A harsh winter wind scraping across the skin is nothing compared to the cold, unforgiving touch of shame. For although one wreaks havoc on the body for a poignant moment, the other constricts and festers upon the soul eternally ... Or at least it can, until something is done to exercise it away. The problem, however, is that it takes the very soul possessed by the spirit of shame to cleanse it. And oh so often, that very shame thrusts even the bravest of us down into the depths of despair, tricking and trapping us in a prison of our own weary hearts and minds, and all with but a simple phrase. 'I can't.' But to quote the wise cryomancer of legend, Sub-Zero ...
"There is nothing more poisonous than 'I can't.' For if those words should ever slip across your tongue, then you doom yourself to be forever frozen in a world that will never change and I life that can never better."
This is heart and soul of MK Legends: Snowblind, a post apocalyptic, hero-comes-to-town, kung fu extravaganza. And as most would assume, it comes flying in with all the violence and fan service one expects from an MK Legends movie at this point. But does it offer something more beyond what it's flopping predecessors already tried? Let's get into it.
Snowblind tells the story of the cocksure fighter Kenshi, who after suffering a rough tussle with Kano and his Black Dragon mercs, seeks out the tutelage from retired cryomancer, Kuai Liang (Sub-Zero), to stop Kano from decimating all of Earthrealm.
Off the jump, Snowblind immediately separates itself from its predecessors (both video games and movies alike) by leaving behind the much beloved, but well over trott tale of the first MK Tournament. Instead, it chooses to set its world somewhere ambiguously (at least at first) after the aforementioned events in a desolate, hopeless hellscape, where the vile Kano's might makes right. This, along with ambitious casting choices, makes the entire movie a breath of fresh air. Because we're finally telling a NEW story with NEW characters with a few tried-n-true house staples to help shepherd those unacquainted with the MK mythology. BUT EVEN THEN, any familiar faces are now relegated to new rolls, giving them fresh takes for the audience to enjoy. And the best part is that it's all in the service of an ACTUAL story. Not three hundred different fan-servicy plots frankensteined together. It's one cohesive, digestible story with a heartfelt message. So now let's break that all down.
Here's the landscape of our adventure. Kano is now the BIG BAD who protects a tantalizing secret as to how he garnered his high status and unmatched power. Shang Tsung still plays a conspiring lacky seeking to usurp his boss, only now he's more of a power starved slave than a 2nd in command sorcerer-general. Moving to heroes, Sub-Zero now plays the jaded hermit turned reluctant master with a dark past, one that thankfully strays far away from his "avenging the dead brother" storyline of old. And lastly we have our Karate Kid to Sub-Zero's Mr. Miagi, fan-favorite hero, Kenshi, who at last gets his time in the cinematic spotlight as a warrior seeking glory, but needing humility.
Now true enough, there are more MK fighters making their first appearance, like Quake, Kobra, Kabal, Kira, and Dramin. But they are mostly side characters utilized as various levels of cannon fodder, ranging from mini-boss thugs to quick cameo kill-offs. But no matter the magnitude of their relevance to the story, they serve it well, giving our heroes worthy challenge, while also delivering on some delicious MK fan service. And honestly, that's all they really need to do, because the story revolving around the four principal characters is already quite enough to keep any viewer not just engaged, but entertained. But is it ONLY entertaining?
Most probably assume that in order to make any sort of successful Mortal Kombat movie, all it takes are the ingredients I've mentioned before. You throw some gimmicky fan favorite characters into a series of brutal, stylized throwdowns that end in bone crunch and blood splatter, add in some techo-fight tracks, a vaguely on brand title, and of course a pinch of MK lore and BOOM ... You got a MK cinematic spectacular. Right? Well ... maybe a little, but without a heart to the story, you end up with things like the first two MK Legends films or MK Annihilation; films that merely ride off 'member-berry story tactics to floundering results. But luckily, Snowblind offers far more than that. It gives us a tale of redemption, self-worth, betrayal, and friendship that rivals kung fu classics like 36 Chamber, 5 Deadly Venoms, or the aforementioned Karate Kid (which I would consider a western kung fu classic at this point). Furthermore, it treats both Kenshi and Sub-Zero with respect, giving them great scenes of dialogue rather than just the expected whiz-boom-pow. But even so, in both scenarios the scenes captivate the audience, inform the characters, and progress the story in an enticing and we'll paced fashion, giving the film a far more memorable and enjoyable rhythm than any previous MK Legends movie, before. So yeah ... I like it. It's good. But that doesn't mean it's perfect.
(MILD SPOILERS - Further warnings will be given later, but if you wish to avoid, skip to the final paragraph.)
Like any movie, Snowblind has its faults. But honestly most are a byproduct of its tight runtime of (1 hr 22 min). For instance, towards the end, as revelations come about, there are two story elements that play a little too much inside baseball for the casual viewer, one that harkens back to some of Sub-Zero's back story in previous movies and another element that's pulled from one of the latest games (MK 11). More specifically (SPOILERS in 3, 2, 1 ...) it takes Kano's ending from MK 11's arcade mode and uses that as the foundation for the world the movie plays in. And honestly, it works extremely well for the movie's set up, but gets fumbled in the pay off due to those pesky time constraints (SPOILER OVER).
In a perfect world, the movie would have added an extra 10 to 15 minutes to allow these two elements to develop more organically. So although both elements are very cool and clever ways to bridge this film to the previous MK Legends films and the mainline games, the time constraint makes them feel shoehorned in. It's good enough, but it could have been executed better, which would have eliminated the other sin committed by this film, a lack of plot originality.
As stated before, Snowblind is a hero-comes-to-town story, where the titular hero seeks to become the strongest/ greatest warrior around for REASONS. After failing to best a gang that controls a humble village, he gets guidance from a hermit master that helps get better at ass kicking and develop a moral center. When the hero returns anew, he then seeks to help the town not for prize or pride, but because it's the right thing to do, and does it. So even though the story overall is something new for the franchise, its beats are made up from a formula that can be extrapolated from almost any hero's journey movie that already exists, genre be damned. However, although we've seen it done a million times before, which will make the film less interesting for some, its MK aesthetic does allow it to offer a bit more originality. But because some of the aforementioned shoehorned elements aren't hit on or expanded upon enough, it robs the film of the chance to fully stand out. So yes, it IS a stand-out MK movie overall, but when compared to ALL movies, most would probably find It to be just another kung fu fantasy romp.
It’s truly a shame that Snowblind whiffs it a bit at the finish line. But even so, it's still a delightful breath of fresh air for the franchise, even if the plot is a little contrived. However, considering this film took an element from the MK 11 game and used that as the basis for a sort of other-world's/ multiverse kind of story, I think it'd be wise to do more of this for future films. It's an easy formula that offers more creative freedom, more interesting story concepts, as well as to take the pressure off of having to adhere to the bonkers mainline cannon. There's so much to play with in this MK universe and Snowblind is the first successful attempt, at least when it comes to film. And I can only hope that NetherRealm Studios and Warner Bros. keeps up this ambitious story telling, lest they forever freeze themselves in a franchise that will never change, nor ever better.
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