Mortal Kombat III
Genre: Action/Fantasy
Director: Gareth Evans
Writers: APJ & Chad Taylor
Based on the video game series
Cast: Iko Uwais, Jet Li, Ronda Rousey, Scott Adkins, Patrick Wilson, Donnie Yen, Tony Jaa, Julie Estelle, Isabel May, Robert Carlyle, Byung-hun Lee, Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson, Natascha McElhone, Clancy Brown, Ray Park
Plot: In the celestial chamber of the Elder Gods, Shinnok (Robert Carlyle) meets with fellow gods Argus (Clancy Brown) and Cetrion (Natashca McElhone). Looking out over the realms below, Shinnok argues that the balance they have long protected is failing. The Mortal Kombat tournament, once enough to settle disputes between realms, has repeatedly brought them to the brink of destruction instead. He insists the Elder Gods have remained passive too long, allowing chaos to spread while they stand idle. In his view, the realms require stronger leadership... a singular guiding will to preserve order. Argus admits that recent events in Earthrealm and Outworld suggest the current system may no longer be working as intended. Cetrion is less convinced, warning that too much control risks becoming oppression and reminds the others that the realms must retain their autonomy if true balance is to survive. Shinnok calmly dismisses her concerns, insisting he seeks stability, not conquest.
After the council adjourns, Shinnok remains behind in the empty chamber. Once he is certain Argus and Cetrion have departed, he raises a hand and tears open a dark rift in the air. From the shadows emerges Quan Chi (Byung-hun Lee), kneeling before the Elder God. Shinnok dismisses the other gods as weak custodians too afraid to impose true order. Quan Chi listens as Shinnok lays out his vision - the merging of all realms into one under Shinnok’s sole dominion, eliminating any gods or champions who would oppose him. Quan Chi assures him that the dead are already being called back to service, promising that Earthrealm’s champions will soon find themselves fighting enemies they believed long buried.
In a remote Earthrealm desert, a rupture suddenly cracks open in the night sky. Glowing with energy, a young woman is ejected. Cassie Cage (Isabel May) crashes hard, bruised and bloodied, scrambling to her feet in a panic as the portal seals shut behind her. She clutches a futuristic sidearm, scanning her surroundings. Before she can regain her bearings, headlights appear in the distance. Responding to reports of the disturbance, Kurtis Stryker (Patrick Wilson) arrives to the scene as a leader of Earthrealm's inter-realm defense force. Stryker approaches Cassie cautiously. Cassie, startled and defensive, mistakes him for an enemy and attacks first. The two engage in a brief but fierce hand-to-hand fight, Cassie proving surprisingly skilled despite her injuries. Stryker eventually gains the upper hand, pinning her long enough to realize she is frightened more than hostile. Cassie finally lowers her guard and reveals that she is not an invader... she’s from the future. When Stryker asks her name, she hesitates before quietly answering: Cassie Cage. She then delivers the revelation that completely throws him: in her timeline, she is the daughter of Johnny Cage and Sonya Blade, and the future she came from is already doomed.
Before Stryker can get any more answers, the sound of hissing rapidly approaches. From the shadows emerges Reptile (Ray Park), clad in his familiar green garb. Reptile lunges toward Cassie. Cassie fires at him, but Reptile vanishes with unnatural speed, reappearing behind her in a more monstrous form - elongated jaw, sharpened claws, reptilian skin pushing through the fabric of his costume. Stryker shoves Cassie out of the way just as Reptile spits a stream of acid. The fight becomes a brutal two-on-one struggle. Reptile constantly shifts between forms, sometimes fighting with calculated martial arts in his ninja appearance, other times becoming a snarling beast that climbs over rocks and tears through vehicles with animal ferocity. Working together, Cassie and Stryker finally manage to corner him. Suddenly, a swirling inter-realm portal opens beneath Reptile, pulling him backward into darkness. Stryker lowers his weapon and turns back toward Cassie, now breathing heavily and nursing bruised ribs. He asks her plainly who - or what - she really is. Cassie hesitates before admitting the truth again: she is exactly who she claimed to be. In her future, creatures like Reptile are common, the realms are at war, and most of Earthrealm’s defenders are dead. Stryker studies her for a long moment before finally deciding she is either telling the truth, or the most convincing liar he has ever met.
