Mortal Kombat Legends: Snow Blind (2022)

Mortal Kombat Legends: Snow Blind (2022)

Starring: Manny Jacinto, David Wenham, Ron Yuan, Artt Butler, Yuri Lowenthal, Sumalee Montano, Patrick Seitz, Keith Silverstein, Courtenay Taylor, Imari Williams
Director: Rick Morales

I personally stopped following the Mortal Kombat games after The Ultimate Mortal Kombat III. I played the fourth game a few times, but never got around to Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero, which came out a few years earlier. Beyond that, I know nothing about the games, including the new characters added (except for when they started adding pop culture icons like Leatherface, the Joker, and Rambo). Once in a while, I watch shorts that showcase gameplay from the more recent games and all I can say is, “The combos look as much like fatalities as the fatalies do.”

I say this because the third animated film in the Mortal Kombat Legends quartet draws its characters and mythology from the early 2000s games, of which none I am familiar. The story itself is reasonably easy to follow and the little that I looked up on the Wikipedia suggests that the script respects the new characters’ backstories in their general contours.

We don’t get the backstory to Snow Blind until later in the film, but I’ll give it to my readers now. Some time after the events of Battle of the Realms, society on Earth (realm) collapsed after the zombie apocalypse. Well, they weren’t quite zombies. They’re zombie-like demons known as “Revenants.” I can’t help but wonder if they’re monsters that had remained on the Earth after the de-merging of the realms at the very end of Battle. Long story short: society has gone kaput and the world has largely been reduced to a barren wasteland with a few outposts of civilization scattered about the vast desert.

Here to fill in the power vacuum is the Black Dragon Society, that organized crime syndicate originally led by Kano. And what do you know, despite getting his head stepped on (and crushed) by Jax in Scorpion’s Revenge, Kano is back and has taken power. This time, he calls himself “King Kano” and, to quote Obi Wan-Kenobi, is “more machine than man.” He runs the Black Dragon Society, which drives around desert on dune buggies looking for villages. Upon finding one, his lackeys (who include Kira, Kobra and Kabal) commit mass slaughter of the innocent and then force the survivors to pledge loyalty to the Black Dragons, thus getting a new source of tax revenue. Oh, and King Kano’s grand vizier is none other than an aged Shang Tsung, weakened by decades of deprivation from human souls.

The story takes off when Kuai Liang (aka Sub-Zero II) is leaving his isolated farm to take his produce to the nearest outpost. He runs into Kano’s “Triple K” gang, who are rather suspicious of how he has been able to grow stuff in the wasteland. They steal some of his stuff and leave him be. Kuai Liang goes to the outpost, where he meets an arrogant fighter named Kenshi Takahashi (who first showed up in Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance from 2002). Kenshi figures out quickly that Kuai Liang used to belong to the Lin Kuei, although the latter denies it and really just wants to be left alone. Eventually, Kabal and his cronies follow Kuai Liang to the outpost and start bringing da ruckus when Kenshi steps in to fight them. To their astonishment, Kuai gives them a handy thrashing and sends them running back to King Kano with their tails between their legs.

Obviously, King Kano isn’t very happy with the arrangement, so he arranges for them to return to the town, but with Shang Tsung and his heaviest hitter, Tremor (who debuted in Mortal Kombat: Special Forces from 2000), in tow. The other three fighters may have been pushovers for Kenshi, but Tremor is completely different case. Tremor nearly beats him to death and only stops at the interference of Kuai Liang, who kowtows to him in exchange for his life. This is where Shang Tsung steps in: he recognizes the surname “Takahashi” and sticks around after the others have returned to base. He helps a battered Kenshi to his feet and tells him of a mystical sword that could easily defeat not only Tremor, but all of the Black Dragon gang.

Shang Tsung takes Kenshi to a set of ruins, where in an underground chamber lies the Well of Souls. Obviously, this is a ruse. You see, one of Kenshi’s ancestors had sealed the well and only a blood descendant could open it again. When Kenshi looks in, the green light of thousands of souls burns his eyeballs, leaving him blind. Shang Tsung, long deprived of his principal power source, absorbs them and regains both youth and power. He then heads back toward the King Kano’s place, intent on shaking up the leadership of the gang. Meanwhile, Kenshi, at the bottom of the well, finds the mystical sword and manages to leave the ruins and stagger across the desert until he finds (by accident) Kuai Liang’s farm. Kuai Liang reluctantly agrees to teach him “Blind Boxing.” But there is the big question: why exactly is Kuai Liang so reluctant to get involved in Earthly conflicts these days?

