Mortal Kombat Legends:
Cage Match
review by Bobby Blakey
In 1995 the popular video game Mortal Kombat hit theaters bringing all the action and fun to epic life. Since then there have been numerous new takes including a not so great sequel, a pretty cool web series and the recent big screen reboot. In 2020 they debuted the animated feature Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion’s Revenge that was followed by Mortal Kombat Legends: Battle of the Realms in 2021. In 2022 the series continued with the next chapter Mortal Kombat Legends: Snow Blind and looks to keep going strong with an all-new entry Mortal Kombat Legends: Cage Match.
Mortal Kombat Legends: Cage Match follows action star Johnny Cage who is looking to become an A-list actor in 1980s Hollywood. But when his costar, Jennifer, goes missing from set, Johnny finds himself thrust into a world filled with shadows, danger and deceit. As he embarks on a bloody journey, Johnny quickly discovers the City of Angels has more than a few devils in its midst. He faces off against a sinister secret society plotting a nefarious scheme, but the brutal fight against the bloodthirsty warriors of the Netherrealm is just beginning. Can Johnny, alongside other Mortal Kombat legends, save humanity...and, more importantly, his career?
This entry features a great voice cast including Joel McHale as Johnny Cage and Jennifer Grey as Herself as well as Dusan Brown, Grey DeLisle, Robin Atkin Downes, Zehra Fazal, Kelly Hu, Matt Yang King, Phil LaMarr, Matthew Mercer, Dave B. Mitchell, Armen Taylor and Gilbert Gottfried in one of his final roles. The film is directed by Mortal Kombat Legends: Battle of the Realms director Ethan Spaulding from writer Jeremy Adams who scripted the previous three films in the franchise.
I have really enjoyed these animated features. They go all in with the blood and violence of the world of Mortal Kombat, but most have never really
done any of the tournament aspects which surprisingly still kind of works. As much as I still enjoyed this latest one, it is probably my least favorite so far. That isn’t to say that it isn’t a blast, I just think the tone and locale just made it feel less like a Mortal Kombat film and more of just a general animated martial arts flick.
I am aware that it is focused on Johnny Cage and they fully embrace it to make it his film. The bright vibrant colors and social vibe of Hollywood are front and center as they should be for this story. As it went along it sucked me in more and more thanks to nonstop action and laughs. The real treat here is Joel McHale as Cage who brings all the swagger and pompous attitude needed for the role. The rest of the cast are fine, but this film hinges on McHale and he makes Cage a character you cannot stand, but want to watch in the best way possible.
There weren’t as many of the various Mortal Kombat cast this time around, at least not to me, but there are a few. I was hoping that we might be getting closer to a bigger story of the previous films, but still doing their own thing. I enjoy them as they stand, but looking forward to the hopeful film that brings the cast together for an official Mortal Kombat tournament in the future. If you like the previous films you will likely still enjoy the bright vibrant action filled world of Johnny Cage.
In addition to the film this release offers up bonus content including commentary, a trailer for Ninja Meme and a featurette taking you behind bringing this latest chapter to life. Grab your copy of Mortal Kombat Legends: Cage Match when it hits digital, 4K, Blu-ray and DVD on October 17th from Warner Bros Home Entertainment.