Johnny Cage (Scott Adkins) stands before eight mimes in a hallway, all wielding weapons of various make. “I’m going to make this as quiet as possible,” he says with a smirk. He begins mowing them down and killing them in creative ways, including shoving a ball gag down one’s throat. We hear “Cuuuut!” and the camera pulls out to reveal we’re on the set of Cage’s latest martial arts film, These Fists Were Made For Fighting. The director, a supposed European auteur, is highly critical of Johnny’s work and provides some examples of how he should be fighting. Johnny rolls his eyes and says he can’t take orders from an old man more prone to pulling a hammy mall-walking than doing the splits. The director fumes.
As he enters his dressing room, he is startled to find Sonya Blade (Ronda Rousey) there waiting for him in full combat gear. He asks if this is some kind of kink. She asks what has taken so long, she has been sending him multiple messages. He says shooting ran over, the director is a total hack. “First world problems,” she retorts. He gives her that. This is the routine they’ve fallen into—he plays celebrity, she helps keep Earthrealm safe as part of the defense force. She fills him in on why she has been trying to reach him: she has a concerning message from Stryker. He says there is an urgent matter that requires both her and Johnny.
In the lower Netherrealm, Quan Chi summons his undead army of former mortals, now known as Revenants: Goro (Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson), the four-armed behemoth dethroned by Liu Kang. Legendary assassin Bi-Han (Donnie Yen), better known as Sub-Zero. The man who defeated Sub-Zero, Scorpion (Tony Jaa) - though their revenant form leaves no memory of a former rivalry. As Quan Chi begins to give them their orders, Reptile arrives with his head hung in shame. Quan Chi chastises him for allowing the girl to escape. Reptile, now wounded and enraged, swears vengeance.
Queen Kitana (Julie Estelle) traces the outskirts of the Outworld palace. There she finds Liu Kang (Iko Uwais) in his natural state: going through intense physical training. She motions over to him to take a break. As the stars come out over Outworld, they share a moment of quiet closeness, seated beside one another, her head resting on his shoulder.
Cassie and Stryker head to a secret Earthrealm outpost. He wants her to tell him everything she can about the danger that lies ahead. She reveals the fate of Johnny and Sonya in her future. She gets choked up. Both were killed by corrupted revenants serving Shinnok. Stryker places his hand on her shoulder and promises to protect her and help her reach Johnny and Sonya. But he warns that she’ll need to be careful with what she tells them and not reveal she's their daughter yet. She nods.
In the Netherrealm, Quan Chi gathers his forces: Scorpion, Bi-Han, Goro, and Reptile. He announces Goro and Reptile will be sent to Earthrealm to eliminate its defense leadership on a direct strike on the outpost. Scorpion is tasked with assassinating Queen Kitana in Outworld. Quan Chi believes Liu Kang will collapse emotionally if she dies ("Break the realm, then break the man."). Bi-Han is not given any orders - Quan Chi insists he's saving him for later.
Sonya and Johnny arrive at the outpost Stryker summoned them to and they ask him about his urgency. Stryker apologizes for interrupting the filming of A Dance with Fists, or whatever. He introduces them to Cassie, who he says is from the future. Johnny whispers to Sonya that he always liked that name. Cassie immediately hugs them, overcome with emotion. Johnny is baffled, Sonya alarmed. She calls them mom and dad. Stryker pulls Cassie aside, frustrated — she wasn’t supposed to reveal her identity yet. Cassie reveals that she missed them - they've been killed in her timeline. She tells them the Elder Gods turned tyrannical in the future, but she doesn't know which turned. The group agrees: they need to find Liu Kang or Raiden - someone who understands the gods’ balance - before it's too late.
As Johnny, Sonya, Cassie, and Stryker prepare to mobilize, Reptile and Goro crash through dimensional portals. Reptile uses acidic projectiles and shapeshifting tactics to cause chaos, while Goro tears through defenses. Stryker leads the counter-assault, taking chunks of rotted flesh off of Goro with his gun while Johnny and Sonya take on Reptile on the ground. Cassie joins the fight, which takes Johnny and Sonya by surprise. They try to hold her back out of innate protectiveness but Stryker says she knows what she’s doing. And she knows Reptile’s moves. She motions at Johnny to use his movie-prop nun-chucks to tie up Reptile’s arms. Stryker tosses Cassie a grenade, which she promptly catches, shoves into Reptile’s throat, and then kicks him back to detonate it. Reptile explodes from the inside, his acidic fluids spraying in all directions.
