I enjoyed this ep. I think the Johnny Cage ep was the worst one even tho the guy who played him was super hot.

I lol'ed when the narrator said Sindel like Syndul. I was like nooo but then she got it right. phew.

Shao Kahn's not such a bad guy after all =3

Didn't love it, didn't hate it.

CONS:
- Baraka and the Tarkatans look AND move like LOTR orcs... it sucked, but we were expecting it. But if Mileena's sharp teeth come from her Tarkatan blood, why the hell don't the Tarkatans have sharp teeth?
- I don't want to say Shao Kahn was poorly cast, but he definitely poorly portrayed. I'm tired of film makers trying to make him a human - he's an immortal demon for crying out loud! Also, no presence, whatsoever.
- I feel like I could kick this Shang Tsung's ass. Don't like him.
- The budget really started to show itself in this episode. So far, I thought KT has done a good job disguising it, but I did feel like I was watching an episode of MK:C at times.
- I like to think Kahn saying that Jerrod was a doppelganger was more to ease Sindel in the pain of his death, as him ditching out on Edenia is simply retarded. I'm about 95% sure I'm wrong, though.

PROS:
- Kahn truly being in love with Sindel and loving Kitana was great, and gives him a depth of character we haven't legitimately seen before (Malibu comics are not legitimate).
- This is EXACTLY what Mileena should be; I absolutely loved her portrayal, teeth only showing part of the time and all (I mean, how is Kitana not going to know something's f'ed up with her if she has fangs 24/7?). Excellent.
- I liked the new angle of Sindel's suicide. It never sat right with me that she would kill herself to either simply escape Kahn or to save another realm, all the while leaving her daughter in the hands of a warlord that she hates. At least this way she offers her daughter some protection from Kahn.
- THANK YOU KT, for showing that MK females can still be sexy and can still kick ass without having all their kibbles and bits hanging out. I know it was only one quick scene, but we've all seen the trailer - Kitana and Mileena are hot (and have wardrobes that make sense!)

PROS:

- Loved the animation of Edenia in the beginning. Was quite effective when Outworld invaded and burnt those people to a crisp. Nice touch.
- Mileena's smiling with her tarkatan teeth. It looks just like the games!!
- Kitana and Mileena training with their ICONIC weapons; the fans and sais. LOVE this. Mileena even had her magical sais flying across screen.
- Pretty much liked the King Jerrod and Queen Sindel's relationship. I love backstory.


CONS:
- Acting, acting, acting. HORRIBLE acting. I understand it's a low budget film, but they could've at least polish the acting!
- 9 minutes, enough said.

Overall... I give this one a 7.5/10. I didn't expect them to include so much mysticism with Outworld, Edenia, etc. When I watched Jax/Sonya's episodes I was really worried with where they were going with Legacy.

OH, another PRO. Just wait til we get an actual movie of this made. It'll be top quality. Hopefully KT can come back to direct again too with a higher budget. It would look amazing with all these animated cut scenes. Just love.

I liked Khan and Sindel's looks. Even though it shows Khan as an ordinary Caesar-looking human, I think that's good for a live action movie, unless you have him perpetually masked, and Sindel was much younger at the time.

I thought the tarkatans looked ok. It would be tough to really make up a working mouth like Baraka's on a living human being, so just a mouthful of sharp teeth is appropriate.

I also like how in this one Mileena is able to conceal her tarkatan features even without a mask. This should have been a staple of her character from the beginning. It really makes sense now how Kitana could have been convinced that Mileena was her twin sister for so long without being a complete idiot. And I really like Mileena's story in this with the portrayal of her emotions. I'm about 80% sure they'll retcon her mk9 story away in MK10 in favor of this. It's just 1000x better.

What I like best is how they showed that Khan really loved Sindel, adding depth to his character above just "evil emperor badass tough guy."

What I didn't like was how the narrator said "Sindle." It's SinDEL.

Also wasn't too crazy about the ABUNDANCE of narration and all the graphic novel style cutscenes. I just don't think this one was as well-written as the previous episode. Too much telling and not showing as they say. Oh, Billybob already said it.

^ what you said. Some people don't understand the compromises that have to be made in a low budget film. Until you step into the world of filmmaking, try busting out a million dollars out of your own pocket to pay actors, pay to work on properties, pay for make up artists, pay special effect artists, pay editors, pay technicians, etc. UNTIL you realize the cost and budget of making things, you won't be aware that you CAN'T do certain things you want to.

We can't have a true Baraka in this low budget film or the high standards you want to see in Legacy.

Honestly, given what time and resources they had, animation was the best route. I think I'll call it now and say Shao Kahn might wear his helmet when he shows up to the touranment. An emperor always needs to have some kind of head gear, right?!

At least this short film did more justice in characterization and how the story really happened in the games under Tobias. It is far better that that mess of a storyline in MK 2011. The Mileena in this short film is the real Mileena. Hell , this Tancharoen guy did far more just in explaining what really happened one trillion times better than Mortal Kombat 2011’s storyline. Also, no cheesy dialogue, unlike Mortal Kombat 2011.


