Warner Brothers' animated Mortal Kombat movie - Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion's Revenge was recently dropped on digital, and suffice to say it's something every self respecting MK fan should see. It's been quite a while since we had a non-video game entry into the popular series and this seemed to come around at just the right time, further raising the anticipation for the upcoming live-action movie.
NON-SPOILER REVIEW
Being the first animated Mortal Kombat medium since the 90s cartoon series - Mortal Kombat: Defenders of the Realm, and first non-video game entry to the MK lore since the 2013 web series, you could well say it was about time we got some. Scorpion's Revenge doesn't quite turn the original source on its head, as it's pretty much the same story with a few tweaks here and there, with more focus on Hanzo Hasashi aka Scorpion (His name's in the title after all). Scorpion stars front and center as the protagonist of this story, an unwilling and undead anti-hero hellbent on avenging his murdered family and clan. The movie offers a timid but somewhat fresh spin on the fight for control over other realms by Shao Kahn and the Outworld.
For obvious reasons Scorpion is the only character with some decent character development, even having his arc come full circle. We're also given a quick rundown on Sonya Blade's backstory, but that's as far as it goes. Earth realm's other protagonists Liu-Kang and Johnny Cage don't get so much of a look in. To be fair it would always be a tall order to flesh out multiple characters like those in the Mortal Kombat universe within a paltry run-time of 1 hour, 20 minutes, and many characters will always just end up as fodder. However there are nods towards world building and expansion (Much like the DC animated universe), as the groundwork was laid for at least a sequel or two.
Luckily, where the plot fails to inspire, the gore and action scenes more than make up for, and what is Mortal Kombat if not gory and packed with intense battles? I mean it's all in the name man! Early on we're baptized with some edge of your seat action,which really plants your feet into the sand and sets the tone of the movie, and I warn, it is not for the weak-stomached. It was also a delight to see many of the video game's notable features incorporated into the movie, from X-ray shattering signature moves, to signature catchphrases and fatalities.
All in all Scorpion's Revenge is a necessary guilty pleasure for every Mortal Kombat fan who breaths anything Mortal Kombat, and are in need of something to satiate themselves till the eagerly anticipated film reboot comes out next year or the the year after.
Hi guys! I know, I know, it's been ages I wrote anything on here (Sigh). I've just been preoccupied lately and only started finding my way back to enjoying the review process, hopefully I can string a few articles together to get the juices flowing again. So If you're here reading this, I just wanna say thank you for reading my stuff.
Reject Rating: 7/10
Images courtesy of Warner Bros.
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