Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion's Revenge (2020)

Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion's Revenge (2020)

 

7/10

Starring the voices of:

Patrick Seitz

Steve Blum

Jordan Rodrigues

Darin De Paul

Joel McHale

Jennifer Carpenter

 

Directed by Ethan Spaulding

 

When the new animated Mortal Kombat Legends movie came out, I realized I couldn’t recall much about the first one. Watching it again was fun. The animation is R-rated and doesn’t shy away from being bloody. It sets the stage in a way that feels similar to the Mortal Kombat live-action movie released a year later.

In terms of story, the movie has a very straightforward plot. Animation-wise, I have to hand it to Warner Bros.; they’ve got that area locked down. When it comes to animating the characters, they hold licenses for—whether it’s DC or, in this case, Mortal Kombat—they seem to do just enough. They don’t go all out like Disney, but they still deliver a fantastic job that captures the fighting and movements well.

Don’t watch this movie expecting to finally understand everything about the Mortal Kombat lore. It’s a video game adaptation, and like many others, the story doesn’t always have a solid foundation. If you catch the gist from the initial setup, thanks to Quan Chi explaining the fights between the three realms—Netherrealm, Earthrealm, and Outworld—you already know most of what’s important. Earthrealm is the prime target, the "choice meat" on the table.

The animation starts with the introduction of Netherrealm champion Scorpion (Hanzo Hasashi). We see his clan and family brutally murdered by Sub-Zero, and Scorpion himself is killed. He ends up in the Netherrealm, where he overcomes his torturers, killing them in a bid to confront Shinnok. Instead, he meets Quan Chi, who promises him a chance for revenge on Sub-Zero if he fights for the Netherrealm in Mortal Kombat.

As the movie continues, we meet Shang Tsung, a nine-time tournament winner hoping to win a tenth time so his master Shao Kahn can claim Earthrealm. Outworld is hosting the tournament, and Shang Tsung serves as the master of ceremonies. Defending Earthrealm is Lord Raiden, who gathers his warriors—Liu Kang, Sonya Blade, and Johnny Cage—to protect Earthrealm from becoming the next meal on Outworld’s plate.

As expected, Sonya is portrayed as an uptight character who comes across as more annoying than entertaining. Johnny Cage provides comic relief as the clueless but funny fighter, while Liu Kang takes on the boy scout role. Also present is Jax, who unfortunately gets caught in the middle of the chaos and has his arms ripped off.

The fun lies in watching how everything unfolds—Earthrealm fighting for its survival, Scorpion pursuing revenge, and Raiden working hard to keep things balanced and on the straight and narrow.

This direct-to-video movie is both fun and amazing to watch.