While the first two animated films were more or less remakes of the first two live-action movies, this one didn’t have a Mortal Kombat 3 (in terms of movies, that is) to expand upon. This film introduces a slew of new characters, only Kabal that I recognized from the Mortal Kombat III games. The other characters were introduced in the Mortal Kombat: Special Forces and Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance games, although I think the Mad Max-esque story is completely original. It works well, although it is a bleak continuation to the otherwise hopeful ending to Battle of the Realms. And given the Deus Ex Machina device that is revealed in the third act, I’m surprised that it wasn’t used to completely reset the timeline. Oh well.

The emotional crux of the film is the relationship between Kenshi and Kuai Liang, who wants to spend the rest of his days in obscurity. Kenshi starts out the archetypical brash fighter looking for the perfect opponent, but is humbled after his ignominious loss to Tremor and subsequent blindness. The more he trains, the more he starts to understand that there is more to life than just fighting. A man has got to have a good reason to fight for. It’s nothing new, but it works for an animated film based on a fighting game. And, martial arts fans will note that some of the training exercises were inspired by scenes from Jean-Claude Van Damme’s Kickboxer and House of Flying Daggers.

It isn’t until the climax that Kuai finally assumes the Sub-Zero persona for one final blowout of a fight, with another MK veteran showing up to assist him. Some critics complained about the cameo that Scorpion makes in the finale, although considering his importance in the other two films, I didn’t mind him making a final appearance in this one. Overall, I liked that the film mainly focused on two protagonists, as opposed to the other movie. That said, some of the Black Dragon members, who have appeared in the other games, only show up to fight a little and then get brutally slaughtered. So, fans of Ferra/Tor, No-Face, Drahmin, Dairou, and Jarek may feel a bit cheated. I didn’t know who they were, so I did not have that feeling.

Like the other two films, Snow Blind does not skimp on the violence and gore. The film opens with Mad Max vehicles storming a village and running over people, impaling them with spikes, and lots of wanton carnage. Lots of people get their heads literally blown off by firearms (thanks to Erron Black, who first showed up in Mortal Kombat X). There are beheadings and spinal cord rippings, typical MK stuff. Other characters get bisected or their torso’s split, so lots of half bodies are littering the wasteland after the film’s closes. The fight scenes are well animated as always, although during the climax, there is a snowstorm effect while the characters are fighting outside and it obscures the action. All in all, the climax is a set piece worthy of the opening scene of Scorpion’s Revenge.

I still think Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion’s Revenge is the best of the animated films so far, but this one is at least as good as Battle of the Realms. That one benefitted (to me) from all of the recognizable characters and the ability to answer of the question: What if Mortal Kombat: Annihilation didn’t suck? This one didn’t have quite so many recognizable (to me) characters, but the bleak storyline and the lack of the usual Outworld stuff made for a nice change of pace (its bleak tone notwithstanding).

Mortal Kombat Legends: Battle of the Realms (2021)

Mortal Kombat Legends: Battle of the Realms (2021)

Starring: Jennifer Carpenter, Joel McHale, Ike Amadi, Artt Butler, Bayardo De Murguia, Robin Atkin Downes, Grey DeLisle, Matthew Yang King, Matthew Mercer, Dave B. Mitchell, Paul Nakauchi, Emily O'Brien, Jordan Rodrigues, Patrick Seitz, Fred Tatasciore, Debra Wilson
Director: Ethan Spaulding

It has taken Warner Brothers four years to write, produce, post-produce, and (eventually) release the sequel to the live-action reboot of Mortal Kombat. Meanwhile, Warner Brothers animation was able to release a Mortal Kombat Legends films once a year for years. This was the first sequel, which basically acts as a remake (or redo) of the much-maligned Mortal Kombat: Annihilation, tackling the same general story of that movie. It manages to correct most of the flaws of that film and still manage to throw in a climax that is essentially a giant monster battle.

The last film ended with Shao Khan declaring that he would simply ignore the rules of the Mortal Kombat and invade the Earth Realm anyway. After a brief prologue showing us how Raiden came to “adopt” Liu Kang, the film jumps to the modern times (although it initially feels like a flashback). A temple is being attacked by the demons of Outworld, with the monks and Kung Lao (Matthew Yang, who voices Liu Kang in some of the latter MK games) fighting a losing a battle against the monstrous hordes. Suddenly, Stryker (Matthew Mercer, of the Thundercats reboot) and Jax (a returning Ike Amadi), now outfitted with metal arms that can transform into machine guns, appear and help beat back the demonic hosts. Okay, so we’re in the modern days in the middle of the war. Gotcha.

