Mortal Kombat: Legacy (DVD)

Wow! I was super excited, although obviously apprehensive, when I first heard about the web series, then life got in the way and I hadn't the chance to watch it. When I saw a DVD collective of Legacy Season One, I bought it instantly. So glad I did. The unique spin Tancharoen throws on everything is brilliant. It's truly hard to say which set was most unique!!• Sonya//Jax//KanoWell done, they have a very set story that he was able to dive into and flesh out. It's a shame the actress portraying Sonya didn't have more 'fight' experience before filming. When watching the special features of the film, it tells that she was kept as was due to that. That is all the detail I will use for the sake of not being a spoiler to the episode plot.• Johnny CageI love the spin with him. It stayed true to his dwindling acting career and elaborated. Screw 'You Got Saved', 'You Got Caged' has turned into a funny tagline for a few nerd friends and myself. I love how they bring Shang-Sun in as himself instead of the imitation mentor like in the first movie.• Kitana//MileenaAlways ALWAYS have I loved the drama surrounding the pair. This was so greatly done. I adore the facial shifts with the Tarkatan blood becomes dominant in Mileena. Sindel was weakly portrayed, but then again it was her character to be a passive, weaker character. Loving, kind etc etc. I will note the first time they say Sindel’s name, they mispronounce it. As a fan I cursed the TV, pointed and verbally reprimanded them. They only do it once ;) I showed them. I’m not a huge fan of King Jarrod, and I think there could have been a little more time spent on the encounter towards the episode end. [Again, skipping over detail so not to spoil.] Baraka is a badass, his portrayal excites me.• RaidenI was so hesitant on the disclaimer that showed before the episode and watched with bated breath….… verdict::Amazing. I love Blue and truly hope she somehow comes back, even just in references, later in the series. The fact that they put him in an asylum made me happy, but I did update my facebook status in horror right before they resort to more archaic methods. As though. ‘-_-• Scorpion//Sub-ZeroThe twist on the end of this is something I don’t want to spoil for those not familiar with it already. Pissed me off, in a good way. Hanzo Hayashi [Scorpion] is a wonderful character. Just brilliant. Well casted, well played, well defined.This story made me cry. This two-part was my favorite of the nine episodes.• Cyrax//SektorThe only two characters I did not identify immediately. In my defense, duh I didn’t. They are robots XD It was Ironman meets Transformers and I loved it. This was all action and fight scene. I like that it was brought back around to Kano BEFORE his surgery, making this episode end BEFORE the first one began.Every time I think Mortal Kombat, I close my eyes and see the Actors and Actresses from Mortal Kombat & Annihilation so it was a bit difficult getting my head around the new cast. :p Any fan would have the same visual issue! But well done! Sonya was a bit old, but it’s cool. Kano is a sexy beast. I like the childish yet rugged look of Johnny. Adore Raiden and Scorpion. The makeup on Baraka and Quan Chi are worth mentioning, more so Baraka’s. Ahh. It was just fun and it is something worth supporting.Everything down to the 5 ‘extra’ pieces they include// all worth it.Only drawback? So short! It was like popcorn! Or the analogy I used on Facebook:: It was like this amazing ice cream that you get just a lick or two off of before you accidentally drop it into the bottom of the Grand Canyon.Yeah, I wish there was more, can’t wait and am beyond willing to pay for it.

The webisode series of MK shows a ton of love for the video games and mythology of the source material. The brief 8-10 minute webisodes often pack quite a punch and explore the mythology of the characters while respecting them and their abilities. These episodes are also more for adults in that they contain more intense language/ swearing and a good amount of blood/ gore. They are not tame like the movies, though not as gratuitous as the games. The episode with Scorpion was particularly effective. It’s too bad that they weren’t able to make a new MK movie with the creators and actors for this series. Production value is really high for what they paid into it, sets look great and the spfx are quite good and tastefully utilized to pack a punch instead of overpower the viewer or carry the entire episode. It made me look forward to “Legacy II” but unfortunately they weren’t able to pull off quite the same powerful narratives as they did here with “Legacy”.

