Mortal Kombat Legends: Battle of the Realms

Well, another foray into the cinematic variety of the "Mortal Kombat" franchise in 2021? Sure, why not? But this time it is an animated movie, for better or worse.

Of course I had to sit down and watch "Mortal Kombat Legends: Battle of the Realms", as I have been riding along on the "Mortal Kombat" wave since playing the very first game when it came out. And yeah, the movies that they have been putting out, aside from the 2021 version, have been cheesy and dubious at best. So I wasn't exactly harboring much of any expectations for "Mortal Kombat Legends: Battle of the Realms".

But I will say that writer Jeremy Adams and director Ethan Spaulding actually managed to put together an animated movie in the "Mortal Kombat" franchise that actually was entertaining to watch, while at the same time capturing the essence of the fighting games. And by that, of course, I mean all the mayhed, gore, mutilation and over-the-top violence. Yup, it is all here, in all its gory glory. And believe me, this is pretty gory.

Storywise, then it is "Mortal Kombat" in every aspect, Outworld vs. Earthrealm. Yeah, just as every other single foray into the "Mortal Kombat" franchise, so there is nothing new to be experienced here really, aside from the fight scenes and whom gets pitted against whom in the fights.

The visual presentation of "Mortal Kombat Legends: Battle of the Realms" was good. The art style used in this 2021 animated movie is something that feels like a mixture of the classic 1980s style and newer styles seen in animated movies. And guess what? It actually works out quite well for "Mortal Kombat Legends: Battle of the Realms".

The animation in "Mortal Kombat Legends: Battle of the Realms" is good and smooth, and it is definitely fast paced and looks great. So if nothing else, just lean back and enjoy the adrenalin-filled fights. And true to the "Mortal Kombat" blueprint, this was essentially just fighting from start to end. Sure, there was a pinch of storyline crammed in between the fights, classic "Mortal Kombat".

They had ensured to put in a good amount of characters from the franchise, including characters that have been along since the beginning, and also characters that found their way into the franchise as the years went by. So yeah, indeed there is something for everyone here.

I found "Mortal Kombat Legends: Battle of the Realms" to be entertaining.

My rating of this 2021 animated movie lands on a six out of ten stars.

Animation allows for two things: anything you can think of can be displayed and nothing needs to listen to laws of physics or logic, because people have been trained since young that cartoons aren't real so you can suspend your disbelief as much as you like. That is why live action films will never work better than their animated original, but this is true especially for Mortal Kombat. The first 10 minutes of this film was better than the live action thing made recently (that I also enjoyed), for example.

And while the beginning was brilliant and the characters (a LOT of them) were quickly introduced in a way that didn't feel rushed, Raiden decisions felt really ridiculous and the ending was kind of bad. I liked the combination of 2D animation style and fatalities and X-ray moves that were taken from the games. The story was acceptable, too, and the fact that it was R-rated and villains and heroes died gruesome deaths randomly was awesome.

Bottom line: I love the MK Legends animations. They have good stories and characterization and use animation in a way that no live action or CGI could. It's not a perfect film or anything, but it was very enjoyable to me.

Can't Believe it's written by the same guy as the first one, the first movie "MK: Scorpion's Revenge" was so good that i gave it 10 stars, but this one is a let down. I hope the next one is better.

Not as good as the first one but still pretty decent. The animation is really good and better than the first one, but the movie tries to focus on too many things at once and doesn't handle it too well by the end.

Some of the last scenes seem forced and innecesary and drag down what would otherwise have been an 8/10 imo.

I really liked the movie, violence and a very good animations, what bothered me is the plot, clearly incoherent and somehow not logical, the last 10 minutes are not that great too, it reminds the end of the Matrix revolution, good but could be better, overall it's a good movie especially for MK fans!.