cPOP Universe - Mortal Kombat Scorpion

MORTAL KOMBAT!!!

Whether it's a movie or one of the 11 video game installments Mortal Kombat always brings out the excitement in me. As a kid growing up with this franchise I got to live through quite the video game evolution. Mortal Kombat took us from jumping on mushrooms with a silly plumber to ripping out someone's spine. It made such an impact on the industry it is one of the reasons we have the ESRB ratings that we do today. So how on Earth did I sleep on Mortal Kombat Scorpion's Revenge?

Scorpion's Revenge is a 2020 adult (And I do mean adult) animated direct to video movie based on the Mortal Kombat franchise. It follows Scorpion who is seeking revenge for the murder of his family and clan by the hands of Sub Zero. It also follows Liu Kang, Johnny Cage, and Sonja Blade who will be participating in the next Mortal Kombat tournament.

The style of animation used fits well within the universe in which it finds itself. It's vibrant and when it gets time for some gore it does a good job of presenting it to the audience in Mortal Kombat fashion. No one really stands out in the voice acting department but they also don't do the movie harm. It's serviceable. The dialogue can be witty at times but also cheesy. And that's to be expected. This franchise has made a lot of money off of cheese.

Mortal Kombat has so many different storylines from multiple threads in the video games to the movies. But there is some anchors that they all use and gladly you will find it here. You're going to get your Sub Zero and Scorpion feud. You're getting the 10th tourney with Outerworld having 9 in the bag making this one a do or die for Earth Realm. Dynamic between Cage and Blade? Check.

It plays the hits and that's what I love about this movie. It knows what it's audience is tuning in to see. Hearing Shang Tsung say "FIGHT" or "FINISH HIM" is just so damn cool. They don't shy away from it to avoid the cheese. They embrace it. Getting to watch the Goro and Jax storyline play out was just refreshing. When that line has been tweaked I've not been a big fan. (See our podcast on the new Mortal Kombat movie)

They do a pretty true representation of the characters here as well. Johnny Cage brings a comic relief to the films gritty atmosphere. They went with this subtle bumbling humor and I felt it played well. To many times it could go down the cheese route but it escaped it. Don't get me wrong there's cheese but thankfully it comes from other aspects of the film. Sonja Blade is a straight badass in this one! Not that she hasn't been in the past but she brings all the fire in this installment. Liu is Liu. The voice of reason and the hope of the Earth Realm. But they do something with his story that I found could have been quite the risk but it pays off for me at the end of the day.

The fight scenes are pretty intense and well scripted. But I do have one nit pick. I would have liked to have seen more out of the Scorpion and Sub Zero fight. They make a decision to go a different route and while I enjoyed it because we get to see a character we haven't seen in the films yet, I still wanted to see the knock down drag out with my boys.

Overall this is a great installment into the universe. Comparing it to the movie that just came out I feel like this film is a better representation of the universe. Not that I didn't like the movie....or did I hate it....you'll have to check out the newest podcast to see.

Scorpion's Revenge though.....POP