There is no in-between here--you either really like this series, or you will think it is awful. If you are not already a big fan of Mortal Kombat, you probably will not thoroughly enjoy this. But--if you grew up playing it like I did, you will love getting to see the characters' backstories be told, and you will enjoy the fight scenes. The acting leaves a little something to be desired, but the hand-to-hand kombat is very impressive. Especially the Kitana/Mileena fight, and also the Scorpion/Sub-Zero fight.Go into it with an open mind. The director had only 18 days (and his own wallet) to shoot 9 episodes, each one about 10 minutes in length. It is very apparent to me that the director made the wise choice to put his money into good martial artists rather than into great actors. Also, the first two episodes (Sonya/Kano) are kinda dumb, but the others are better. My husband never really played MK, so he thought the series was really dumb. My brother and I, however, grew up playing it, so we both really enjoyed it.

I remember when Mortal Kombat was still a Coin-op system. Since then, it has blossomed into a powerful franchise and creating both new and old generation fans. Now, Mortal Kombat has proven the tests of time and still holds dear the fans. I have purchased this movie because I was curious to know more about it. It turned out to be a great back story movie. Sadly, I have found it to be a bit too short. When I first bought this, I was expecting 30 min. stories but ended up with 10-15min stories. However, it is still great entertainment.Bottom line, I do recommend this movie to anyone who wishes to support the creative talents of the film crew and the Mortal Kombat franchise. Doing so can see a much bigger presentation in the future. I give it 4 out of 5 because although it is short, it is great to watch. I only hope I see more episodes.

If you are a fan of the Mortal Kombat mythos, this is worth your time. If you have never heard of Mortal Kombat (where have you been!?) it probably isn't.I was initially unsure about this, as it is essentially a series of short films, but I was really surprised at the quality and care that it was given. This is obviously a labor of love.It is a much more grounded/gritty vision of MK then the old movies (which I love even though/because they are terrible). Very entertaining, and has interesting extras showing the making of.FYI, only follows about half of the characters, mostly exploring origins, but I believe the rest are supposed to come out this year (2013) sometime around November. I can't wait.

Origin shorts of some of Mortal Kombat's icons. The First 2 episodes focus on Sonya, Jax, Kano and a brief appearance from Stryker. This is probably my favourite of the whole show and actually moved it from a 2 star disappointing to what I was expecting. Great performances from Jeri Ryan, and Michael Jai White. The fight between him and Kano was the best of the DVD.Johnny Cage's story is ok, I think it was casted well, and the fights were pretty good, it does also show his motivation for getting into the tournament, also hey managed to put in a couple of his signature moves.Raiden: From here the DVD started to go downhill for me. At the beginning of this episode there is a short declaimer saying that this is not the usual MK story but he hope it is still enjoyable. Unfortunately it did not hit the mark for me. They said they wanted to portray Raiden as mortal, I think they took this a step too far, and made his seem not just mortal but helpless.Kitana and Milleena: This episode was part animated and part live action. The fights were ok, nothing great except the sparing match between the two "sisters". This was the best part of the two part episode for me. I actually think too much time was given to this story. I am sure by increasing the pace of the story I am sure it could have been done in one episode rather than filling two.Scorpion and Sub-Zero: This was these were the 2 episodes I was looking forward as Sub-Zero is my favourite character. So my disappointment was doubled as this was much more Scorpion's origin story. Mini spoiler there is also a brief appearance from Quan Chi as well.Cyrax and Sektor: was not really expecting much from this story and it is not much of a story but there are 2 very good fights in it one the human Cyrax and Sektor beating the crap out of the earlier cyborg. Which begs the question why go ahead with the project when the humans won? Than the upgraded Cyrax and Sektor against the complete robotic (boss type) assassin.There are good extras of how the fights were recorded showing the stuntmen and actors working with the fight co-ordinator. There are other about the locations and how and why things were shot. If you are into these things great. Personally would have preferred if there were a couple more episodes.There were some very good bits in this they were a lot of boring bit the fights were the same they ranged from good to acrobatic displays that look good on camera but not really effective. This does not really connect together like the Street Fighter series and is just about comes off as ok for me. Really saved by the first two episodes and the last two.

Amazon itself is not really to blame here, the delivery arrived early which is obviously a good thing, the product was in good condition when it arrives which again is good. However Mortal Kombat Legacy is 9 12 minute episodes. I've currently watched 5 episodes and only seen one right scene between two characters and it wasn't even that exciting. I was left overall very disappointed in Legacy as a whole.

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Watch a reimagined look at the origin stories of the Mortal Kombat universe, with a real world approach. Some tales great, others subpar.

Finally on DVD. Great series. Love it.