Review of Mortal Kombat Conquest (box set)

Introduction

Who would have thought a decidedly average videogame could turn into something more? Its extreme videogame violence won many fans, particularly those fond of finishing moves to humiliate their opponents even more than the loss of a game could.

Midway`s answer to the king of beat `em ups at the time, Capcom`s Street Fighter, featured digitised characters and plenty of blood. Both however spawned terrible films. There are animated versions of both games too and these are a bit variable too. Let`s tuck into the MK TV series.

There is a bit of confusion over the episodes and the order that these have been released. Mortal Kombat Conquest was made with 22 episodes which aired originally on ITV1 at differing times, usually in the early wee hours. The DVDs that have so far been released do not contain the entire season, as far as I can tell, and collections such as this boxed set don`t contain all the episodes in the original broadcast order or order of any chronological sense. This is frustrating from the point of view of watching an entire TV season from start to finish. I don`t expect character development, but I do expect a certain order to follow, as I don`t want to miss out on anything. Having watched all the episodes here though, it`s no great loss, just a pity it wasn`t done properly. It`s odd to see how certain characters that have betrayed others in one episode are totally back in favour with those they betray in another.

Here`s a quickish rundown of the back-story to MKC. Earth is one of many realms that exist in the universe. All realms are balanced with negative and positive forces and are ruled by the Elder Gods. Each realm contains a portion of the energy, which makes up the universe with Earth realm acting as a gateway to others. This makes it an attractive conquering proposition for evil forces such as Shao Kahn. Shao Kahn has been stealing and transforming realms for thousands of years adding them to his ever expanding empire known as the Outworld. Unfortunately for him, his plans to steal Earth were thwarted by wise men of the Far East who predicted this scale of trouble eons ago.

It was believed that Outworld had an unfair advantage and that Earth realm was too easy a target. Appealing to the Elder Gods, the wise men suggested that a tournament would be the most honourable way to battle for realms. The Elder Gods created Mortal Kombat and this tournament would allow Earth to defend itself. The finest warriors from both realms would fight adhering to simple rules - the first realm to win a consecutive set of fights wins the contest. If Earth wins then it has successfully defended itself from an Outworld invasion. Otherwise Earth realm would be weakened and Shao Kahn would be able to crossover and wreck havoc.

To cut a longish story short, the battle to defend Earth realm continues with a series of fights/battles with our main three protagonists: a monk, Kung Lao (Paolo Montalban), thief, Taja (Kristanna Loken) and bodyguard Siro (Daniel Bernhardt) with Earth realm Elder God, Raiden (Jeff Meek), in tow. They defend Earth against the forces of Shao Kahn and other realm rulers such as demon sorcerer Shang Tsung (Bruce Locke) and Quan Chi.

Here then is a quick episode/disc summary. Skip ahead to the next section or forever be spoiled...

• Kreeya (episode 16)
Vorpax (Tracy Douglas) and the warriors are subjects of Empress Kreeya (Fabiana Udenio), a woman warrior determined to topple Shao Kahn`s empire. Like Shao Kahn, Kreeya has been amassing her universe realm by realm, growing stronger with each conquest. Now she has her sights set on Outworld. Three allies meet with Kreeya and hear her plans to bring peace to all realms through the destruction of Shao Kahn.

• Quan Chi (episodes 9 & 14)
"Quan Chi"
Quan Chi (Adoni Maropis) sends a trio of women (Jaime Pressly, Dana Hee, Renee Tenison) to infect Kung Lao, Taja and Siro with a potion. The potion enlarges their flaws: Kung Lao`s temper, Siro becomes a drunk and Taja is a thief again. With the three getting out of control, Raiden has to find a way to break this spell before it`s too late.

"The Festival of Death"
A travelling circus arrives in Zhu Zin with Qali (Roshumba Williams) among it. Kung Lao, Taja and Siro suspect something is wrong and they`re right. The circus turns out to be a way for Quan Chi to raise an army.

• Queen (episode 6 & 18)
"Noob Saibot"
Siro and Taja meet a gorgeous seer named Kiri (Sung Hi Lee), who tells them of an underworld city with a shrine guarded by two powerful warriors. Kiri says they will grow stronger if they defeat these warriors, but she really hopes they will release the shadow warrior Noob Saibot to kill Kung Lao. (NOTE: Reverse Noob Saibot and you get the words `Boon` and `Tobias`, the last names of the creators of Mortal Kombat)

"In Kold Blood"
Kreeya has returned and is now teamed up with Reptile (Jon Valera).

• Black Dragon (episodes 7 & 11)
"Debt of the Dragon"
The Black Dragon, an infamous underworld organisation, has appeared in Zhu Zin. They claim ownership of the trading post and demand Kung Lao, Siro and Taja leave. While they resist the Black Dragon, a member named Jola (Andreea Radutoiu) makes a deal with Shang Tsung for power and revenge.

"Thicker Than Blood"
An old love from Siro`s past, Hannah (Eva Mendes), turns up in Zhu Zin in search of his help. Hannah reveals she married Siro`s estranged brother, Cassar (Dean Cochran), who has gone missing. Siro is reluctant to help until he learns Scorpion (Chris Casamassa) used magic to make Cassar one of his warriors.

• Final Battle (episode 22)
"Vengeance"
Raiden meets in between realms with Shao Kahn, who says he will be defeated. Kung Lao, meanwhile, is looking for Raiden when he runs into Kitana (Audie England). She warns Shao Kahn is planning to attack with many of the other enemies of Earth Realm appearing with plans of their own.

Video

Presented with a 4:3 fullframe video transfer, Mortal Kombat Conquest looks soft throughout. Colours are good and detail is okay, but there are a few signs of compression in dark areas. It doesn`t make it unwatchable though.

Audio

For sound we get a Dolby Digital stereo soundtrack with all sound coming firmly from the front. This series was made with a Dolby Surround soundtrack but you`d never know it by listening as I can`t make out any use of the surrounds. The sound from the front sounds okay and there are no discernible audio problems.

Features

There are no extras, and no subtitles. Mortal Kombat Conquest is presented in a 5-disc cardboard digipack with outer sleeve.

Conclusion

There are only three things in this TV series that make me smile; the first are the scantily clad combative females, second is the silliness of the entire TV show and third is the action choreography. There are plenty of physically fit villainous females wearing little in the way of leather costumes, and to hear them deliver dialogue makes my sides split. The fighting is stylish and OTT but looks good. I especially love the blatant cut aways to the actors` reaction when being struck with a fist or foot and I get the feeling that someone made this with tongue firmly in cheek.

This is one of those rare occasions when Mortal Kombat Conquest is so bad that it`s good. The cheesy dialogue, the low-budget special effects, the average acting and the surprisingly balletic action fighting. I find the whole thing hilarious, and to that end, if you`ve seen or bought any single episodes and feel the same way about it as I do, then it`s worth seeing with plenty of beers and pizza. This is trashy TV at its finest and I`m not ashamed to say that I sometimes like utter rubbish.