Video games and live action do not go hand in hand as everyone knows. The one live action video game that seamlessly merged the two was Mortal Kombat. Low on my fighting game rating Mortal Kombat does have a strong following and with the new reboot to the series has found a new lease of life.
As mentioned in a previous post I watched Mortal Kombat Legacy which I will now refer to MKL. The impression I got with it was lukewarm but it had potential improve. Recently I watched all of season one and I can easily say that my hunch of improving was right. MKL does a superb job of addressing each characters backstory and as stated in the original MKL post the episodes give the characters a chance to develop instead of throwing characters we don't know or care about and expect to form some sort of a bond.
Put it this way (following may contain spoilers for Transformers 2 and Transformer 3) When the Autobot Brains was killed by Sentinel Prime in Transformers 3 I didn't care in the slightest. There were no emotional ties to a character that was only added to the cast to be killed off. However when Optimus was killed in Transformers 2 that came as a shock. The one of the main character being killed off seemed impossible and as we've had the first move, the emotional ties have been laid down.
Each episode of MKL introduced a character from the roster and used that episode as there back story. This is one of the interesting points of MKL as you see Johnny Cage as a star at the beginning of his episode only to find out that his career is going down the drain. Its especially impressive how they pack all this into a 7-12 minute short. Some episodes do a two part-er which gives more of an insight into those characters.
The overall aesthetic of presentation is outstanding. Having a gritty dark feel which follows MK's history. The fighting at first is basic, but when you watch the Kitana and Mileena episode the fighting switches up a gear. Dialog is distinct with the Netherrealm characters speak with a dialect that resembles 'ye olde english' while Earthrealm characters speak as normal people.
By far the episode that dropped my jaw to the floor was indeed the Sektor and Cyrax episode but you will have to wait for that one as it is the last episode of the season. I will not spoil it for you.
The first season I can easily say is a great first step for MKL as now the foundation is laid. Season 2 can focus on getting all the characters together and even introduce a few more characters. When season 2 does appear I will be watching. I strongly advise you all to watch it and finally see that a videogame based short film can be done right. Hopefully this can be the beginning things done right
Ian
