Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion’s Revenge

When honored warrior Hanzo Hasashi dies, unable to save his family, his soul is sent to Netherworld, where a demon of vengeance is born.  Under the guidance of the sorcerer Quan Chi, Hanzo is offered a chance at revenge against the man who killed his family by participating in a fighting tournament with the fate of multiple worlds hanging in the balance.  Some have come to defend their worlds.  Other for glory or greed.  One has come to burn his enemies to the ground no matter who gets in his way.  Hanzo Hasashi is dead.  Scorpion is coming.

You know, given how tough it’s been for Hollywood to crack a live action adaptation of Mortal Kombat until recently, the animation route seems like a bit of a no brainer.  Through the medium you can get away with a lot more than a forced PG13 or even an R rating can afford and deliver the most authentic Mortal Kombat experience.  The Mortal Kombat Legends series seeks to prove that very point beginning with Scorpion’s Revenge and…I’ll just get this out of the way, that’s the wrong title for this movie.  If you’ve come expecting a film centered on one of MK’s most iconic poster characters, you might be a little disappointed on that front.  However, if you’re here for what happens to be a pretty decent adaptation of an actual Mortal Kombat game, you’ll be plenty entertained and even impressed.
 
So the title.  They really should have just called this Mortal Kombat Part 1 or Mortal Kombat Begins or something along those lines.  Because after a delightfully bloody opening where Hanzo Hisashi, the man who would become Scorpion, wastes an army of Ninjas without restraint, we suddenly cut to Liu Kang and Raiden…and it was then I went “oh no”.  I don’t know, maybe it’s just me but a retelling of events from the first Mortal Kombat game isnt what I was expecting to see in a movie called “Scorpion’s Revenge.”  Maybe it would feature Scorpion hunting Sub Zero and fighting some familiar faces before leading into his involvement in the MK tournament.  That’s not the case here as the movies maybe 45% Scorpion’s actual revenge plot and the rest about everyone else present for the tournament.  And yes, I know the 2021 movie kicked things off similarly with Scorpion and his family’s deaths at the hands of Sub Zero…but that was also just called Mortal Kombat and billed as an ensemble piece.  It’s kind of false advertising and i’ll admit, it annoyed me.
 
HOWEVER, looking past that: this first entry in the MK Legends series does indeed show why Animation is a solid avenue the franchise has desperately needed to tap.  That aforementioned opening with Hanzo facing the Lin Qui sets the tone and atmosphere perfectly.  The violence is dialed up to a level that would make even the video games blush at times.  Skulls are tore open, limbs are ripped off and sometimes bouts featuring several opponents at once turn into a full on anatomy class.  This is Mortal Kombat unchained, unleashed and running at full speed with violent delight.  It certainly helps that the fights are as well done as they are brutal.  Sonya vs. Reptile, Liu Kang vs. Goro and Scorpion vs. Quan Chi are all highlights making good use of fan service moves while showing how freaking powerful everyone is just throwing a punch or kick.  It’s hard, it’s unrelenting, it’s pure Mortal freaking Kombat.
 
My gripes of the movie going beyond the Scorpion story aside, the cast is mostly handled pretty well.  Sonya is a definite stand out in her design and ferocity as a fighter but also allowing for some more emotional beats here and there.  Liu Kang, Raiden, Shang Tsung and Quan Chi all fit their long time character profiles and Scoprion’s bad assery is excelled only by the depth of his origins that, I cant say it enough, are one of the films best highlights.  Others don’t come out as well as they should.  Sub Zero in particular should have a bigger role given his eternal rivalry with Scorpion while Kitana’s brief inclusion feels like setup for the next movie.  But man, oh man, things are at their worst when Johnny Cage is on screen.  It sucks because Joel McHale is voicing him and I love the guy, he’s a hilarious gem of an actor.  But his take on Johnny is a motormouth denier of everything around him even during the bleakest of moments.  I’ll admit he improves towards the end of the movie but my God Johnny got so grating I almost wanted him to meet the same fate as his Mortal Kombat: Annihilation counterpart…aka killed in the first five minutes. 
 
Lastly on the Scorpion side of things, it is a bit of a shame he didn’t get the movie all to himself because his set up and overall scenes are great.  His evolution from loving father to vengeful spirit adds an emotional depth you don’t really expect from Mortal Kombat.  Constantly cutting away to everyone else takes away from that unexplored avenue even if Scorpion is used in increasingly entertaining ways in the action scenes (and yes, he says the line, why wouldn’t he).  It makes me wonder what a proper stand alone Scorpion story would look like and how much deeper it could delve into his relationships with Sub Zero, Quan Chi, Raiden, even Liu Kang surprisingly has some effective moments with him.  Ok, ok, done yapping about it.
 
Overall, if you’re looking for a Scorpion centric story of loss and revenge, this isn’t that kind of movie despite the title.  If you’re looking for the most authentic and true to its bloody core Mortal Kombat experience, it’s right here in all of its vibrant gory glory.  True to the spirit of the games, briming with awesome action that destroys the violence spectrum, Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion’s Revenge is a helluva good time even if you want to mute Johnny Cage for most of the movie (God I hope they dial him way back for the next one).
 
This is a tricky grade but gripings aside, Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpions Revenge gets a 7.5/10.  Opportunities are missed but the end result is a solid outing the MK franchise should have taken a long time ago (we’ll ignore those two kid centric animated projects from the 90s).
 
Next Monday, the fight advances to the next level as the gang heads to Outworld for Mortal Kombat Legends: Battle of the Realms right here at the Gundam Anime Corner.