Mortal Kombat Legends: Cage Match

If you are paying attention, it seems that in our new "woke" universe, merely trying to do something is now literally as good as actually doing it. By that odd logic, this film should be a "10." Because, in every scene, and with every line of dialog, it tries so darn hard to get the formula right -- yet fails repeatedly -- that the end result is almost painful to watch. The MK universe is not my favorite part of Warner Animation, but it can be fun when it works. Here it does not not work. Clearly the writing team had watched one too many episodes of Archer -- because the entire movie is mainly swagger and little else. Martial Arts? Barely an afterthought. For diehard fans of the franchise only -- and even then you may not like what you see. ((Designated "IMDb Top Reviewer." Please check out my list "167+ Nearly-Perfect Movies (with the occasional Anime or TV miniseries) you can/should see again and again (1932 to the present))

Mortal Kombat Legends: Cage Match is the fourth entry in the Mortal Kombat Legends DTV film series, and it is an interesting entry for me, as it not only stars Johnny Cage, one of my favorite MK characters, but is also a neat movie set in the 1980's.

In the movie, Johnny Cage is about to have his big break filming the movie Ninja Mime. However, the movie is in danger of being unfinished when co-star Jennifer Grey goes missing. Going to her mansion, she sees the place is a mess, and going into her bedroom, he witnesses two women fighting over a scroll. This puts him in the middle of a plot by a cult known as the Brotherhood of Shadow to bring their god, Shinnok, into Earthrealm.

Okay, for a Mortal Kombat movie, Cage Match not only succeeds in keeping the violence and gore the franchise is infamous for, but also making it a cheesy 80's action comedy that fits Johnny Cage's role of comic relief real well. Joel McHale returns to voice the Hollywood airhead from the first two Mortal Kombat Legends films after being absent in the last film, Snow Blind, and Jennifer Grey is in this voicing herself as well as Sareena. Also, Kelly Hu is the voice Ashrah, and Robin Atkins Downs returns as the voice of Shinnok, also reprising the role from Scorpion's Revenge and Battle of the Realms. But the greatest voice role here is David Doubldy, who is voiced by the late Gilbert Gotfried, this being his final film role before his passing (with the movie one of the few media to be dedicated to his memory).

A great departure from the past three films, Cage Match aims for being a cheesy 80's action comedy. Johnny Cage is spewing one-liners and jokes as usual, and the film embraces how cheesy it is, alongside its various references to 1980's pop culture. However, it still keeps the action as well as the violence and gore that fans of Mortal Kombat come to expect. Johnny gets a backstory to how he became skilled in martial arts, and the 80's style soundtrack is awesome.

Holy freaking heck.

How does these guys make animated movies better and better every freaking time? I have no idea! But I think 5.8 at the moment is a LOW offer. The movie has massive amount of references and easter eggs, and is super funny too! I loved watching it.. and especially because t was first animated movie with Retrowave theme! It was absolutely awesome!

I never really would choose cage to start with, so although of course its a popular character in Mortal Kombat games and in the first movie... I wouldn't think there can be as awesome movie to make about him. I am much impressed! Congratulations to the studio, and thank you!

When this movie was first announced, I got super pumped up. Johnny Cage has always been one of my favourite personalities in the Mortal Kombat Universe.

Therefore, I was eager to see his side of the story, but alas! My expectations were not fulfilled, mainly due to a lacklustre direction that had opted for style over substance.

Considering it was supposed to be a 'Johnny Cage' extravaganza, I wouldn't have been bothered by it if only this approach hadn't compromised the natural flow of the narrative, which lacked both charm and spirit and surprisingly so!

P. S. I cherished the 80s-inspired Music. It did not come as a surprise, though; I have always admired such style of tracks, and this was no exception.

The final instalment of the Mortal Kombat Legends Kollection series stars Johnny Cage as the lead in a retelling of his story from youth to star during the 1980's time period.

The animation is outstanding as is the entire series of films yet this film has a different atmosphere to stand out with the 1980's retro vibe by the bright fluorescent lights of purple, pink, orange, blue and other bright colors.

The story isn't too bad but it's still enjoyable to a degree. It becomes a little over the top in the second half when Johnny finds his co-star Jennifer (ironically they never mention her last name- as we find out its actress Jennifer Grey portraying an exaggerated version of herself as the end credits say "Jennifer Grey as Herself") then it becomes this demon, devil satanic underworld realm type of film air over the top characters turning into monsters and demons. The violence and gore turns up a notch.

Overall it's still highly enjoyable and possibly the second best of the series (Scorpion's Revenge is still superior) especially for fans of Mortal Kombat as well as Johnny Cage fans.