Mortal Kombat Legends: Battle of the Realms – Film Review

In Mortal Kombat Legends: Battle of the Realms, the Earthrealm heroes must travel to Outworld to defend their realm as Scorpion (Patrick Seitz) searches for the ancient Kamidogu before it’s used to resurrect the One Being.

Ever since the original Mortal Kombat video game was released all the way back in 1992 by Ed Boon and John Tobias, millions of people all around the world have fallen in love with the franchise’s deep mythology and incredibly brutal fights, fatalities, brutalities, and special X-Ray moves as seen in the various video games that have lined the series. When the franchise first kicked off, the games weren’t all that bloody, although back in the day, the level of violence depicted in the games was seen as grotesque and pushing the boundaries for what was okay in a video game.

Of course, now that we have eleven main Mortal Kombat games – and because video games and the technology behind them have advanced so much – there’s some brutality in the games that leaves some people absolutely shocked. You can rip people’s skin off their bodies, slice their heads open and break their spine in some of the games. And while that may sound absolutely disgusting, I and so many people out there just can’t get enough of the series. There’s something so oddly satisfying about playing as a character such as Baraka slicing people open and competing in a gladiator-style arena.

In early 2021, we were given the live-action Mortal Kombat reboot directed by Simon McQuoid – a film that has proven to be incredibly divisive not just amongst the Mortal Kombat fanbase but amongst movie fans in general. While I personally loved the film and think it absolutely needs a sequel, there was one other film in the series that I was hoping would get a sequel soon and that film is Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion’s Revenge.

It may only run at a total of eighty minutes, but I assure you that it’s eighty minutes of pure carnage and some of the most visually dazzling animation I have ever seen. Accompanied by the absolutely gripping fight sequences that feel so grounded yet so otherworldly, Scorpion’s Revenge is the rare animated film that sweeps me off my feet and makes me want to watch more with those characters. Thankfully, one year later, now we have the direct sequel, Battle of the Realms. There’s a belief that’s shared by almost everybody it seems that sequels are never as good as the original.

Courtesy of Warner Bros. Home Entertainment

There was a point in time where I would’ve agreed with that belief but in recent years, I’m not so sure. Films such as Avengers: Endgame and Paddington 2 have proven that sometimes, sequels can actually be better than their predecessor. Sometimes much better. This is the case with Battle of the Realms, an eighty-minute thrill-ride that plunges viewers deep into the depths of Mortal Kombat goodness with an entertaining and gripping story further propelled by state-of-the-art animation and fight scenes that make even hard-R action films look tame in comparison.

The story here picks up after the events of the aforementioned Scorpion’s Revenge and basically gives us no moment to rest, which in my opinion, is a very good thing. At least in the case of this film. When you are watching a Mortal Kombat movie or playing one of the video games, sure, you probably care about the story but the thing you want to see the most is the gory and over-the-top fights and this film delivers and then some. There’s a handful of sequences like that here peppered throughout which are all fun to watch, but I am glad they actually made an entertaining story first.

It’s made clear to us viewers as well as the Earthrealm heroes that the world is in grave danger of being destroyed by the One Being if they cannot win the Mortal Kombat tournament, defeating the ultimate opponent. Who is that opponent? Oh, it’s just Shao Khan AKA one of the most feared and deadly characters in the universe. One thing I absolutely loved about this film is how they never once shied away from showing how unforgiving and relentless Shao Khan is. He’s not the type of fighter that’ll show mercy towards his opponents if they tap out or back down. Once he sets his eyes on them, whether they like it or not, he is putting up a fight.

And, surprisingly, a lot of characters in this film end up dying along the way. Of course, I’m not going to say who because then that would delve into major spoiler territory, but it was nevertheless surprising to see some of these characters get absolutely obliterated. It’s Mortal Kombat so these dead characters are inevitably going to come back to life in the future somehow but for this story, what they did worked well.

This isn’t the most miraculous animated film out there but it is one that entertained me wholly. It could’ve definitely benefited from a longer running time and at times it feels like the story takes a back seat (especially in the third act) but this is a Mortal Kombat movie. Did the fight scenes and kung-fu-style action deliver on all fronts? You bet it did.