Mortal Kombat

I found Mortal Kombat Conquest to be a much more entertaining series than any of the movies. The plot is created in such a way that it allows the underlying story to evolve over multiple series and not be resolved in a mere 120 minutes like the movies. It is much more interesting to watch because of its myriad of different storylines. In addition, there are many more hot looking scantily dressed gals in the series, which is also a plus. Just love the redhead Taja played by Kristanna Loken. However, I never knew that people were so glamorous and fashionably dressed in ancient times, oh well!

I missed 99% of Mortal Kombat: Conquest's episodes when they originally aired. I have been able to see what I missed on VCD... and I missed one truly cool show! The acting isn't great, the plot's are a little convoluted and the FX are weak. On the flip side, the characters are entertaining, Kristianna Loken is HOT (so is Audie Englund who plays Kitana in 'Shadow of a Doubt'), the fights are spectacular (better than the fights in the pathetic 'Mortal Kombat: Annihilation') and the music is kickin! A fun show that isn't serious in the slightest degree. Get a soda, sit back and enjoy the show. Too bad it never went past one season.

This is probably the best of the video game to TV adaptation that I've seen. Threshold did an excellent job in the way that they mixed the gaming element: characters such as Kung Lao, Rayden, Sub-Zero, Scorpion, Shang Tsung, and even the legendary Noob Saibot... with the movie elements, bringing new characters such as Taja, Vorpax, and Siro just to name a few. Perhaps one of the greatest aspects is the true fighting skill the actors, actresses, and in some cases, stunt doubles, display. This isn't the old "Biff" "Pow" type episode. It is very well-done martial arts being displayed, and quite energizing to watch! Congrats on a job well done!

Despite the disappointing beginnings, this series really picks up speed for a thrilling finale which certainly left me a bit stunned.

At the start of the series it seemed this was just another lame TV program which would be cancelled after five shows; the fight scenes and Taja were the only things which kept your interest while the stories tailed off half way through. However the more episodes you saw, more characters were added and as the acting improved, so did the plots.

By the end Conquest had made up for both the early episodes and the awful Annihilation. The only questions that remain are as to whether there will be another series and just why Taja was hardly ever involved in the fights after an impressive first bout.

As good as could be expected.

I'll be the first to admit that, when I first saw this series back in 1998 following WCW Monday Nitro on TNT, I did not like it. I watched the pilot episodes and a third one and thought "oh gawd!" I stopped watching until I happened to catch an episode near the end of the season. Something much bigger was happening in the show, on screen and off screen. The writing felt compelling and pulled me into the series, the acting improved ten fold, and the direction of the show was clever and complex. What started out as a rather tame and slow show developed into a deep character driven show. Conquest if it was filled the senseless violence and rest of the traits of the games would have made a poor show. It never would have made the light of day in a theater or on the small screen. Remember any fatalities in either of the movies? Me neither. When it comes to Conquest, despite a low, very low budget the writers and producers had enough faith to just focus on the show and not the politics at the network. The finale of the show proves how risky pays off and makes you wonder who was sick enough to pull off such a nihilistic ending. Have you caught Resident Evil (2002)? It was bold and frankly ballsy.

Anyone with an "all-region" dvd player the UK does have more than the one volume on dvd there. You just have to know where to look to get them. I got mine from the UK Amazon.com store. Type in Mortal Kombat and search the dvds, there are five dvd's in total. One of those has 6 episodes, the others are two a piece. These are all cut together into 1hr, 20 min. or better movies on each disc. It's very cool to see it done this way. The first disc with 6 episodes, pulls together the Scorpion and Subzero saga seamlessly. Final Battle is perhaps the most seamless entry on dvd as those two episodes are so tight you won't notice where the original cut off point was to jump to that final episode.