Mortal Kombat: Legacy, Debuts

Mortal Kombat has returned! Just in time for the new game’s release (April 19th, if you’re curious), MK gets a new video adaptation in the form of Legacy, a series of webisodes attempting to breathe new life into the 19 year-old franchise. This is the follow-up to the trailer released by Kevin Tancharoen for a proposed MK movie, which went viral last year to much acclaim. Originally pitched as a movie relaunch, the film, which is a gritty mix of ‘real world’ serial killers and tech amid the sorcery of the MK world, has morphed into this web series.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6s6UiEuCYXA

Hit the jump for my reactions.

So, there we have it, the beginning of something new, and possibly big.

Personal impressions? I’m a bit nonplussed by it. Its about the quality of a TV or straight to DVD movie, which is okay, but not really on par with the cinematic quality that I think everyone was hoping for. Also, for a series that was trying to inject ‘real world’ dynamics into the series, the adoption of sci-fi laser weapons is kind of … odd. I mean, I guess we’ll have to see Cyrax and the robots pop up later, so maybe its no holds barred but… lasers for the cops? Ok.

Overall, the biggest issue is just that it doesn’t feel much like Mortal Kombat. It could be that the tone diverges too far from the still ongoing MK mythos to be comfortable, or it could just be the selection of the starting point. While Sonya and Kano and their rivalry have always been part of the series backdrop, they’ve never been the focus, and their story has always been the most mundane part of the story, compared to larger characters like Liu Kang and Raiden , who make the core pieces of the plot, and are generally just more flamboyant.

At this point, given the direction of the Trailer and this first episode, I have to wonder what form the tournament and Shao Kahn will take, and will we see the ‘other world’? Questions abound. I’ll certainly give it a few episodes to deliver some answers.

At the least, its better than Mortal Kombat: Annihilation. Ugh.

Thoughts?