Join us below as we rank the Mortal Kombat movie fatalities from the very worst up to the very best.
Shang Tsung - “Your Soul Is Mine”
For a fatality as iconic as Shang Tsung’s Soul Steal fatality, this is where the 2021 movie adaptation really underdelivered. Chin Hang, who plays the sorcerer Shang Tsung in the movie, may have quoted the now-famous line from the 1995 version, but the scene ultimately failed to deliver the shock value that should have with the longtime series protagonist, Kung Lao, having his life and soul sucked out of him for apparently no reason than to serve as motivation for his younger cousin, Liu Kang.
Cole vs Goro
It’s always a good time whenever the Shokan Prince Goro makes an appearance and his entrance in 2021’s Mortal Kombat film did not disappoint. It was awesome seeing him let loose in a non-tournament setting. Kudos to the CGI team as well. Goro looks very believable as much as a four-armed humanoid monstrosity could. Unfortunately, as fun as it was seeing Goro wreak havoc and nearly beat the film’s all-original protagonist, Cole Young, to a pulp, seeing him lose and in such a disappointing fashion is just wrong. Maybe Goro will come back again and give us a more gruesome death or do some more brutal killing himself in subsequent films. For now, though, his death at the hands of Cole stands as one of the low points of the Mortal Kombat movie.
Sonya Vs Mileena
Hands up if you missed how and when Sonya Blade took out Mileena. Chances are, you probably weren’t alone if you missed out on that one. The blink-and-you’ll-miss-it fatality comes just after Sonya Blade gets a chance to use her newly-granted arcana. Unfortunately, as monumental as the affirmation of her being a champion was, Sonya could have used more screentime and gore as she blew a hole on Mileena’s torso. Make no mistake. Sonya gave fans plenty of gore to cheer about. The only thing disappointing about it is how much more gore this moment could have had with just a few minutes more of screentime.
Sub-Zero vs Scorpion (Round 1)
One of the first things that Mortal Kombat does right is set the tone for the rest of the film. The first few minutes literally build up to the rest of the film. But, unlike the modern-day setting of most of the film, the first 7 minutes treated audiences to 17th-century Japan that sets up the century-spanning rivalry between Hanzo Hasashi and Bi-Han. To say that the first 7 minutes is a thing of beauty is only fitting. The only issue we have with it is the fatal blow Bi-Han landed on Hanzo Hasashi could have used, well, a bit more gore. Had that happened, this fatality would have ranked so much higher.
Sonya vs Kano
Anyone could see that a fight between Sonya Blade and the mercenary Kano was imminent and the film did a great job of giving us a memorable fight sequence when that indeed did happen. Story-wise, the fight held a lot of significance. After all, it’s when Sonya Blade finally became one of Earthrealm’s champions. However, what we particularly liked about it is how Sonya used Kano’s ego against him and basically killed him by stabbing him with a garden gnome through his laser eye. Should NetherRealm find themselves wanting to add a new fatality for Sonya Blade in subsequent games, they might want to take inspiration from this moment in the Mortal Kombat movie.
Kano - “Heart Rip”
Kano’s use of his newly-founded power, the Eye Laser, gave Mortal Kombat audiences their first taste of a true fatality. Up against the reptilian version of the ninja, Reptile, Kano doesn’t hesitate to burn the lizard to a crisp and literally rip his heart out. But, what really sets this fatality apart is how the movie marries the comedic aspect of Kano with the sheer brutality of what he’s capable of and the best part here is that it ends with a self-declared “Kano Wins” that all but seals the successful fate of the Mortal Kombat cinematic reboot.
Jax - “Head Clap”
One of the main reasons why I wished for a longer runtime of Mortal Kombat was because it was clear that the film needed a bit more time to develop both the good guys and the bad guys. One of the villains that got shafted and made it hard to root against him was Reiko. Sure, we knew that he was with Shang Tsung, but why? Why is he doing what he is doing? Of course, as disappointing as his entry to the Mortal Kombat film is, his exit is every bit as glorious. What started as a fight between two of the Mortal Kombat films’ least development characters ended with a classic Head Clap fatality from Jax. The icing on the cake lies in the NSFW quip from Jax after realizing just how much of a power boost he got from his arcana.
Liu Kang vs Kabal
You know, the only reason why Liu Kang’s fatality in the Mortal Kombat film ranks this low is that he didn’t turn into an actual dragon. You see, in the games, Liu Kang himself transforms into a dragon that literally bits his opponents in half. But, hey, who are we to complain? This is especially after we got a very welcome consolation prize with Ludi Lin’s Liu Kang unleashing a fire dragon on Kabal, burning him to a crisp. This almost makes up for the fact that Liu Kang spends most of the film looking like the guy you should bully than the one you should fear.
Scorpion - “Fire Breath”
After making numerous references to Hanzo Hasashi throughout the film, the legendary ninja himself, now known as Scorpion, finally makes his appearance near the end of the movie as he helps out his descendant, Cole Young, do battle against his clan’s bitter rival and murderer, Bi-Han, who has since adopted his iconic monicker, Sub-Zero. As you might expect, the climax is as very bit as epic as it should be. It features some excellent 1v1 fight sequences between Sub-Zero and Scorpion before culminating in Scorpion using his trademark Fire Breath fatality to end Sub-Zero. While using Split Decision would have made for a more gory fatality, we definitely feel that his use of his hellish flames was fitting as the final fatality for the Mortal Kombat film.
Kung Lao - “Hat Decapitation”
Max Huang’s Kung Lao spends most of the Mortal Kombat film acting taking on the “tough guy” role of NetherRealm’s champions. However, the film never really did explain too much about why others should respect him as basically their de-facto leader. Perhaps this is also why the moment that he made his power known stands out as he shows everyone else on EarthRealm’s side just what kind of fate awaits them should they decide to cross over. Seeing Kung Lao cut a flying vampire in half using his hat is a thing of beauty and will forever look amazing. The fact that Kung Lao decides soon after doesn’t diminish just how awesome this fatality was.
