Parents' Guide to Mortal Kombat: Annihilation

Movie PG-13 1997 95 minutes
Mortal Kombat: Annihilation movie poster

Common Sense Media Review

Alistair Lawrence By Alistair Lawrence , based on child development research. How do we rate?

age 13+

Dated video game adaptation has fantasy violence, peril.

Parents Need to Know

Why Age 13+?

Any Positive Content?

Parent and Kid Reviews

age 9+

Based on 2 parent reviews

age 13+

Based on 1 kid review

What's the Story?

MORTAL KOMBAT: ANNIHILATION follows a group of fighters -- led by Raiden (James Remar) -- who must join forces to stop an alien invasion.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say ( 2 ):
Kids say ( 1 ):

A critical and commercial fatality, this fantasy action-adventure flopped so hard it sent its characters back to their original, video-game realm until a 2021 live-action reboot. With its garish purple skies, a pumping techno soundtrack playing in almost every scene, and special effects that show their age as well as plenty of jagged edges, Mortal Kombat: Annihilation is a type of mainstream action movie that doesn't exist anymore -- arguably for good reason. There was never any real demand for threadbare dialogue yelled over dust-ups on rickety sets, even if the whole thing did tie-in with an enduringly popular gaming franchise.

The plot -- as much as there is one -- punches and kicks its way into being without the classic Mortal Kombat tournament setup of its 1995 predecessor. Instead, the heroes have six days to save the world, but it feels more like Groundhog Day, given the repetitive nature of the fight scenes. The cast (literally) throw themselves into proceedings as well as can be expected, but you certainly wouldn't class seeing this long-forgotten cinematic dud as a matter of life and death.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about the violence in Mortal Kombat: Annihilation. How was it different to violence in real life? Did you find the action sequences exciting, scary, or both?

  • The film is a spin-off of a popular gaming franchise. How are movies and video games similar? How are they different? What makes a successful movie adaptation of a video game?

  • Talk about the movie's special effects. How were they different to modern CGI? Did you find them distracting?

Movie Details

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by

Mortal Kombat: Annihilation movie poster

What to Watch Next

Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.

See how we rate