Mortal Kombat Legends: Battle of the Realms

'Mortal Kombat Legends: Battle Of The Realms (2021)' is the follow-up to 'Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion's Revenge (2020)' that sees the heroes of Earthrealm take part in one final Mortal Kombat tournament in order to prevent Outworld from merging with their home and utterly destroying it. The piece starts out depicting the first meeting between Liu Kang and Raiden, seeming to suggest that Kang is its protagonist. Though he takes a major role towards the picture's finale, he's actually just one of the ensemble and this lack of focus makes his eventual rise to main character seem unearned and, even, unplanned. The film, in general, struggles to know what it wants to be. It's incredibly unfocused, with several plot strands (which usually reference events from the games) occurring at once and each detracting from the other. There's very little sense of character, too - so much so that most of the major deaths lack any real impact. Hands down, the biggest issue with the piece is its third act. Honestly, this segment would've been better off as an entirely separate movie, with the set-up that precedes it acting as a cliffhanger. As it is, it feels tacked-on, messy and, ultimately, underwhelming. It's actually rather unnecessary and takes the steam out of the narrative. Despite the movie's issues, though, it's still entertaining overall. It has plenty of energetic, exciting and extremely violent fight scenes that should satiate fans of the video-game franchise upon which it is based (which includes me, by the way). It's really fun to see the characters kick one another's butts in brutal ways, even if the carnage lacks any emotional weight (and it sometimes really ought to pack a punch). The flick is animated impressively and it has a strong aesthetic. The voice-work is good and the pacing is breezy enough that you'll never get bored. Though it isn't perfect, it's an enjoyable slice of animated action. It's one of the better video-game adaptations out there, even if it isn't as good as its predecessor. 6/10.