Common Sense Media Review
By Brian Costello
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Graphic violence, blood, and gore in animated sequel.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 16+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
Videos and Photos
Mortal Kombat Legends: Snow Blind
What's the Story?
In MORTAL KOMBAT LEGENDS SNOW BLIND, Earthrealm has been reduced to a wasteland. While there are people in villages trying to survive and rebuild, barbarian revenants of the Black Dragon, led by the evil King Kano (David Wenham), seek to conquer these villages and force the citizens to bend to their will. In one village, a cocky young man named Kenshi (Manny Jacinto) tries to stop them, but is humiliated after some early victories. He's tricked by Shang Tsung, resulting in Kenshi losing his eyes, but while he's left for dead, Kenshi discovers a mystical sword known as Sento that helps him to see. Desperate for revenge, he enlists the help of an old man named Kuai LIang (Ron Yuan), a once powerful warrior who now lives as a peasant farmer and renounces violence. But as Kano gains more power, Kuai can no longer sit out the fight and agrees to train Kenshi as the two prepare to take on the Black Dragon and liberate the Earthrealm.
Is It Any Good?
This is an extremely violent sequel, with bloody scenes matched with a focused storyline. Mortal Kombat Legends: Snow Blind connects to previous movies in the Mortal Kombat Legends series, but unlike so many movies like these, it stands on its own as a story that can be enjoyed without being overly familiar with the main players. It's a standard tale of revenge in the post-apocalyptic ruins, of reluctant elder warriors pressed into battle and cocky young fighters who must be humbled before they attain the greatness they seek.
That said, even as it's based on a notoriously violent video game, the violence gets to be a bit much, right from the get-go: gratuitous scenes of heads splatted under motorcycle wheels, the expected head and spinal columns ripped out of bodies, the defeated warriors sliced vertically and horizontally in half, if not decapitated. No one expects subtlety from a Mortal Kombat movie, but the story itself functions just fine without so much slicing and dicing.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the violence in Mortal Kombat Legends: Snow Blind. How is the violence inspired by the video game? While perhaps necessary to accurately depict the violence in the game, was it necessary to the story? Why or why not?
What would be the challenges in adapting a video game into a movie and a movie franchise? What are some other examples of video games that have been adapted into movies?
How was this movie similar to and different from other dystopian post-apocalyptic movies?
Movie Details
- On DVD or streaming : October 9, 2022
- Cast : Manny Jacinto , David Wenham , Ron Yuan
- Director : Rick Morales
- Inclusion Information : Asian Movie Actor(s)
- Studio : Warner Home Video
- Genre : Fantasy
- Run time : 81 minutes
- MPAA rating :
- MPAA explanation : Strong bloody violence and gore throughout, and brief language.
- Last updated : October 20, 2022
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