Video summary

Mortal Kombat: Annihilation - Movie Review

Main summary

Key takeaways

Entertainment

Overall Setup

The review opens by highlighting the speaker’s long-running disdain for Mortal Kombat: Annihilation—a sequel to the 1995 film. The reviewer and their brother quickly agree that it isn’t as good as the original.

The main “hang-up” is that it’s painful/hard to get through, and the video essentially reads as a guided takedown.

Main Critique / Plot Framing

  • The movie includes a recap, but the reviewer argues it backfires: if you’re watching Annihilation, you’ve likely already seen the first film.
    • The recap mostly underlines how drastically worse this movie looks.
  • The story is described as “just a series of fights” instead of a cohesive, character-driven plot.
    • While there’s an invasion/Outworld premise, the reviewer says there’s not enough narrative glue to justify the matches—or make you care.

Standout Highlights & Recurring Jokes/Reactions

  • Shao Kahn laughing through the dialogue
    • The reviewer repeatedly points out that Shao Kahn sounds like he’s holding back amusement, making the villain feel oddly out of place.
  • Johnny Cage’s death in the intro
    • The reviewer notes that Johnny Cage is played by a different actor than in the first movie.
    • They joke the death could’ve been handled better, while acknowledging there’s at least some timeline justification.
  • “Porn-quality acting”
    • The review criticizes the acting as stiff and unintentionally awkward, repeatedly calling out delivery and emotion that don’t land.
  • Bad CGI and green screen problems
    • Multiple examples are cited, including visible seams/sky artifacts and instances where characters/backgrounds clip through each other.

Lore & Character Relationship Failures

The reviewer’s biggest disappointment is the lack of Mortal Kombat character and lore integration—it feels like someone unfamiliar with the games slapped concepts together.

A pointed example:

  • Smoke and Sub-Zero’s relationship
    • The reviewer acknowledges the story potential (Smoke assimilated into a cyborg state),
    • but says the movie reduces it to simplistic beats: “freeze, then kick him, then blow him up.”

They also criticize the movie for not making matchups feel earned:

  • Matchups don’t make sense
    • The reviewer contrasts expected rival pairings (including who Mileena “should” fight) versus what the movie delivers.
    • They argue the fights are mostly non-canon arcade-style combinations chosen to happen, rather than based on established relationships.

Sonya and Jax are another major frustration:

  • They’re supposed to be tight partners, but Jax is confused the whole time while Sonya never explains anything.
  • The reviewer’s frustration comes from how the film keeps characters in the dark and treats it like it doesn’t matter.

Action Moments and “So Bad It’s Memorable” Bits

  • A joke frames Shao Kahn ordering a “poker face” while forcing victims to beg for their lives—portrayed as a dumb boss routine.
  • Editing makes geography incomprehensible
    • Locations and transitions feel like instant teleportation/fast travel, not real movement.
  • The reviewer “checks out” a Shiva fight and moves on, implying it’s also not satisfying.
  • Animalities receive special attention
    • The reviewer says they feel underwhelming and notes the movie oddly treats them like they’re somehow canon.
    • They single out that the Animality CGI/dragon looks especially bad—“like something drawn by a child”—making it one of the most notorious parts of the movie.
    • They also note there are no Babalities.

Final Verdict

The reviewer contrasts:

  • Mortal Kombat (the first movie): framed as an earnest attempt to bring lore and characters to film, with recognizable villain charisma.
  • Annihilation: framed as fight scenes stitched together without coherent storytelling.

They conclude that Annihilation is among the worst video game adaptations, and should be enjoyed only as a “shit-talk fest” with friends, not something to watch seriously in silence.

Ending punchline: “Mortal Kombat Annihilation is dog [bleep] Fatality,” i.e., their worst-of-the-worst rating.

Personalities Mentioned (Appearing in the Video)

  • Shao Kahn
  • Johnny Cage
  • Raiden (and his stunt double)
  • Reptile
  • Sub-Zero
  • Smoke
  • Mileena
  • Sonya
  • Jax
  • Cyrax
  • Liu Kang
  • Shang Tsung (referenced via comparison to MK11)
  • Rain, Jade, Sindel, Shiva, Nightwolf (referenced in the critique)

Original video