In the royal palace of Outworld, Kitana is attacked when Scorpion emerges from flames. Her guards are slaughtered quickly. Kitana defends herself with her bladed fans, but is slowly overpowered. Liu Kang arrives, unleashing a fireball to drive Scorpion back. Liu Kang and Scorpion have a kinetic fight through the palace ending up on a tower. Liu Kang launches Scorpion off the top with his bicycle kick, but Scorpion teleports away just before hitting the ground.
Back in Earthrealm, Goro smashes through vehicles and soldiers until Sonya lures him in front of a parked armored Humvee with Stryker behind the wheel. Stryker floors it, ramming Goro hard. While he's stunned, Sonya hurls a reinforced chain with a grappling hook - wrapping around Goro’s neck and one arm. They reverse the Humvee, dragging Goro across jagged terrain. He pulls himself up just as Stryker opens fire with a mounted machinegun - firing at will - basically shredding Goro's toro into a pile of ground beef.
Back in the celestial chamber, Shinnok reconvenes with Argus and Cetrion under the guise of continuing their earlier discussion. He speaks calmly at first, claiming he has spent time reflecting on the future of the realms and has reached a difficult conclusion: peace cannot survive so long as weakness and indecision rule the Elder Gods. Argus steps forward in outrage, accusing Shinnok of overreach and warning him that no Elder God has the right to claim dominion over the others. When Argus moves to stop him, Shinnok acts without hesitation. Raising a hand, he unleashes a violent surge of dark energy that tears through the chamber and strikes Argus head-on. The Edenian god barely has time to react before his body is ripped apart and disintegrated into ash. Cetrion attempts to fight back - vines and divine energy surging from her hands. But Shinnok overpowers her easily, mocking her compassion as weakness. Realizing she cannot defeat him alone, Cetrion tears open a dimensional rift and escapes just as Shinnok’s power crashes into the space where she stood. Left alone in the chamber, Shinnok calmly ascends the council dais, now the sole ruler of the Elder Gods’ realm.
Back in the Outworld palace, Liu Kang and Kitana regroup in the aftermath of Scorpion’s attack. Before either can make sense of what has happened, thunder rolls overhead and Raiden (Jet Li) suddenly appears before them. He tells them that the Elder Gods have lost their way and that something terrible has happened in the celestial realm. Shinnok has betrayed them, and mortals alone will not be enough to stop what is coming. Liu insists there must be another way, but Raiden shakes his head. Raiden places his hands on Liu Kang’s shoulders and tells him that Earthrealm needs more than a champion now - it needs a protector powerful enough to stand against a god. Before Liu can object, Raiden channels the full force of his divine essence into him. Lightning erupts through the palace as Liu collapses to his knees, wracked with agony. Fire and electricity surge beneath his skin, his body struggling to contain the overwhelming power. Kitana rushes to his side as Raiden, weakened but calm, tells Liu to protect what he could not. Slowly, Raiden’s glowing eyes fade and the storm around him disappears. His aura is gone. For the first time, he stands before them as an ordinary man. Realizing the magnitude of his sacrifice, Kitana bows her head to him in silent respect.
Back at the Earthrealm outpost, Sonya, Johnny, Cassie, and Stryker regroup in the aftermath of the attack by Reptile and Goro. Before anyone can settle on their next move, the air in the middle of the command room tears open into a glowing rift. A battered Cetrion stumbles through and collapses to one knee. Stryker immediately raises his weapon while Sonya steps protectively in front of Cassie, but the goddess weakly raises a hand and assures them she means no harm. Cetrion explains that Shinnok has betrayed the Elder Gods and has murdered Argus in order to seize control of their realm. Johnny struggles to process the scale of what she is saying, and asks if some creepy guy staged a cosmic coup. Cetrion grimly confirms it. She explains that she can still open a path to Shinnok’s divine realm, but doing so will take time and leave her vulnerable. Worse still, they cannot face him alone. They will need the strongest warriors Earthrealm has left - namely Liu Kang and Raiden. Johnny exhales sharply, glancing at Sonya and the others. He quips that he guesses they're punching gods now.
