Mortal Kombat

The famous ultra-violent video game franchise gets a "Dark Knight" styled make-over. This is Mortal Kombat revised. Mortal Kombat redone.......as yet another live action iteration of the fantasy fighting game. Originally conceived to be realistic remake which cleverly replacing the more out-of-this-world concepts with gritty real world explanations, MORTAL KOMBAT LEGACY drops that ball right into its second episode where we have mercenaries firing plasma weapons. Two episodes later, we are right back in familiar fantasy territory of other realms, monsters and magic. This is Mortal Kombat rehashed, Mortal Kombat repeated with merely cosmetic changes, and Mortal Kombat recast in such a haphazard way between its two seasons.

This web series, originally debuting on the Machinima youtube channel, consists of 6 story arcs over 9 episodes for season one. Season two comprises an ongoing story arc of the tournament plus three origin stories told in flashbacks for a total of 10 episodes. Each episode is so distinct in tone, style and entertainment value that they are almost like mini- movies unto themselves. Two things that permeate the both seasons seems to be director Kevin Tancheroen's indecisive directing style and the annoying music. Tancheroen seems to be copying the style of other directors like Zack Snyder's slow motion speed ramping, Neveldine and Tylor's high speed shaky cam digital photography, and Luc Besson / Paul Greengrass's hyper fast cuts. All these stylistic touches seem thrown in at random and overdone in many instances. Much of the fight choreography for season one is fantastic. But it is done great injustice by Tancharoen's quick cuts, extreme close ups and shaky camera.

The first two episodes of season one go into the back story of Sonya Blade, Jax and crime boss Kano presented in a familiar "Cops and Crime boss" setting. Sonya is taken prisoner and Jax leads a special forces team to take down Kano's gang. This is a strong start, with a look not unlike modern Hollywood action movies and a realistic gritty tone. Next we get the tale of washed up action star Johnny Cage trying to pitch his latest production. Again, realistic and right in place in our real world, done very creatively in the form of a TV documentary.

Now after that, in comes some hokey fantasy. Kitanna and Mileena: a tale of sibling rivalry and teenage identity set among the CGI mountains of Edeina and the dark Canadian- looking woods of Outworld? Our first dud of season one, the Kitanna / Mileena arc spans two episodes but half of the second episode in this arc is a flashback to events in the preceding episode, making the actual runtime of content a lot shorter. Flash animation is used to pad out the story almost like a motion comic.

Thankfully the subsequent episodes return to the more realistic setting and more ambiguous fantasy. Take Raiden for instance. How would people, realistically in today's world, react to some dude claiming to be a thunder god? The highlights of the season are of course Scorpion Vs Sub-Zero arc and the final episode about the Lin Kuei Cyborgs. Scorpion's backstory and ensuing vendetta against ninja leader Sub Zero is explained via a beautifully shot period piece, seemingly set in feudal Japan. Characters speak Japanese, authentic Asian actors play the roles, even the costumes seem true to the feudal period. Lastly, the Lin Kuei cyborg segment. This is real eye candy here, featuring cutting edge CGI and motion capture work, creating one of the more brutal bouts in the series.

So after a generally enjoyable season one, disregarding some missteps here and there, season two comes around. Season two showcases a little more backstory of other characters like Kung Lao and Liu Kang, as well as finally showing the start of the titular Mortal Kombat Tournament.

It may have well been a completely new show altogether as only a couple of returning faces and story elements bear a resemblance to season one. More than half of the roles have been recast with new actors, there are many continuity inconsistencies, the special effects look cheaper, and so do the costumes.

For an example of cheapskate costumes and inconsistencies just compare the stories of Scorpion and Sub Zero across the seasons. Season one was simple yet effective, giving a production design of outfits that may have been plausible during feudal Japan. Season 2 reveals that our feudal japan period piece actually takes place in modern day; a modern day where Japan never outgrew its swords, samurais and shoguns and everyone suddenly speaks American English! Season 2 also downgraded the ninja outfits from realistically plausible to ripoff Power Rangers and pyjamas. Lacklustre fights which lack the gritty brutality of the previous season lead up to one disappointing conclusion that is all build up without any payoff.

With season three set to veer off into adapting characters and concepts from the recent Mortal Kombat X video game, MORTAL KOMBAT LEGACY's first two seasons ends off on a low note. The episodes of Sonya/Jax/Kano, Johnny Cage, Raiden, Scorpion/Sub-Zero and the Lin Kuei Cyborgs Cyrax and Sektor stand as true gems. Featuring feature film-like production quality and design, brutal fight choreography, as well as cleverly reinterpreting the established mythos in a fresh manner. Downer episodes include the Kitanna/Mileena and most of season two (except perhaps the Kenshi Vs Ermac episodes).

It does what movies can't do. It offers an in-depth look at the characters.

I liked the way the characters were expressed and the acting. They could have done one more season as the exciting tournament has just started in season 2. Chapters could have been longer. Johnny Cage's episode in the first season was entertaining. The fights are moderately good, but since the camera angles are always close-up, slightly different angles could have been used. Costumes could have been better. Scorpion and Sub Zero's fight in season 2 was interesting. It would be nice if movies approached the story from this perspective and had depth.

Both seasons have good story plots. Keri Ryan as Sonya Blade was very Kickass. Jai White as Briggs was a tough up. The story of Liu Kang on Season 2 was alright, very similar with Anakin of Star Wars. The Story of Kenshi and Ermac was also amazing too. Overall, this Mortal Kombat Web series was alright. I have played and watched the cutscenes from the games and watched the movies, this one was fantastic.

This is a great Mortal Kombat show to check out if you are a fan. It's free and provides an interesting take on the universe. Jax, Sonya and Kano are awesome and the first few episodes start off great. Then you get to Kitana and Mileenas episodes. I like Kitana and Mileenas story but the budget is like 5 dollars and it's not good. Additionally, some of the stories like the origin story for Raiden I simply do not agree with. Raiden being stuck in a hospital makes absolutely no sense and I hate that storyline. Cary bring back as Shang Tsung is awesome. Overall it's an awesome show to check out I'm just nitpicking.

Well I wouldn't really call myself a huge fan of the "Mortal Kombat" franchise, but I did play the games when I was younger, even got a couple of them for my PS3 today, and have watched the older movies, series and even read some of the comic books. I like "Mortal Kombat" for what it is, martial arts fighting without the need to implement a deeper understanding for the reason behind it.

However, I will say that this "Legacy" series is impressive. Especially compared to the older movies and the earlier "Conquest" series. Why? Well simply put because of the production value behind it. It outshines the previous stuff by a mile and a half. There is just a heavier and better feel to this series, it is more in the spirit of "Mortal Kombat", if you will.

I like how it takes each character and gives you some background behind who they are and what drives them. It is all done in a relatively short period of time in each episode, so of course it is limited just how much background story you get about each character. But so far it has been great entertainment and added some nice details to the characters portrayed so far.

As for the acting, well I have been content with the people they have cast for the various roles. People have been doing great jobs bringing the characters alive and believable on the screen. My personal favorites are Scorpion and Sub-Zero, always have and always will be.

I find "Legacy" to be a well worthy addition to the "Mortal Kombat" universe, and it is well worth watching just for the production value behind the series alone. It is really, really great.

I sort of gave up on this franchise as a plausible rendering on the screen after the "Conquest" series, so it was just by sheer random luck that I came across "Legacy", and it was just out of boredom that I sat down to watch it. But after the first episode, I just kept going watching it all, it was just that good. So perhaps "Mortal Kombat" can have a glorious comeback on the screen and justify itself after some questionable previous movies and an even less so series. I am excited to find out...