Mileena is still the dumb sex clown , she has been since Mortal Kombat Deception,. MK 2011 should have been the perfect opportunity to show what really happened, while Raiden was changing things. Like Mileena under Tobias run and as shown in this short film, Mileena is much more interesting and tragic as a character. I don't have any faith that the writers at NRS, can create an original MK game, that is based and expands Tobias’s legacy.


Good episode , by the way.

For it's hypervalved miserable ill-begotten existence, for once, ONCE it managed to make me give a damn about Edenian characters.

Pro:
Sindel looking decent. It is beyond understanding how utterly stupid the MK3 Sindel (overall MK3) look was. If we ever see her again, and give her a skunk stripe since she is undead, fine, but she looked like a functional royalty, not like a skank-party whore in the mind of a pre-teen.

Kahn being human. Seriously, the only thing they DO NOT have in common is the headspikes. Kahn here probably let's his helmet down. Iconic or not in the games, this is a movie, something for the fanbase to wank with and to introduce the basics of MK to everyone else. Not making him the steroid abusing cousin of Skeletor is the wisest design choice. If the movie takes itself seriously, then take the characters seriously.

Mileena we never knew ye. Aside from the MKD Mileena she has been a papercut characterwith the depth of a two dimensional plane.

Kahn residing in Edenia. Makes sense, what kind of idiot would live in a wasteland in the first place? Also, this Edenia actually looks like a pretty cool place to be, and geniously so, Kahn left it at least aprtially intact. Wise.

Baraka actually looks physiologically viable. I hate tarkatans mostly because they talk out of their ass, as they have no lips. In a movie I will not tolerate something that is in the game. That would look stupid.

Contra: not much, but there are some. General darkness in the shots.

Jerrod, while only a footnote with importance, is still a footnote here. But not that much of a problem as his prominence isn't relevant. At least for now.


Ironic isn't it. The most ambivalent person on this board with a grudge against Edenians likes this so far as the best installment. Absolutely hyped for Scoprion and Sub-Zero, which is also ironic to me.

I have the distinct feeling the next episode will have kitana or mileena assassinating jerrod without knowing who he is.

Conquest made Kahn in a mask work. All they had to do was fully clothe him underneath the armor to make him look serious. Kahn's skull helmet doesn't hide his eyes or mouth either, so there's no problems with showing emotions.

This was my favourite episode. I love seeing this portrayal of Mileena. Sindel was kind of tame. Shao Kahn was boring. Shang Tsung is a little person.

I am sad to see that other people didn't love this as much as me.

I always figured Kahn was all like "Look, your sister's got this terrible deformity...we're just not gonna talk about it and you and her are both gonna wear masks so she can pretend to be normal."
P.S. Shang was a really short guy in MK1 and 2 too, why are people surprised with that?

Am I the only one who thinks this sucked?...
MK Rebirth put my expectations rather high... and so far 3 out of four episodes blew chunks...

Episode 3 is still by far the best, and the only one I've ever wathed more than once.

I really, really enjoyed parts of this episode, but it had some flaws, though most of those were budget issues.

PROS:
- Mileena. Okay, as someone that loved the Malibu comic between Kitana and Mileena, I LOVED how they kept that angle. Mileena isn't a brainless sex-a-holic psychotic, she's portrayed as a rather sympathetic creature, one who is confused, afraid, and angry at who and what she is and aspires to be. She's fully realized and infinitely more likable than the generic minion we get in the game. This is a Mileena that would probably be embarrassed to have a "Flesh Pit" costume and isn't even "evil", but rather has a feral side of herself she fears and loses control to.

- Kahn & Sindel. One of the weaknesses of the game is that Kahn has to be a badass 100% of the time, and he's never shown a sliver of any emotion beyond "I am the boss. Fear and hate me." Again, as stupid as most of the Malibu comics were, the Kitana & Mileena issue remains the gold standard for their portrayals to this very day, and they wisely kept that aspect. Kahn is a conqueror, but he legitimately loves Sindel and wants her love in return. The man who has everything can't get the one thing he desires most, and his rationale for creating Mileena (a daughter that won't hate him) is interesting and commendable. I wish they had explored Kahn's "softer" side with his family more-so in the games.

- The animation. I actually enjoyed it, and I don't typically do. I wish there was more live action, but this was a very nice, stylized portrayal of events (and probably cheaper than loads of CG). I even wish the new MK game had utilized more of these for their bios and vignettes.

CONS:
- Pronunciations. From the way they said "Edenian" and "Sindel", it bothered me a bit. I got over it, but it was distracting, must in the same way people still argue about Reiko being "Ray-ko" or "Rai-ko".

