Here are all the animated Mortal Kombat movies, ranked

Mortal Kombat has always embraced the animation medium, but its first attempt was not received well, and frankly, more people should have given Defenders of the Realm a chance. While the live-action films were in the process of being rebooted, the franchise reignited its bloodlust in a different, yet highly effective form. Where the 2021 theatrical release would pull back on the lore and ground it, these features would go all out. Let’s see how the animated versions of Mortal Kombat’s tales stack up.

Mortal Kombat: The Journey Begins (1995)

Released as a tie-in and promotional material for the first live-action film, The Journey Begins is the first toe dipped into the realm of animation by Mortal Kombat, and it was a mistake. This feature was supposed to act as a prequel to the film, but barely manages that, and the finished product is so bad that it’s hard to pay attention to anything being said. This features a mixture of hand-drawn and CGI animation, both of which are jarring in different ways and could cause anyone to question their status as an MK fan. The Journey Begins tried to do some early world-building, give new fans a primer for the upcoming film, but in reality, the best part of this is the behind-the-scenes look at the real movie. Thankfully, this atrocity is mercifully short, just under an hour, and was nowhere near indicative of what was to come.

Writer’s Note: I’m still looking for a copy of this on Laserdisc.

Mortal Kombat Legends: Snow Blind (2022)

This story takes place in an alternate reality, one based on Kano’s Mortal Kombat 11 ending, and here, he is King. In the distant Mad Max-like future, the Black Dragon crew is in control, and King Kano makes for a solid villain. He feels different from the usual suspects we expect in these adventures, and there are some twists and turns, especially when we see the ace our favorite Australian has up his sleeve. It’s a decent dystopian setting and story that doesn’t botch the ending too much, even if some of it feels paint-by-numbers, but it keeps the scope simple and streamlines the action.

Some aspects feel as if this was made for the hardcore fans, or at least those who truly enjoyed the recent games. It’s a what-if version that shows a lot of characters we don’t normally get to see, and more hardcore versions in most cases. The quality of the animation is a little poorer here, especially in the backgrounds, and there might have been a little too much CGI, but it is quite serviceable. For anyone who has enjoyed one of the other animated offerings, this one is also worth a look.

Mortal Kombat Legends: Battle of the Realms (2021)

It’s hard to argue that Mortal Kombat Legends: Battle of the Realms is much better, just that it follows up on a great story, attempts to retell one of the classic games, and adds so much more that it’s hard not to get excited. We have more characters, fan-favorites getting their time to shine, even though a couple of them feel thrown away, or more like glorified cameos. There are some excellent locations as we journey into Outworld, but we really should have visited a few more realms to earn that title. Thankfully, there’s more blood, deaths, and the violence feels quite creative.

The story starts strong here, pulling a lot from Mortal Kombat 2 and bits of lore from later games, giving it a full, almost overcrowded feeling. The tale feels expanded, perfect for the medium, escalating things properly from the first and bringing the focus onto Liu Kang, but the messy ending squanders most of that, unfortunately. It makes the experience feel a bit flat. Slowing down slightly, stretching it out to another film even, might have helped Battle of the Realms feel like more than a chaotic skirmish.

Mortal Kombat Legends: Cage Match (2023)

Mortal Kombat Legends: Cage Match is one of those movies that has the sizzle; enjoyable and filling if we don’t think about it too much, or attempt to figure out where this story would fit into the continuity. It’s flashy, embracing the ‘80s aesthetic and offering a simpler, yet heavily stylistic, animation that works for a feature that’s focused on its character and vibes. Johnny Cage is, of course, the focus of this wild adventure, and the story fits him, while incorporating several smaller characters, leading up to a pretty epic confrontation for the big finale.

While he deals with all of the weird secret society stuff and attempts to track down his co-star, Joel McHale kills it in the role, with his smarmy confidence and cracking jokes. Even when his lines don’t quite hit, they’re easy to forgive and move on because we want to root for this version of our favorite fighter. There are also a couple of other fun voice cameos as well. Sadly, Cage Match does lack some of the bite we’ve seen in other animated outings, with a little less blood and guts, but they try to make up for it in the end.

Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion’s Revenge (2020)

Scorpion’s Revenge deserves the top spot for multiple reasons, but it also has the classic story, the heated rivalries, and gets to try to condense so many of the franchise’s greatest moments into 80 minutes. It’s the first Mortal Kombat movie to earn that coveted R-rating, and it doesn’t squander it. The blood and violence work so well with the artistic style, animation that isn’t perfect, but fits the action, and still manages to impress those who are paying attention to the details. It’s streamlined, without feeling cheap during the big action scenes. The voice acting is also wonderful, giving many of these beloved characters a new life that we don’t often get to see.

This new take on MK’s lore is respectful, while it attempts to massage some of the stories to weave them into the tournament more and add other elements that came in later. This works for the most part, even while shifting some characters out of the spotlight in favor of the sequel, but Scorpion’s Revenge truly does cram too much into its runtime. It proves that there can be too much of a good thing and that this might have worked better as two films or a longer feature. These are small faults at best, however, and nothing can stop this thrilling, fiery revenge.

Check out all live action Mortal Kombat movies ranked.