Back at the Outworlders’ camp, Kitana (Grey DeLisle again) is planning her next attack on the temple. She and her cohorts (including Kintaro, Reiko, and Jade) are confronted by Johnny Cage (Joel McHale again), who (in his own goofy manner) gives them an ultimatum: if they surrender, the Earth forces will spare them. Of course, Kitana balks at the decision and sends her minions to kill Cage. Thankfully for him, he has cover in the form of Sonya Blade and her sniper rifle, who keep the monsters at bay until Raiden and Liu Kang also show up. Raiden sews some seeds of doubt in Kitana about her role in all of this and the two parties separate.

Back in the Nether Realm, we learn that Scorpion has managed to free the chaos god Shinnok from his prison. Shinnok has a new mission for Scorpion: acquire some mystical McGuggin that will allow Shinnok to resurrect the original being of Cosmic Chaos who existed before the universe was created. Shinnok’s plan is to resurrect the being, merge all of the realms, and then destroy all of creation. Scorpion is not a fan of this idea, so he flees the Nether Realm for Earth. Shinnok responds by hiring the Lin Kuei Clan to find Scorpion.

These days, the best ninja in the Lin Kuei are Kuai Liang (Bayardo de Murguia, of “Tiny Pretty Things”), the brother of Sub-Zero from the last film, and Smoke (Matthew Mercer). When the head of the clan (Paul Nakauchi, whose extensive voice acting career includes the 2019 “Carmen Sandiego” reboot) gives Sub-Zero II and Smoke their mission, he adds that the Lin Kuei will be acting just a scootch differently from usual. Two of their top ninjas, Cyrax and Sektor, have been transformed into cyborgs and the master hopes that Sub-Zero II and Smoke will undergo the same procedure. Their response is a joint “Hell no!” and they try to flee, but only Sub Zero evades capture. So, now Sub-Zero is on Scorpion’s tail in order to avenge his brother while evading his roboticized brethren.

Back at the temple, Shao Khan himself (Fred Tatasciore, who has more than one thousand voice acting credits on the IMDB) shows up and offers to make a bargain with Raiden. The two will go to see the Elder Gods and request a second and final Mortal Kombat tournament. Same the rest: if Shao Khan wins, the Earth Realm is his. Otherwise, he and his armies will retreat. Raiden agrees on the grounds that even if mankind repels Shao Khan’s armies, it will take the humans longer to build themselves up against another invasion that it will take Shao Khan to rebuild his interdimensional military. The Elder Gods agree to a new tournament and Raiden himself turns over his own immortality so that he may fight alongside the humans he loves…

This very much feels like a redo of Mortal Kombat: Annihilation, but with a more fleshed out story and a subplot involving Shinnok’s attempt to destroy everything. One of the problems with Annihilation was much of the film felt completely random: characters would show up, get in a fight, and then disappear from the narrative with no reason whatsoever. Why doesn’t Sub-Zero join the heroes? What does Scorpion do after kidnapping Kitana? Where the hell did Mileena come from? Moreover, there were the noticeable editing flubs, like Raiden getting attacked by three Reptiles, but only beating two before the set piece ends. A similar thing happens when Liu Kang is attacked by Baraka and two other Tarkatan warriors. Two are killed, one just sorta disappears.

Although there is a lot going on in this movie, we generally know what is happening and why. We have an introduction to the Lin Kuei clan and their leader’s designs to transform his men into cyborgs (something Annihilation alluded to, but never showed or explained). Sub-Zero is given an obvious reason to be interested in finding and defeating Scorpion, even if they ultimately set aside their differences and team up later on. The fighters that Shao Khan gathers together do not have a lot to do except fight in the tournament, but I’m sure people will enjoy seeing them nonetheless. It probably takes a bit too long for the Scorpion subplot and the main story to finally intersect, but in the end it does so on a generally satisfactory note.

