Mortal Kombat: Legacy

Season 1 – 60% – After Mortal Kombat: Rebirth, I would have preferred that they had taken the money they spent on a feature-length tournament and just given it directly to Kevin Tancharoen; but after MK: Legacy, I am a bit more careful. Some episodes are breathtaking (the opening two-parter or Raiden's unfortunate experience), but others are just a few predictable clichés and woodenly delivered dialogues. Otherwise, the atmosphere of the other worlds fluctuates a lot, which greatly disrupts the atmosphere of realism that was built originally (at least to the extent that Mortal Kombat can be realistic). Season 2 – 30% – The ignoring or recasting of characters from the first season led to a dead end in the previous episodes, but compared to this, I would rather see it again. Last time, the pace stumbled and a lot remained unanswered, but the second batch of mythical escapades, apart from the indulgent Shang Tsung, offers nothing more than unnecessary two-parters (Kitana with Mileena or Scorpion), lengthy dialogue full of dull comments, and unfortunately, a minimum of fights. The few stretching exercises are not enough to give even a hint of combat atmosphere or let you tolerate how the most important characters spend most of their time just staring at each other. And the fact that the story ends roughly at the moment it should have begun is nothing more than spitting in the viewer's face. A few years ago, I welcomed Tancharoen with open arms thanks to his innovative approach. But when he announced that he was stepping back from the planned film, it was a relief for all of us. He's usually a great director (see, for example, the episodes he directed of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.), but this simply is not the path for him. (2011.08.09)