Welcome back to the Mortal Kombat Tournament everyone! Since I looked at the two 90s Mortal Kombat features a while back I might as well mention one that not too many non fans may know about! Released as a direct to video feature by Warner Bros. Animation in 2020, Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion’s Revenge was announced as something of tie in to the 2021 reboot and was not only the first Mortal Kombat animated anything since the 1996 series, Mortal Kombat: Defenders of the Realm, but it was also the first MK feature to receive an R-rating after the two previous live action features were PG-13. As someone who was getting ready to watch the reboot, I decided to give this one a look as I had heard it’s a solid entry point into the mythology and characters of the franchise and more faithful to the games than the either of the theatrical ones. Glad I did checked out as I had a ton of fun with this one and I would actually consider it one of my favorite video game based movies period. Let’s now prepare for battle and see what makes this venture into the MK universe such a fun watch!
Things kick into action in appropriately gory fashion as we see the origins of Hanzo Hasashi AKA Scorpion unfold where he watches his entire village get slaughtered by assassins from the rival Lin Kuei clan including his wife and child, the latter killed by the clan’s grandmaster, Sub-Zero. Hanzo is then killed himself, but wakes up to find himself resurrected in the depths of the Netherrealm and meets a mysterious sorcerer named Quan Chi who promises Hanzo the chance for revenge against Sub-Zero if he promises to fight for Chi in the Mortal Kombat tournament hosted by the aging warlock, Shang Tsung, to which he agrees. At the same time, thunder god, Raiden, and the shaolin monk, Liu Kang, are responsible for defending Earthrealm with the help of Special Forces agent Sonya Blade and struggling action movie star, Johnny Cage. Together Liu, Johnny, and Sonya must fight and win the tournament so that they can save the fate of Earthrealm!
As you can tell from that plot synopsis, this is both a familiar Mortal Kombat story concerning the tournament and a Scorpion origin story and I think it succeeds quite well on both fronts! The tournament plot line is simple and has just enough urgency to make one invested in what will go down while also delivering all of the mayhem and battles one would want from a Mortal Kombat movie. Meanwhile the Scorpion stuff is also investing as his backstory is clearly and effectively established at the beginning and his journey throughout the feature makes for a solid and satisfying revenge story. It’s not the most complex plot, but that works in the movie’s favor as it is a nice action packed thrill ride that is nicely paced at 80 minutes that gives one the gory goods. The film also has a fun sense of humor at times thanks to the inclusion of Johnny Cage who serves as the fish out of water and gets some witty lines that poke fun at the situation at hand. Furthermore as someone who knows a number of things about MK but isn’t exactly and expert I thought this made for a really good entry point for relative beginners, arguably more so than the live action ones. It introduces one to the cool mythology and characters in a way that isn’t overwhelming and has many of the staples of the series like the tournament, the martial arts action, the insane kills, and more that help make it a fun watch on it’s own terms. While I do think there could have been room for a couple more character interactions, this is still a fun, simple thrill ride that delivers on it’s promises.
Given that this is a direct to DVD feature, one would assume the movie probably isn’t going to have the greatest animation quality… except that’s not the case here! The animation here is quite strong with the animators clearly using what they were given to craft some really cool stuff. I really dug the art style as it is colorful with detailed backgrounds and solid character designs that stay true to the characters in the game, while also exaggerating certain features to translate them into 2D animation. Not only that but thanks to the limitless nature of animation as a medium, this movie is able to get away with going to the extreme when it comes to the action and especially the gore, which is of course a staple of the series. Whenever a fatality happens, the movie does not hold back in showing them off in their full over the top glory with a lot of attention in showing off the bloody details (like using X-rays to show the bones getting crushed and show as much blood pouring from the bodies as possible) something fans of the games will greatly appreciate. The action scenes themselves are also a lot of fun with every sequence jam packed with fast paced energy and bone crushing brutality. Adding to them is that each of the characters has a unique skill which adds a fun dynamic to each of the fight scenes as different characters face off against one another using different fighting moves and abilities which just adds another layer of fun to those scenes. My personal favorite would have to be prologue with a vengeful Scorpion taking down members of the Lin Kuei clan, while the finale is also great as most everyone is given a chance to shine. They all deliver on what they set out to do though which is more than enough given that the fights are what this series is most well known for and one must commend the animators who were able to do a lot with the presumably lower than usual budget given the direct to DVD nature.
One other recognizable aspect of the games is the roster of characters with different abilities, memorable designs, and distinct personalities, something this movie is able to present nicely for the most part. The film contains most of the very well known characters and while it can definitely get a bit overcrowded with some characters getting more to do than others, they were still solid company to spend time with during the runtime. The one who gets the most focus is of course Scorpion (makes sense given the title) and like I said before his quest for revenge made for a solid journey as it is set up extremely well in the beginning with him witnessing the slaughter of his family and given the opportunity to enact vengeance on who he thinks is responsible. It’s a simple yet effective storyline that delivers on all the things one would want to see Scorpion doing and he’s just one of those characters that is just awesome to see in action and Patrick Seitz does a great job voicing him really capturing the rage and tragedy of his character. As for the tournament plotline our heroes are pretty much the same as in the live action movie (Liu Kang, Sonya Blade, Johnny Cage, and Raiden) with some like Sonya and Cage having very similar arcs and they serve their purpose well enough. Even though I’ve personally never found Liu Kang (Jordan Rodriguez) to be the most interesting personality, I did like that he is presented as a more confident hero from the beginning and he gets a couple of fun jokes here and there while Sonya (Jennifer Carpenter) works well enough as the straight woman to what’s going on even if she too is fairly two dimensional as a character. Raiden (Dave B. Mitchell) mostly serves to move the plot forward but the wise mentor gets his moments of wit that make him an entertaining presence and Johnny Cage (Joel McHale) steals the show once again here. As mentioned previously his character being a Hollywood actor unknowingly thrown into this martial arts tournament makes for some really funny exchanges between him and the other characters and he just adds some spice to the proceedings enlivening every scene he is in. Then there are the villains and with the exception of Quan Chi (Darin De Paul), they are mostly there for plot serving purpose like Shang Tsung (Artt Butler) or to serve as an obstacle for our heroes like Sub-Zero (Steve Blum), Kano (Robin Atkin Dowes) and Goro (Kevin Michael Richardson). Chi is the one who gets the most screen time and he’s a pretty standard villain with not much that is interesting about him, but Darin De Paul gives in a solid performance and his sorcerer abilities do make for some cool visuals when shown in combat. In general most of these characters are pretty surface level in execution, but the ones that stand out do stand out a lot and there wasn’t anyone I outright disliked which is always a positive.
All in all, as someone who isn’t a Mortal Kombat expert, I had a lot of fun with Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion’s Revenge! It’s story and characters may not be the strongest there are and it may have benefitted from some breather moments here and there as well as a stronger villain, but it still works really well as a wall to wall martial arts action fantasy with a simple yet efficient way of telling it’s story, a solid revenge plot concerning it’s title character, brutal action that delivers what fans of the games would want, solid animation, and some fun character interactions. I’d say fans of the franchise will likely will be satisfied and I think it even serves a good entry point for those who want to start getting into it, as it works as an introduction to the mythology and characters while also being a ton of fun. It’s honestly my favorite Mortal Kombat feature thus far and heck I’d call it one of my favorite video game movies while I’m at it! Just a bloody good time and I really need to check out it’s sequel, Battle of the Realms, eventually.
Rating: B+
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