Mortal Kombat Legends: Battle of the Realms

An animated film from a game series, and a sequel. The tournament is under way. By the rules the account between two realms will be settled in combat; the winner takes the other. But the other side breaks the rules. It attacks without waiting and enters the world directly. From there the film is a defence. Fighters are gathered; some are old enemies, some join under compulsion, and the mistrust between them holds. There are two main lines. One is Liu Kang and the others trying to reach a temple; the other is Scorpion, his family's past, and the closing of that account. The fights carry the whole weight. The choreography is long and bloody and uses the finishing moves from the game directly; the film puts no brake on that. What the narrative is interested in is not story but settlement: every character has a debt and the film closes them in turn. The visual style is close to 1980s action animation; the movement is hard and the colours are high. Jordan Rodrigues, Jennifer Carpenter, Joel McHale and Patrick Seitz are among the voices. Ethan Spaulding directed. Who it is for: anyone who knows the game and likes hard animated action. Who it is not for: anyone who has not seen the first film; the narrative continues directly and reintroduces nobody.