A temporary portal to Earthrealm flickers to life inside the Outworld palace. Liu Kang and Kitana prepare to leave. Raiden, now fully mortal, gathers what weapons remain from Kitana’s fallen royal guards: a short sword, a pair of throwing knives, and a damaged spear shaft. Though stripped of his divinity, he remains calm. Liu protests the idea of leaving him behind. Raiden stops him. He tells Liu that Earthrealm no longer needs a servant to the Elder Gods - it needs someone strong enough to protect all realms from them. Kitana reluctantly leads Liu toward the portal. Before they can fully cross, flames erupt through the palace corridor as Scorpion emerges from the shadows, revenant eyes glowing with rage. He wastes no time, immediately attacking. Raiden steps between him and the portal, telling Liu and Kitana that he will buy them the time they need. Without thunder or godly power to rely on, Raiden fights like a seasoned warrior, driving blades into Scorpion's armor, and narrowly avoids waves of hellfire. Scorpion snaps the chain from his kunai and drives the blade through Raiden’s side in a brutal variation of his Spear Slice Fatality, pinning him against broken stone. Scorpion stalks forward, expecting victory. Bloodied and struggling to breathe, Raiden grips the embedded kunai. As Liu and Kitana hesitate at the portal, Raiden gives them one final look to go. With the last of his strength, he tears the blade free from his own body and lunges forward, driving the kunai upward through Scorpion’s skull. The revenant freezes, twitching briefly before collapsing dead to the floor. As the portal seals behind Liu Kang and Kitana, Raiden slumps against the ruined stone wall, blood pooling beneath him.
As Liu Kang and Kitana travel through the unstable portal to Earthrealm, something suddenly feels wrong. The shadows around them begin to move unnaturally. Before either can react, they are ambushed by Bi-Han, restored as the revenant Noob Saibot. Without a word, he attacks. Jagged spears of ice tear through the portal toward Liu and Kitana. The fight erupts across shifting realities as the unstable portal throws them violently between realms. One moment they crash into the burning wastes of the Netherrealm, the next onto the cliffs of Edenia, then into frozen wastelands swallowed by darkness. Bi-Han moves through shadows with terrifying speed, vanishing into blackness before striking from impossible angles. He unleashes brutal cryomancy, freezing sections of the ground beneath Kitana’s feet and sending razor-sharp shards of ice at Liu. Liu Kang's new divine powers begin to emerge. Fire spreads across his arms instinctively, melting Bi-Han’s attacks. Liu begins driving him back, finally overpowering him. Liu offers Bi-Han two choices: die where he stands, or return to the afterlife free from necromancy and servitude. Bi-Han chooses peace. Liu places a hand against his chest and channels cleansing flame through him, burning away Quan Chi’s corruption without destroying the man beneath it. Bi-Han’s body slowly dissolves into glowing embers. Moments later, Liu and Kitana emerge into Earthrealm as the unstable portal seals shut behind them.
At the Earthrealm stronghold, Sonya, Johnny, Cassie, and Stryker are still processing everything Cetrion has revealed when alarms begin sounding outside. Everyone braces for another attack until Liu Kang and Kitana emerge from the light. Sonya and Johnny are relieved to see them alive. Liu explains quickly that Raiden stayed behind in Outworld to buy them time and that Quan Chi is clearly moving pieces into place from the shadows. Cetrion immediately senses that Raiden's power now lives inside of Liu. She explains that Quan Chi is not the architect of this war, merely a servant. The true enemy is Shinnok, who betrayed the Elder Gods, murdered Argus, and seized control of their divine realm in an effort to become the sole ruler of all existence. Johnny takes a long pause, looking between the literal goddess, the glowing monk, and the increasingly absurd situation around him before muttering that one of his best friends is a god now and the plan is to storm heaven to fight the evil god. Cetrion ignores the remark and channels what divine energy she has left to begin opening a gateway to the realm of the Elder Gods. Cetrion warns them that once they enter, there may be no coming back. Liu Kang steps forward first.
