I love how you can rip out a man’s spine and show it to him.
I love how shouting “finish him” is applicable to real-life situations.
I love how it spells “Kombat” with a “K”.
I love how kicks to the stomach finish off just about every opponent.
I love it when you hear the words “flawless victory” (again, words applicable in real life).
I love how Thunder God Raiden is laissez-faire with the fate of humanity.
I love how Johnny Cage is actually an actor with $500 sunglasses.
I love all the fatality finishing moves.
I love how Sub Zero can freeze a dude and then smash him into tiny pieces.
I love the graphics and the fast-paced fights.
I love the gritty feel … far more epic than Street Fighter.
I love how it broke the fighting videogame mould in the arcades with its over-the-top violence.
I love anything with ninjas.
I love the sly humour (come on … ripping out an opponent’s heart is such a martial arts cliché it’s kind of funny).
I love how the first movie is perhaps the best videogame-to-movie adaptation ever.
I love the movie soundtrack.
I love how both Cameron Diaz and Brandon Lee almost appeared in the movie.
I love how the plot of the game makes little sense … but you don’t care.
I love how critics thought its bloody violence was once again another sign of the moral decay of the West.
I love when random dudes scream “Mortal Kombat” in popular culture and everyone gets it.
I love its ports to gaming console and PC … and the evolution of the series.
And I love how we’re still talking about it 20 years later.

My ebook military thriller, The Spartan, is out now on Amazon.