REVIEW: MORTAL KOMBAT LEGENDS: CAGE MATCH

Taking place in 1980s Hollywood, action star Johnny Cage (Joel McHale) is looking to become an A-list actor. But when his costar, Jennifer (Jennifer Grey), goes missing from the set, Johnny finds himself thrust into a world filled with shadows, danger, and deceit. As he embarks on a bloody journey, Johnny quickly discovers the City of Angels has more than a few devils in its midst. With the help of his young assistant Chuck (Dusan Brown), and a mysterious lady in White named Ashra (Kelly Hu), Johnny faces off against a sinister secret society plotting a nefarious scheme. Still, the brutal fight against the bloodthirsty warriors of the Netherrealm is just beginning. Can Johnny, alongside other Mortal Kombat legends, save humanity…and, more importantly, his career?

This WB Animated film was directed by Ethan Spaulding (Mortal Kombat Legends: Battle of the Realms) from a script by Jeremy Adams (Justice League: Warworld), who also penned the screenplays for the series’ first three films, and supervising producer is Rick Morales (Mortal Kombat Legends franchise, Babylon 5: The Return Home). All four films are based on the Mortal Kombat videogame franchise created by Ed Boon and John Tobias. Sam Register and NetherRealm Studios’ Ed Boon are executive producers.

The voice cast surprisingly all do excellent jobs in their roles. Joel McHale is consistently in his element as Johnny Cage since his performance was one of the best things about the previous films he was in since Scorpions Revenge. This time around, his reprised role is taken a step further not only as the comic relief but also as the central protagonist showing that his character is capable of carrying a story almost by himself since Johnny needs some level of motivation for the plot to move forward. His young assistant Chuck Golden (Dusan Brown) keeps things grounded as a young idealistic fanboy while being the brains to help Johnny in a plethora of ways while delivering on some of his awkward humor. Jennifer Grey does an okay job with what she’s given even if I didn’t know what to expect, Kelly Hu is pretty much a regular within Mortal Kombat at this point having voiced various female characters throughout the games (including the recently rebooted “MK1” that came out in September of this year), and it’s also noteworthy that this was one of the final performances of Gilbert Gottfried who sadly passed away in 2022, but left a lasting impression as Johnny’s loud, foul-mouthed, and unscrupulous Hollywood Agent.

While the previous MK Legends Animated films had a consistent artstyle and tone, this one felt more like it exists in its universe and works as an action/comedy with an unraveling mystery. It also manages to set itself apart as it takes place in the 80s with a vibrant color scheme and an iconic aesthetic that gives off Patrick Nagel vibes right down to the oversized shoulder pads on the jackets. Which is appropriate since Nagels artstyle also inspired the short-lived Comedy Central series “Moonbeam City” even going as far as to cast 80’s actress Jennifer Grey as a fictionalized version of herself (but for some strange reason throughout the film, everyone refuses to say her last name out loud). However, the plot doesn’t pick up until Johnny comes to check on Jennifer as she was supposed to have her scenes filmed in a movie they were shooting together but is nowhere to be found, and during a scuffle with two strangers, he gets his hands on the plot Mcguffin of the story, a mysterious scroll…

Much in the same way Snowblind took the by-the-numbers story tropes you’d come to expect from Post Apocalyptic stories, Cage Match’s narrative mixes plot elements of 80’s movie classics and fully embraces those influences, complete with a period-appropriate soundtrack and montage sequences that could fit right in with many action films of that era such as The Karate Kid or even the Rocky sequels with some shockingly violent moments in contrast to the 80’s scenery and a small cameo of a certain Iconic MK character to remind it’s audience that this is a Mortal Kombat story. Sprinkled throughout its narrative, we also get some satirical jabs towards the dark side of show business with a dash of conspiracy theories about secret cults within Hollywood into the proceedings. Somehow this mix manages to work even if it sometimes stumbles a bit at first. And the cult that Johnny battles against while blatantly obvious to longtime fans who they are, works as an antagonistic force that is capable of being an actual threat when the plot needs them to be. If there’s anything I wasn’t expecting the most it would be that this is sort of a Christmas movie. Of course, much of the Christmas scenery and decorations almost feel like an afterthought near the end since this mostly takes place in LA.

Overall, if you’re a fan of Johnny Cage as a character, You certainly might enjoy this. But if you a fan of Mortal Kombat, a lot of MK’s character’s storytelling elements and references feel almost downplayed in this film. At the very least it has its moments as a loving tribute to 80’s action/comedies with elements of mystery that slowly starts as a slow burn up until near the end with a series of bloody & brutal fatalities and manages to be dumb fun compared to the serious tone the previous animated films have had. And I do hope that Joel McHale comes back as Johnny in some form or another in whatever possible MK Animated projects WB has up their sleeves in the future.