7.3 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
In 1980s Hollywood, struggling martial arts actor Johnny Cage searches for his missing co-star amidst a Los Angeles filled with bloodthirsty fighters.
Starring: Joel McHale, Jennifer Grey, Gilbert Gottfried, Kelly Hu, Grey GriffinAnimation | 100% |
Action | 83% |
Adventure | 37% |
Martial arts | 35% |
Video codec: HEVC / H.265
Video resolution: 4K (2160p)
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.78:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1 (448 kbps)
English SDH, French, Spanish
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Digital copy
4K Ultra HD
Slipcover in original pressing
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 0.0 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 2.0 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Mortal Kombat Legends is a series of direct-to-video animated films starring fan-favorite characters in quasi-origin stories and other lightly serialized adventures. It got off to a surprisingly strong start with 2020's Scorpion's Revenge, an appropriately ultra-violent and consistently entertaining adventure that, among other things, featured a breakout turn for Johnny Cage (capably voiced by Joel McHale) even though it was largely Scorpion's show. The 2021 follow-up Battle of the Realms shifted things to the perspective of Liu Kang but oddly juxtaposed the story with an overstuffed tournament that compromised the film's flow and enjoyment value. Last year's Snow Blind wrote itself into a corner with a dull story and open ending that I wasn't convinced the creative team would even bother resolving.
It's a fun ride and moves predictably fast at a sleek 80 minutes, with the bulk of its story taking a purely linear and episodic approach as Cage and a couple of friends delve deeper into the seedy underbelly of Hollywood (or is that the whole thing?). A brief detour arrives in the form of a flashback explaining Cage's childhood desire to learn martial arts, and the whole show has an appropriately tongue-in-cheek attitude with a heavy reliance on one-liners, multiple fourth-wall breaks, and even a healthy dose of snarky freeze-frame narration. For pure entertainment value, it hits the mark and just might edge out Scorpion's Revenge for replay value; the lightweight balance of comedy and action brings to mind 1980s cult classics like Big Trouble in Little China, which it doesn't directly reference but might as well.
So why not a higher score? It all seems a bit too easy, which is more of a spillover criticism for the crooked, confusing narrative path this franchise has taken during four movies in as many years. Cage Match is certainly fun and well worth watching, though it just kind of sits by itself amongst the three other passively connected films as an optional one-shot. That may be part of its charm, of course, and at this point I'd rather the franchise be a series of separate chapters... but this Hail Mary approach feels more like desperate, short term fan service than thoughtfully planned.
Regardless, I'd imagine anyone who thought Johnny Cage was the best part of Mortal Kombat Legends thus far will share my overall
enthusiasm for what's otherwise a pretty damn fun adventure and a potentially good sign for the next installment. Warner Bros. offers Cage
Match on 4K or Blu-ray with no combo pack option, unlike earlier titles. Either way, disc contents are identical on both
formats apart from the video presentation.
You can bet your boots that Warner Bros.' 2160p transfer of Cage Match makes full use of HDR enhancement to bring its vivid palette to life, sometimes to near-overwhelming results. As evidenced by these screenshots (all sourced from the 4K disc but downsampled to 1080p/SDR), true black is ignored for the most part, with many of its darkest scenes favoring deep blues and purples. Conversely, highlights are extremely bright and often neon-infused, from aggressively warm tones to exaggerated cross-lighting that, in some cases, doesn't even match the background at hand. It's all in good fun, though, and usually maintains what I like to call a "Lisa Frank" aesthetic that fits Cage Match's anything-goes attitude like a fingerless glove. As usual with most recent WB animated titles, the linework is thick and well-maintained on this 4K transfer and the disc's beefier encoding prevents almost all potential signs of banding, macro blocking, and other compression artifacts. (Some are obviously present on these screenshots, which are unfortunate byproducts of the downsampling as well as upload compression.) This isn't quite a perfect 5/5, but it comes awfully close.
The DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio mix offers a similarly crisp presentation, likewise leaning hard on showy sonic touches during action scenes and where its 80s-flavored soundtrack is concerned. It carries a solid amount of weight at critical moments with punches, kicks, explosions, and other front-forward effects landing heavily while sometimes even drifting towards the rears. Discrete effects are limited but appreciated, such as crowd noise and other location-based ambience. Overall it's not quite as in-your-face as earlier Legends films due to a larger focus on comedy than straight-up action or even horror, but considering the subject matter it's a fine effort with little room for improvement.
Optional subtitles, including English (SDH), are included during the main feature only.
This one-disc set ships in a keepcase with 80s-inspired cover art, a matching slipcover, and a Digital Copy redemption code. The bonus features are slimmer than earlier Legends films but still worth a once-over.
Ethan Spaulding's Cage Match is the latest (and possibly greatest) installment of Mortal Kombat Legends, an ongoing direct-to-video origin anthology series that, up until this point, gradually wrote itself into a corner. It feels like a hard press of the reset button and is slightly docked for that reason, but on its own is an entertaining action-adventure that leans heavy on tongue-in-cheek comedy. Warner Bros.' 4K-only edition (Blu-ray available separately) is the version to get for its studier 2160p transfer and neon-infused HDR enhancement. Firmly Recommended.
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