The heroes step through the portal, emerging in the Realm of the Elder Gods. Before anyone can take in their surroundings, the shadows ahead begin to move. Dozens of ghostly figures emerge from the darkness - warriors from forgotten realms and lost ages. Quan Chi’s voice echoes through the realm, mocking the heroes for arriving so willingly to their deaths. Kitana, Cassie, Sonya, Johnny, and Stryker are forced into a desperate battle against the phantom horde while Liu Kang instinctively moves to help. Cetrion stops him, explaining that the dead are only distractions - Shinnok is the true threat. Liu goes deeper into the realm toward the inner sanctum alone. Cassie’s weapons tear through the specters while Sonya and Johnny fight back-to-back. Stryker unloads rifle fire into advancing wraiths before crushing skulls with his baton whenever they get too close. Kitana cuts through entire groups with sweeps of her fans. With every phantom destroyed, Quan Chi himself stumbles from the shadows, visibly weakened. Cetrion emerges, strengthened by the divine energy of the realm. Quan Chi attempts to flee, but Cetrion raises her hand, and he is pulled into rift - banished into darkness.
Liu Kang enters the chamber of the Elder Gods alone. Shinnok calmly praises Liu for surviving everything placed before him: Shang Tsung, Shao Kahn, death, betrayal, even godhood itself. Shinnok proclaims Liu as the perfect heir to a new divine order, because unlike the previous Elder Gods, he understands sacrifice. Shinnok offers to teach Liu how to become a proper god, and together they could bring lasting peace to every realm beneath a single, unquestioned authority. For a brief moment, Liu hesitates, but resists the temptation, realizing this is the manipulation Raiden warned him of. Cetrion pleads with Shinnok to stop before there is nothing left worth ruling. Shinnok scoffs and unleashes a blast of dark energy toward her. Just before she is hit with Shinnok's energy, Cetrion transfers the last of her divine power to Liu Kang. Energy erupts through Liu's body as he now commands the elements of fire, thunder, and life.
Liu Kang launches himself at Shinnok, flames and electricity surging violently around his body. Shinnok answers by transforming into a towering, grotesque Elder God monstrosity. Though stronger than ever, Liu struggles to control the power now coursing through him. Shinnok quickly gains the upper hand, smashing Liu through stone pillars and hurling him across the ruined chamber. Liu struggles back to his feet. Then he looks down at his hands. One glows with roaring orange flame, the other crackles with blue lightning. He finally understands that the powers are not fighting one another - they are meant to exist in balance. Liu slams his fists together, and from them emerges two colossal elemental dragons - one made of fire, the other of lightning. The two dragons spiral around Shinnok. The dragons tighten around him. Shinnok screams as he's ripped apart. As the dust clears, Liu Kang stands triumphant - now as a god of fire, thunder, and life.
With Shinnok defeated, the heroes regroup back in Earthrealm. Cassie pulls Johnny and Sonya into a big hug. Fighting back emotion, Cassie thanks them, not just for saving the world, but for saving themselves. She admits she never thought she would get the chance to see them again. Cassie steps into a portal back to her future. Sonya pulls Johnny aside and reveals that there is something she's been waiting to tell him: she's pregnant. Johnny chimes in that now they probably have to name the kid Cassie, otherwise they might create some weird Terminator paradox and accidentally erase the future.
Back in Outworld, life slowly begins returning to normal. Kitana resumes her place upon the throne, now fully embracing her role as queen rather than heir. Liu enters the throne room. Kitana asks what comes next for someone with the power of gods flowing through him. Liu admits he has no desire to rule. He says the Elder Gods lost their way because they believed control brought peace. He wants to guide the realms toward balance instead. Kitana smiles, telling him that if that is truly what he wants, the is already a better god than all the ones who came before him.
Back in Earthrealm, the chaos of interdimensional war slowly gives way to something resembling normalcy. Stryker, trying to get back to his usual routine, parks his dented, blood-smeared Humvee behind the defense outpost. Stryker kills the engine and stares at the mess coating the front of the vehicle. Bits of dried blood and flesh still cling to the grill - unmistakably what remains of Goro. With a tired sigh, he reaches forward and turns the stereo dial. AC/DC suddenly blasts through the speakers. He climbs out, grabs a hose, and starts spraying down the front of the Humvee as guitar riffs echo through the alley. Chunks of Goro’s mangled torso slowly slide off the grill and disappear into the gutter.
.jpg)
.png)
