Winners in ‘Mortal Kombat’ Conflict Are Those Who Like Violence

In “Mortal Kombat,” heroes and villains from the well-known martial-arts video game come together on a faraway, special-effects-heavy island to duke it out. Earth’s only chance is if the good guys win. (Rated PG-13)

Jackie Leighton, an 11-year-old from Garden Grove, thought there were a few hundred. His 9-year-old brother, Hayden, figured it was more like 6,000 or 7,000.

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But their cousin, 6-year-old Brandi Hughes of Mission Viejo, put the total at, oh, “a million or two,” especially if you counted the kicks.

The trio and dozens of other youngsters, some with weary parents in tow, turned out for a recent Westminster screening of “Mortal Kombat,” the popular video game turned popular live-action flick. The punch-and-kick count was a favorite topic afterward.

“I really liked it when they kept falling down,” Brandi offered. “You get hurt a lot, [and] that happens.”

There is, indeed, a lot of hurting going on in “Mortal Kombat” as heroes Sonya Blade, Johnny Cage and Liu Kang battle ninja-style with supernatural creeps like Sub-Zero and Shang Tsung. Most characters were lifted straight out of the game.

With its heavy dose of mayhem--only briefly interrupted by a wisecracking romantic subplot involving Sonya and Johnny--the film more than satisfied most kids, who said it was just what they expected.

Moms and dads, on the other hand, tended to be a little stunned by the action.

Lawrence Soto of Huntington Beach watched “Mortal Kombat” with his 8-year-old son, Charlie, and Charlie’s 10-year-old friend John Sanders. Although not usually one to balk at on-screen violence, the elder Soto said he thought the movie went a bit far.

“It wasn’t so much the degree of violence; it was the amount of it,” he said. “They didn’t show too much blood or terribly graphic stuff that I’ve seen before, but they kept showing one fight after another.

“It was numbing.”

But Charlie thought it was all very cool. “Those guys were brilliant,” he said excitedly. “I wish I could fight like that.”

With that, John let out a whoop, and they both started in with mini-karate moves.

Charlie’s dad just sighed, “Now they’ll be beating on each other all day.”

What Charlie and John enjoyed most were the fancy acrobatics as combatants tumbled and otherwise threw themselves at each other, all against colorful, high-tech backdrops. They both agreed the big finale between Shang Tsung and Liu Kang was the highlight.

“It was great, but I don’t think real people [could get hit] that much and live,” John decided.

Shannon French of Westminster, who took daughter Lisa, 13, to see the movie, said she wasn’t bothered by the violence. She reasoned that kids see it all the time, on TV news and elsewhere, and probably aren’t adversely affected.

“I know with my girl, she may get a little antsy after being exposed to much of it, but I don’t think it makes her more aggressive,” French said. “I hope she and other children can draw a distinction between real life and the movies.”

As if on cue, Lisa said that she could. But as for “Mortal Kombat,” she was one of the few children who wasn’t thrilled. “It was boring, once they got to the island” and just fought the entire time.

What would have made it better? “More jokes and maybe [more of an emphasis on Johnny and Sonya] because they were cute and in love.”