My main problem with the story—and the only thing that Annihilation did better—is address Shao Khan’s treachery in breaking the rules by invading the Earth. Although the Elder Gods in that movie initially didn’t do anything, they eventually did step in and act by imprisoning Shao Khan’s father (who was supposed to be Shinnok) and removing Shao Khan’s immortality, allowing Liu Kang to injure and ultimately kill him. They make it explicit that their actions at the end were the penalty for breaking the rules. Battle of the Realms does involve the Elder Gods, especially once the Shinnok subplot takes center stage in the third act, but they never address Shao Khan’s treachery and disobedience to cosmic law. That really stood out to me. That, and Johnny Cage is around mainly as comic relief this time, getting only one or two moments for some good action.

Beyond that, there is a lot of action and violence, just like in the last film. The film kicks off with a huge battle between monks and demons, with the former being joined first by Kung Lao and his razor-sharp sombrero, and later by Stryker and Jax. There is some nice gore when Sonya Blade starts shooting demons with a sniper rifle, including on POV shot of the bullet going through an arm, a head, and then another arm, after which we see the same scene from the outside: the bullet rips off both limbs and the head. The participants in the tournament include Jade, Reiko, Kintaro, D’vorah, Shang Tsung, and Shao Khan. And nobody is really immune, so some of your favorite MK heroic characters get to die some really awful deaths.

In the end, Battle of the Realms really had one objective: be a better movie than Mortal Kombat:Annihilation. And it pulls that off quite well, to be honest. Lots of blood, martial arts, violence, super powers, special moves, gore…all from your favorite characters in the game. Let’s see if the next film, Snow Blind, manages to keep up the same standard of quality.

Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion's Revenge (2020)

Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion’s Revenge (2020)

Voice Cast: Patrick Seitz, Jordan Rodrigues, Dave B. Mitchell, Joel McHale, Jennifer Carpenter, Ike Amadi, Robin Atkin Downes, Grey Griffin, Steve Blum, Artt Butler, Darin De Paul
Director: Ethan Spaulding

I find it interesting how much Warner Brothers manages to do great work with their IPs when it comes to animated films, but fail consistently when it comes to live-action adaptations. Most people will agree that the DCEU was a major failure in comparison to the first three phases of its rival, Disney’s MCU. But starting with Batman: The Animated Series and continuing for the past 30 years, almost every animated outing of DC has been pure gold. I was never a DC person, but their cartoons—even in the form of shorts and reels—are infinitely more memorable and interesting than any Marvel cartoon made since the 1990s Spider-Man cartoon. I don’t know how either studio can account for such a drastic gulp of quality between animated and live action, going in either direction.

Warner Brothers’ luck with animation also seems to be true for Mortal Kombat, which became Warner property after they bought up New Line Cinema. The general consensus of the 2021 reboot is that the fight scenes that bookend the movie are good, but everything in between ranges from “Meh” to “Awful.” This film, announced a year before its release, came with limited fanfare, but ended up being the movie that fans wished the reboot had been. In fact, story-wise, Scorpion’s Revenge feels like a retreat of the 1995 film, but with the Scorpion backstory (and the character’s promotion to anti-hero) from the 2021 live-action film. So if you watched this after the 2021 movie, you probably had a feeling of déjà-vu upon watching the opening scene.

The film opens with Hanzo Hasashi (Patrick Seitz, whose VA credits include One Piece and Bleach), a Japanese ninja from the Shirai-Ryu Clan, and his young son Satoshi observing a scorpion fighting off a literal army of ants. Hasashi-san observes that the scorpion is a great animal because of its tenacity, even in the face of greater numbers. The two return to their village only to find the entire place devoid of life, save for the dozens of ninjas from the rival Lin Kuei clan that are after Hanzo’s head. In the ensuing bloodbath, all of the Lin Kuei assassins are brutally (and I mean brutally) slaughtered by a berserker-mode Hanzo, although he ends up getting killed by their leader, Sub-Zero (Steven Blum, voiced the character in the the MK:X and MK11 games).

Some time later, the Mortal Kombat tournament is about to start. As usual, Earth has already lost the last nine tournaments and if they lose this time, then mankind is doomed to conquest by Shao Khan and the Outworld. The God of Thunder, Raiden (Dave B. Mitchell, best known for voicing Knuckles in the last few Sonic games), has chosen a rather interesting group to represent the Earth realm. Liu Kang (Jordan Rodrigues) is the sort of spiritually-inclined fighter you’d expect to be called on for this sort of thing—setting him apart from Robin Shou’s (initially) unwilling hero portrayal. The next is Sonya Blade (Jennifer Carpenter, of “Dexter” and The Exorcism of Emily Rose), a female special forces operative known for her unwavering dedication in the face of being a “woman in a man’s world.” Finally, there washed-up (and financially-strapped) martial arts actor Johnny Cage (Joel McHale, best known for “Community”), who enters the tournament, Tropic Thunder-style: he spends half the film thinking that he’s part of some sort of cinema verité project.

