Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion’s Revenge

Director: Ethan Spaulding

Cast: Joel McHale, Jennifer Carpenter, Jordan Rodrigues (VOICES)

Release Date: April 12, 2020 (Digital, VOD) / April 28, 2020 (4K UHD, Blu-ray, DVD)

A Review By: Kevin Lovell

Film Rating: 8/10

Synopsis:

Once a generation, a tournament is held to between the champions of Outworld and Earthrealm. This tournament will determine the fate of Earth and all its citizens. Lord Raiden, protector of Earthrealm, must gather the greatest fighters of his realm to defend it from the evil Shang Tsung in the battle to end all battles – Mortal Kombat!

Based upon the popular video game franchise, ‘Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion’s Revenge’ introduces viewers to a new, animated film adaption that showcases the legendary tournament between realms used to determine its rulers (and fate). With only one victory remaining before Shang Tsung and his deadly forces win the right to rule our world as they see fit, Lord Raiden’s hand-selected fighters including Liu Kang, Johnny Cage and Sonya Blade must give their all if they hope to beat Shang Tsung’s determined and dangerous warriors and prevent their world from becoming a hell on earth. But one thing Shang Tsung didn’t count on was the inclusion of the infuriated Scorpion who arrives at the competition with one specific purpose, revenge!

‘Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion’s Revenge’ is a violent, massively enjoyable and often funny animated (and blood soaked) love letter to the popular and notably bloody video game series that fans should be outright thrilled with. It faithfully brings various fan-favorite elements to blood drenched life and showcases the competition in all of its violent glory, crafting a new story (and one that also seems quite likely to continue in future animated films if things go as planned) that includes various fan-favorite characters in action while keeping true to their traits and general personalities. Scorpion may be the title character and even the key focus, but his heartbreaking and vengeance-fueled storyline never seems to detract from the other characters that are still concentrated upon far more than you might initially expect.

One common complaint among fans over the years when it comes to screen adaptions of ‘Mortal Kombat’ is that the violence is far too toned down in many of them, with so many of the graphic trademarks such as the ever popular finishing moves left absent or mostly to the imagination (with a few key exceptions such as the live-action web series ‘Mortal Kombat: Legacy’) but it’s safe to say that won’t be an issue here as this animated film delivers so much bloodshed and carnage that it’s almost shocking at times; if anything only managing to surpass the level of blood and gore present in the games. Fans of the games and overall franchise should have a great deal of fun with this one, and even casual fans or those merely intrigued by this animated film alone also shouldn’t hesitate to check this one out and can rest assured knowing they won’t have any real trouble following along without much prior knowledge of the game or characters that serve as its basis.

This new animated ‘Mortal Kombat’ feature film for adults was directed by Ethan Spaulding (Batman: Assault on Arkham, Scooby-Doo: Return to Zombie Island) from a screenplay by Jeremy Adams which was based upon the video game created by Ed Boon and John Tobias respectively. Spaulding does a solid job at the helm of ‘Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion’s Revenge’ guiding along the wildly gory excitement and fun and his capable work in the director’s chair is complimented by a generally well selected voice cast that includes Joel McHale, Jennifer Carpenter, Jordan Rodrigues, Patrick Seitz, Steve Blum, Artt Butler, Darin De Paul, Robin Atkin Downes, David B. Mitchell, Ike Amadi, Kevin Michael Richardson, Grey Griffin, Fred Tatasciore and more.

Overall, ‘Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion’s Revenge’ is a wildly entertaining new animated take on the popular property that should repeatedly slap a grin on the face of fans. Never pulling its punches or taking it easy, it lovingly recreates some of the game’s most memorable elements and serves up enough bloody carnage that it not only stays true to the excess within the game, but likely even surpasses it. ‘Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion’s Revenge’ is definitely recommended for all of the ‘Mortal Kombat’ fans out there. It’s a surprisingly bloody, tense and often quite funny new animated take on the popular game series aimed at adults that showcases a clear love for the source material with more than enough gory action and fun to make it well worth a watch for any MK fans, and almost surely worth the price of a rental as well.

Film Rating: 8/10

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‘Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion’s Revenge’ is Now Available to Own on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, DVD & Digital From Warner Bros. Animation & Warner Bros. Home Entertainment