The Mortal Kombat Legends series hits Los Angeles where it hurts in Cage Match. Director Ethan Spaulding returns after helming the absolutely killer Scorpion’s Revenge and the less memorable Battle of the Realms, shining the spotlight on one of the more fleshed out characters from the gaming franchise, action star Johnny Cage. It’s an ’80s-fueled blast of nostalgia with Miami Vice fashion sense and neon illustrations brighter than the Las Vegas strip, taking aim at studio slimeballs with some butt-kicking fights and bloody fatalities.
Joel McHale reprises his Scorpion’s Revenge and Battle of the Realms performance as the hyper-masculine movie star Johnny Cage, and the former host of The Soup remains the perfect match for the sarcastic persona Johnny has developed in the games. Cage Match follows the Mortal Kombat nutcracker as he investigates the disappearance of co-star Jennifer Grey (playing herself), whooping butts as he confronts a demonic conspiracy with ties to Shinnok. We’re watching a Johnny who’s learning about the Netherrealm and other Mortal Kombat lore for the first time, which makes Cage Match an origin story of sorts. This plays a bit odd considering Johnny’s role in the previous Legends movies, but it also allows McHale to have fun with a version of Johnny who’s dumbstruck by his otherworldly foes.
The rougher animation style of the last Mortal Kombat Legends movie, Snow Blind, was my least favorite of the series so far, so it’s nice to see a cleaner approach in Cage Match. The glitz and glamor of Hollywood is represented in bright, vibrant hues, mirroring Johnny’s red-carpet flashiness. It’s not anywhere near as bone-crushingly detailed or sensationally swift-moving as Scorpion’s Revenge, but that’s by design: Cage Match is meant to feel like a coke-binging producer’s fever dream of Mortal Kombat-meets-showbiz sleaze, as Johnny kicks the heads off challengers while pursuing culty clues that reveal who really runs the movie industry.
Johnny narrates all of Cage Match like he’s providing his own director’s commentary. It makes sense given the character’s chatterbox nature and self-obsession, but the jokes don’t always land. His interjections are sometimes unnecessary, or even distracting. It’s a way of adding exposition, but can come off as rigid, like how he explains that his clearly nerdy assistant Chuck Golden (Dusan Brown) is, indeed, exactly who his poindexter exterior suggests. Cage Match feels aggressively basic when there’s no showing and all telling, almost like the screenplay doesn’t trust the audience to pick up on any context clues. It’s a bit “Storytelling 101,” belaboring the most formulaic elements of a Hollywood satire that’s otherwise having fun taking shots at greedy executives and agents like the tyrannical David Doubldy (voiced by the late, legendary Gilbert Gottfried).
As for the Mortal Kombat of it all, there’s a much less structured tournament feel to the storytelling. Familiar faces like the magical Ashrah (Kelly Hu) or warrior Jataaka (Zehra Fazal) present themselves as enemies and allies, but the body count in Cage Match might be the Legends series’ lowest yet. (There’s also a diminished hunger for the punishing finisher moves that even Snow Blind delivered with emphasis.) Cage Match is more interested in Johnny slinging one-liners laced with ’80s pop culture references than it is replicating gameplay. It’s a contained Mortal Kombat movie that feels underwhelming as a result, until a third act where Johnny squares off against Shinnok up and down Hollywood Boulevard.
The combat choreography and dazzling action of Scorpion’s Revenge have cast a shadow over Mortal Kombat Legends, and the series has yet to achieve a similar level of quality. Cage Match feels childish at points (like when Johnny makes GILF jokes), and there’s something safely Saturday-morning-cartoonish about the artwork, which is missing the fierceness of Scorpion’s Revenge. The pop songs on the soundtrack are hilariously motivational, with lyrics that tell the audience exactly how they’re supposed to feel, like the cut-rate “Danger Zone” imposter that puts a chorus of “I’m a survivor” under Johnny’s fight for his life. It seems like Cage Match is trying to lampoon cheesy action movies, but instead winds up being one itself.
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