Rent Mortal Kombat Legends: Snow Blind (2022)

Mortal Kombat Legends: Snow Blind review by Mark McPherson - Cinema Paradiso

The framing of Snow Blind sounds perfect for bringing the violence of Mortal Kombat into an animated movie. Taking place long after the Shao Kahn's defeat, Earthrealm transforms into a post-apocalyptic wasteland, where vicious, undead warriors rule the land and enslave the week. Though this type of story does seem to borrow liberally from Mad Max and Fist of the North Star, it bodes well for a film that borrows from the various other Mortal Kombat movies and video games. This bloody stew tastes pretty good, especially compared to the lukewarm Mortal Kombat animated movies that preceded it.

A desolate Earth is being massacred by the Black Dragon, composed of Kabal, Kira, and Kobra. Sub-Zero has placed that title behind him to become the elder farmer Kuai Liang. He lives a quiet life and stays out of the clan's way. More inclined to take on the clan is Kenshi, a brash young warrior who may have what it takes to fight for the weak. But he’s not ready and will need some training, perhaps from a skilled fighter like Kuai Liang. What follows is a mixture of training for the big battle and brutal bouts of the expected fatalities.

The film's first two acts work incredibly well at establishing the fantasy action-horror elements. There’s a real danger in how people are casually killed with extreme gore, rather than how the previous films tried to make every death a theatrical leaving of the stage with x-ray-style close-ups. There’s enough confidence in this scenario to make the gritty setting work without the usual Mortal Kombat gimmicks. Despite having continuity with past Mortal Kombat films, it feels like a self-contained movie all its own that can be watched without keeping up with the Kombat.

Only when the film gets to its third act does it start becoming convoluted with summoning past characters, relying on a time-altering MacGuffin, and referencing alternative timelines. These aspects rob the picture of its more restrained brilliance of what could have been a wise warrior training the next generation to stand up to violent aggressors. While Snow Blind still carries that motif to the end, it treads on rocky ground in its final few scenes to offer some connection. So, while this movie does have enough guts to embrace a new setting and more compelling violence, it still feels lacking in shirking the shackles of its lore.

Snow Blind mostly succeeds at becoming one of the brighter spots in the mixed bag of Mortal Kombat animated movies. Even with the shaky connections it tries to establish, the bulk of this animated film was entertaining for feeling so divergent. There’s no convoluted tournament or intrigue of appeasing the battle gods. It’s a more straightforward tale of heroes triumphing over violent villains in a post-apocalyptic setting. What could’ve been a standard slathering of Mad Max cliches turns into an entertaining animated film that finds something unique with this video game property. It’s enough to make me long for what could be done with a Mortal Kombat film adhering to Die Hard or Crank. There’s so much more to do with this franchise than adhere to the storylines and characters, making Snow Blind a creative divergence that I hope sticks for future productions.