film industry and returned to the United States, originally turned down the role, because he thought he'd be cast as a stereotypical Asian villain.

The bows of the boats were fitted with ornamental dragon-head carvings and used in the movie as the fighters' secondary transport to Shang Tsung's island from his personal junk.

[16] The film's main fight and stunt coordinator was martial artist Pat E. Johnson, whose previous credits had included Enter the Dragon, The Karate Kid, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

So that gave me the opportunity to come up with an approach I called “Techno-Taiko-Orcho.” My score would have a techno core with a layer of Asian ethnic instruments (Taiko drums, shakuhachi, Tuvan throat singer) surrounded by an orchestra.

The site's critics consensus reads, "Despite an effective otherworldly atmosphere and appropriately cheesy visuals, Mortal Kombat suffers from its poorly constructed plot, laughable dialogue, and subpar acting.

Lisa Schwarzbaum of Entertainment Weekly called Mortal Kombat "a contentedly empty-headed extended advertisement for the joy of joypads (filmed in cheesily ornate cinema de Hong Kong style)" and too noted how it "is notably free of blood and gore.

"[28] Roger Ebert said he was "right in the middle" and noted that the fans might be disappointed by the film's killings being much less brutal than the notoriously violent Mortal Kombat video games.

[29] Marc Savlov from the Austin Chronicle mentioned that, "It's the cinematic equivalent of cotton candy and Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots, but you may recall, you loved that stuff as a kid.

[30] Laura Evenson from San Francisco Chronicle mentioned "Mortal Kombat the movie has everything a teenage boy could want: snakes that jut out of a villain's palms, acrobatic kung- fu fighting and a couple of battling babes.

[31] Kevin Thomas of the Los Angeles Times gave the film a glowing review, writing that "as impressive as the special effects are at every turn, even more crucial is Jonathan Carlson's superb, imaginative production design, which combines Thailand exteriors with vast sets that recall the barbaric grandeur of exotic old movie palaces and campy Maria Montez epics.

John R. Leonetti's glorious, shadowy camera work and George S. Clinton's driving, hard-edged score complete the task of bringing alive the perilous Outworld".

[29] Leonard Klady from Variety awarded the film a 3.5/5 stars, stating, "But where others have sunk in the mire of imitation, director Paul Anderson and writer Kevin Droney effect a viable balance between exquisitely choreographed action and ironic visual and verbal counterpoint".

[33] Kim Newman from Empire magazine said, "By the time the big, world-saving bout comes around, it's hard not to wish that Shung Tsu [sic] would settle the fate of mankind by asking Liu Kang what the capital of Venezuela is... rather than engaging him in yet another round of supernaturally assisted dirty fighting," with a final rating of 3 stars out of 5.

[35][36] Critical re-evaluations have been mixed but mostly positive due to the well-crafted action sequences, the cast performances, and the exotic set designs, and the film is considered a cult classic.

[35][36][37][38][39] A 2020 editorial that discusses the work of Paul WS Anderson on Rotten Tomatoes said of Mortal Kombat, "Critics were split at 47% on the Tomatometer, but audiences loved the electronic soundtrack, creative fight scenes, and diverse cast of committed actors who sacrificed multiple bruised ribs to bless us with some excellent brawls."

The editorial attributed the film's box office success chiefly to its conscious playfulness, asserting that "Anderson and his talented crew knew what they were making, and they made it earnestly.

Mark Ellis agreed with Coley that Mortal Kombat succeeded in this respect, commenting in particular how it mimics the game's minimal plot by focusing on the tournament, creating an experience similar to watching March Madness.

"[38] Screen Rant referred to the choreography as "top notch", the locations as "amazing", the soundtrack as "pure perfection", and the cast as "dedicated and outstanding", but the CGI as cartoonish and "laughable", the violence as not true to the source material, the Goro animatronic as "not even that impressive by 1995 standards", and the portrayals of Scorpion and Sub-Zero as insulting and "completely wasted".

[37] CBR mentioned that Mortal Kombat is "an above-average martial arts classic that was high on fun and easily one of the most rewatchable video game movies, 25 years later".

[37] Christopher Lambert as Lord Rayden has also received positive coverage with JoBlo.com commenting that he "lent the production maturity and star power"[38] while CBR mentioned that he "steals every scene he appears, delivering ridiculous lines like, 'The fate of billions depends upon you,' before laughing and apologizing".

[35] Mortal Kombat 11 paid tribute to the first movie with numerous Easter eggs as well as bringing back Cary Hiroyuki Tagawa to play Shang Tsung in the "Aftermath" storyline.

[42] Subsequent downloadable content would feature voices and likeness from Christopher Lambert, Linden Ashby and Bridgette Wilson-Sampras as Raiden, Johnny Cage and Sonya Blade, respectively.

Serving as a prequel to the feature film, it follows the protagonists Liu Kang, Johnny Cage, and Sonya Blade as they travel on a mysterious boat to the Mortal Kombat tournament.

Upon arriving at the island where the battles take place, Rayden retells the origins of Shang Tsung, Goro, Scorpion, Sub-Zero, and the Great Kung Lao in between fight scenes.

The film featured a combination of traditional animation, motion capture, and CGI to explain the origins behind some of the movie's main characters, as well as a fifteen-minute behind-the-scenes documentary of the theatrical release.

Defenders of the Realm, which aired on the USA Network's Action Extreme Team animation block in 1996, served as an alternative sequel and featured Liu Kang, Kitana, Sub-Zero, Sonya Blade, Jax, Kurtis Stryker, and Nightwolf as the eponymous heroes.