Released: 2011(9 Episodes)
Director: Kevin Tancharoen
Total Run Time: 104 Minutes
Rated: TV-MA
Cast:
Michael Jai White: Major Jackson “Jax” Briggs
Jeri Ryan: Sonya Blade
Matt Mullins: Johnny Cage
Ian Anthony Dale: Hanzo Hasashi/Scorpion
Kevan Ohtsji: Bi Han/Sub-Zero
Darren Shahlavi: Kano
Samantha Tjhia: Kitana
Jolene Tran: Mileena
Shane Warren Jones: Cyrax
Peter Shinkoda: Sektor
Johnson Phan: Shang Tsung
Ryan Robbins: Raiden
The general rule of thumb that people should follow when making movies based on video games is don’t do it. Why? I can count on one hand how many movies based on games are any good. There are dozens of those movies out there. Some of the worst ones include Super Mario Bros, Street Fighter, Postal, Alone in the Dark, and Mortal Kombat: Annihilation among others. So, why do these movies fail so spectacularly? Simply put, it’s the complete lack of respect for the source material and the fans of that material. Infamous director Uwe Boll is notorious for butchering movies based on video games. His most notorious effort was House of the Dead in which he had the audacity to splice in actual game footage with the movie. It was hilariously awful. The only video game movies I consider to be ANY good are the first Mortal Kombat film and Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children. The first Mortal Kombat movie was pretty fun with some pretty decent acting and solid fight sequences. Granted it wasn’t very bloody, like the game was, but it still managed to adhere to the spirit of the game and be somewhat enjoyable. The sequel? Not so much.
The video game of Mortal Kombat was first released to arcades back in 1992. It was a smash hit, featuring digitally captured actors in a 2D tournament style fighting game. Fans world-wide ate it up. It was also one of the most controversial games released because it featured some pretty bloody fatalities at the time. One of the fatalities had a blue-clad ninja named Sub-Zero ripping off his opponent’s head with the spine attached. Needless to say, parents got up in arms and contacted their local legislators to deal with the game. Parents really hated it. So much so, that when the game was released to the Super Nintendo Entertainment System and the Sega Genesis, the makers of the game were forced to censor the violence. The most violent fatalities were taken out completely in the SNES version, while the Genesis version was sneaky. See, when you entered a certain code on the Genesis version of the game, it gave you all the fatalities in all their bloody glory. Mortal Kombat eventually led to the creation of the ESRB(Entertainment Software Rating Board). Did I play the game? Oh, hell yes I did. I loved every second of it. It was great. I still play the original game from time to time. The game’s popularity led to multiple sequels and spin offs as well as short lived animated shows and a bizarre live-action show that lasted 13 episodes. Back in 2010, there was a nifty little fan-fiction called Mortal Kombat: Rebirth that was released to the internet. The Internet went wild because of Kevin Tancharoen’s spectacular little video. In fact, it got the attention of Warner Bros. who had bought New Line Cinema and owned the film rights to Mortal Kombat. While a feature film wasn’t necessarily in the cards, they allowed Kevin to create a “mini” tv show called Mortal Kombat: Legacy.
The first season of Mortal Kombat: Legacy featured 9 episodes running between 8 and 12 minutes per episode. This first season showed the origins of some of the characters that were featured in the video game. The first two episodes feature Jackson Briggs and Sonya Blade as they take on the Black Dragon crime cartel led by Kano. After Sonya is captured by Kano, Jax leads a team to get her back and bring down Kano. These episodes featured some really fantastic gun play and awesome hand-to-hand combat. It allowed Jax and Kano to go head to head. There is some very strong fight choreography featured here. The violence is bloody and brutal and earns its TV-MA rating. THIS is how you do a live-action Mortal Kombat film. You have to make it violent, respect the source material, and Kevin Tancharoen does exactly that. The third episode of the series features Johnny Cage as his career is on a downward spiral and he’s trying to get back on top. This is a very interesting look at the character who is basically mocked and disrespected at every turn, despite his martial arts talents. The action is pretty satisfying, especially when Cage loses it and beats the hell out of his manager and several security guards. You see these execs just basically throw cage under the bus and you really feel that he deserves a second chance but doesn’t get it. Not by these guys anyway.
The next two episodes are fairly unique in that they combine live-action footage with some pretty interesting animation. Featuring Kitana and Mileena, these episodes explore the realm of Edenia as it’s being invaded by Outworld emperor Shao Kahn. Adopting Kitana as his own daughter and cloning her in secret to create Mileena, the two are trained to become lethal assassins. During one of their missions, Kitana discovers that Shao Kahn is actually not her real father. Episode 6 focuses on Raiden. This episode is pretty gritty as its a kind of an alternate take on Raiden. He ends up at a mental hospital trying to convince people that he is the God of Thunder. I like this episode because it showcases a fairly gritty kind of reality, but there are also hints through the show that Raiden may actually be who he says he is. This might actually be my favorite episode of the bunch, because it’s so unusual, even for Mortal Kombat. The next two episodes follow the famous yellow and blue-clad ninjas from the games: Scorpion and Sub-Zero. Scorpion is revealed as a husband and father who is a member of a legendary clan on ninjas. Sub-Zero is a member of a rival clan called the Lin Kuei. Deceived into thinking that the Shogun has arrived early, Scorpion goes to meet him, not realizing that his family is in serious jeopardy. Sure enough, the two foes engage in a spectacular fight when Scorpion realizes that his family is defenseless. There was some backstory in some the earlier games about Scorpion having a family, but it was never explored until now. It was very interesting. The final episode of the season feature two Lin Kuei warriors being drafted in a cybernetics program in which they are transformed into robotic assassins. This episode has some pretty decent CGI for what it is, but the whole origin thing just feels somewhat tacky. It’s got some great choreography and stunt-work, though.
Overall, the whole package is surprisingly very well made. They managed to get Michael Jai White who also played Jax in the Rebirth video. Jeri Ryan from Star Trek: Voyager manages to impress as Sonya Blade. She’s gorgeous, but she can also handle herself very well. The acting seems a little over-the-top all across the board, but then again, Mortal Kombat has always been over-the-top, especially in its use of violence. The fact that Warner Bros. allowed Kevin Tancharoen to make a very gritty and brutal series shows that they still have an interest in making a possible R-rated movie. In fact, Mortal Kombat: Legacy did so well on the Internet, that a second was commissioned. What really made Mortal Kombat: Legacy as successful as it is, was the fact that respect was paid to the source material and it shows in nearly every aspect of the show. It doesn’t pull any punches and the fights are hard-hitting, thanks to fight choreographer Larnell Stovall. The reception to the show has been mostly positive. In fact, Season 3 is currently in production as is a new film, apparently. One major contributing factor to the success of Mortal Kombat: Legacy is the fact that you can watch it for free on YouTube. Both seasons, actually. This kind of format seems to be the best kind of format for live-action entertainment based on video games. Street Fighter has a similarly styled show on YouTube as well called Assassin’s Fist. Apparently, that one is also really good. So, it’s obvious that one can adapt a video game into a live-action feature, be it a tv show or movie and it can be really good. Overall, I really dug Mortal Kombat: Legacy. It’s a lot of fun, it’s spectacular and it doesn’t overstay its welcome. If you’re really curious about the short film that started all this, you can check it out here: Mortal Kombat: Rebirth. Be warned, some of it is really violent and a little gory, but if you’re a fan of Mortal Kombat, you will definitely appreciate it. I give Mortal Kombat: Legacy a 9.5/10. It’s fantastic.