The original video game was actually made to copy the Enter the Dragon plot. The movie just followed along with the story the game presented.
shareNot just that but the whole character dynamic between Lui Kang and Johnny Cage is virtually identical to that of Lee and Ropper. Goro also serves the exact same purpose as Bolo and there are a ton of other similarities.
shareHoly *beep* I never thought of this. Excellent point.
shareYes, MK is almost beat-for-beat the same as ETD.
Same structure, same character dynamics and traits, same story (but in a fantastical setting).
The only "difference" is that Jim Kelly's part is split into two characters (Sonya Blade and Art Lean).
This is most likely plagiarism, and it is quite surprising to see this (at this level) for a major studio picture.
But I really enjoy it nonetheless, the film is cheesy but also very energetic, and of course it is a 90's time capsule !
Lee sort of invented video games with Game of Death (fighting from level to level)
shareI had heard that the creators got some inspiration for Mortal Kombat from Big Trouble in Little China but never heard any mention of Enter The Dragon. Liu Kang (especially the earlier model) was obviously based off of Bruce Lee but I never noticed the similarities between this and Enter the Dragon until I rewatched both recently. I agree with what osimonide said; this is basically Enter the Dragon with elements of fantasy mixed in.
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