Meanwhile, Hanzo Hasashi has been condemned to eternal torment in the Nether Realm, which is the MK’s universe’s answer to Hell. However, Hanzo is a plucky fellow. He escapes from his torturer, massacres an entire army of demons all on his own, and confronts the de facto leader of the realm: the sorcerer Quan Chi (Darin de Paul, of the “Skylanders” and “World of Warcraft” games). Quan Chi is “temporarily” filling in for the chaos god Shinnok, who has been imprisoned by Shao Khan of Outworld. Quan Chi makes a bargain with Hanzo (who assumes the moniker “Scorpion”): if he represents the Nether Realm at the tournament and steals the key to Shinnok’s prison, Quan Chi will resurrect his dead family.

Just like the 1995 movie, Liu Kang, Johnny Cage, and Sonya take a rickety ship to Shang Tsung’s island, which looks like it’s located on Earth, but is actually located in a transition space between the two realms. The opening festivities include some pretty morbid entertainment: Sonya’s trainer and mentor, Jax (Ike Amadi, who voiced Shao Khan in the 11^th and 12^th MK video games), has been captured by Kano and is forced to fight, gladiator-style, against Prince Goro. I think you can imagine how that ends for Jax…

Anyway, the tournament begins and our Earth heroes find themselves having to take on a series of superhuman opponents whose abilities far outshine their own. And when Shang Tsung tries to stack the deck in his favor by “accidentally” allowing Kano to bring his Black Dragon mercenaries to the island, they find themselves making an uneasy alliance with Scorpion in order to stay alive. But will it be enough?

All things said, Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion’s Revenge is a bloody good time. The plot is MK basic, with most of the character development going to Scorpion, who goes from hero to potential villain to honorable anti-hero. Johnny Cage gets an arc as he slowly figures out that he is not making a movie (I laughed out loud when he’s connecting the dots and exclaims that he must in a snuff movie). Cage gets the film’s best lines and Joel McHale’s voice work makes his portrayal of the character a worthy follow-up to Linden Ashby’s fan-favorite portrayal. Later this year, we will get to see just how well Karl Urban does as Cage, whom the trailers also portray as being in the “has been” phase of his career.

I do have a couple of complaints, but they are minor. First of all, the relationship between Quan Chi, the Nether Realm, and Shao Khan is a bit fuzzy. Apparently in the game lore—I haven’t really followed the games since Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3—the Nether Realm and Outworld are separate realms with their own rules, rulers, and the like. But in this movie, Quan Chi talks as if he is ultimately subservient to Shao Khan, as if the Nether Realm lost 10 tournaments at some point and became subject to Outworld’s rule. I wish that had been explained a bit better.

My other complaint is the same complaint I had against the 1995 movie: the actual tournament set-up doesn’t make much sense. Fighting tournaments make more sense, especially in a movie, when they’re done in a bracket (or double bracket) format, like in The Quest or Undisputed III. In this movie, it sorta makes sense because the tournament itself is disrupted by the arrival of the Black Dragons. But when Liu Kang storms the castle to challenge Goro at the end, I was just wondering, “What about all the other fighters we saw in the great hall earlier? Where were their fights? Wouldn’t Liu Kang need to advance through a few more rounds before being able to do that?”

But then again, there is so much carnage on display that I’m sure most viewers can easily ignore those two points. I mean, this film is almost non-stop graphic violence and gore. Bones are smashed. Head are crushed. Limbs are sliced (and sometimes ripped) off. One poor bastard gets his skull pulled out of the back of his head, leaving a floppy face lying on the ground. We get lots of X-Ray vision of skulls being completely mangled by Scorpion’s trademark weapon, or something along those lines. And the fights find that healthy balance of well-animated martial arts, special moves, and gore. Most of your favorite special moves and fatalities get showcased and if you liked the fights in stuff like the Street Fighter II animated movie (that’s still my reference for great animated fighting—I really need to update myself on that front), then you’ll get more than your fair share here. And at 79 minutes, the film accomplishes everything it sets out to without overstaying its welcome, unlike the reboot’s 99-minute run time.