- Sindel. She was a beautiful actress, but I for one wish Sindel would finally be portrayed prior to her death in a stronger, more dignified light. I wish her to be the shrew Kahn wishes to tame, just as rebellious and strong-willed as her husband, but Kahn wishes to break her and make her submit to him. He keeps her alive perhaps only to get her love and loyalty, and destroys her in the process, causing her to commit suicide. Here, she's meek and mild, as someone already mentioned a waif that mopes and cries and ultimately dies selflessly. MK2011's Sindel was a BEAST that I think is her strongest and most positive portrayal yet, and that's not found here.

- Kahn's appearance. Needs the helmet. Absolutely needs the helmet. With the helmet, he is a warlord. Without it, he's "that guy".

- Budget. Beyond their control, but it looked and felt pretty cheap. Considering the scale of the episode, they did the best they could under such short time, but it still comes across less as an amazing short film and more like a low-body TV episode of Conquest.

Razor I wasn't saying that was always the truth (never seen conquest) but it just seems the way producers think.

A good non Mk example is Rey Mysterio; WCW removed his mask to see his expression, anyone who watches WWE now would know that Mysterio fans have no problem understanding his expressions.

So it might be a case of executive meddling. Or since they went with Kahn has emotions they just wanted to show his face.

I really liked Baraka's look... Not sure what the complaints are all about.

I liked Kahn and Jerrod, but I do hope they introduce a Mortal Kombat Conquest style outfit for Kahn later on. He looked perfect in MKC.

The animation was an awesome part of it, because it helped give the story a ''fairy tale'' feel, which makes sense considering this is the first episode to really go into the fantasy world of MK, and with Edenia of all places.

I was a bit bored but it hyped me up for part deux.

Or not even that. In the games it is almost mundane to have weird stuff growing on you or having physical anomalities comapred to a regular human, eyes being white for example.


Hell, Mileena looking like a tarkatan might not even surprise Kitana, given how much shit is going down in Outworld.

Loved it.

For those who say that Shao Kahn doesn't have his helmet, he probably gets it afterwards. I think it'll be a lot more fitting if they explain how he gets his skull helmet in this series, instead of him just showing up randomly with a skull on his head. It will add depth to his storyline. I'm calling it now, it may be the skull of King Jerrod once he finds and kills him? I liked seeing Shao Kahn, for the first time, in an actual human appearance.

Shang Tsung is badass, that smirk was crazy. I definately want to see him in action.

Also, the anime scenes were understandable as obviously they don't have the budget to put in some SERIOUS top-quality effects. So this was the best route to have that same effect( explosions, scenery, blood, kid actors, etc) of course in a different way and obviously not as 'wow', but it worked.

Baraka looks like a fucking beast and a real leader.

Weakest of the episodes by far. Cinematography was very poor, using poorly animated motion comics to capture scenes which I assume were just too expensive to make. Did not like this one.



Shao Kahn is not human, however. Tobias drew how Kahn looks without his helmet, and he only superficially resembles a human:

Shao Kahn. maybe?

As far as MKA, he wore his mask, and if they would've gotten the right actor, it would have been cool to show his face, like in MKSM, they could just use makeup.

I'm pretty sure they only did that in MKC because if he did take his mask off, he would look a hell of a lot like Raiden.

Today is a GREAT day to be a Mileena and Kitana fan.

Especially Mileena

Where do I start?

First off, I was very nervous about the actresses who are playing Mileena and Kitana because I thought they looked too young, but now I'm amazed that those actresses are portraying Kitana's and Mileena's teenage years, which I find AMAZING!!!!!!! omg! Freakin' out!! Its something I've always wanted to see!

By portraying their young years, we really get to see where things start to go wrong.

Mileena's portrayal in this short was PERFECT! This is who Mileena is and how she was suppose to be portrayed in MK 2011. Yeah Mileena is angry, psychiotic and evil, but at the same time, there is a reason why she is that way and this short demonstrates that. I also love how it shows Mileena's emotional side, a side of her that is looking for acceptance.

amazing! Kevin really does understand our characters and even though the special effects weren't anything amazing, its understandable. Imagine how amazing this story would have played out with a bigger budget? WOW!

Good thing: Kevin understands the characters!! FINALLY someone does

BAD THING: SHAO KAHN

omg

no no no no no! Shao Kahn is suppose to be very evil and scary and sinister and SUPER inimidating. Kinda like how he was portrayed in MK Conquest. He is suppose to be terrifying, both in appearance and personality.

This guy playing him is way too good looking to be Shao Kahn! He either needs the mask and he just needs to be more scary. If that guy was trying to take over my realm, I WOULD HAVE TOTALLY LET HIM too cuz he's hot! Thats not how Shao Kahn is suppose to be though

Also, Sindel, or shall I say, Sindle? lol (no biggie) I loved her, I just wish she wasn't such a wimp when Baraka entered her room. I always pictured Sindel as a strong and brave woman.

Shang Tsung is too short.


Thats it! Thank you for understanding Mileena's character Kevin! THANK YOU!!!!!

Liked the episode, can't wait until next week for part 2.

I thought the animation was a nice change of pace and I love how much deeper Mileena is here. While I admit Sindel comes off weak here, killing her self so her soul could full protect Kitana was pretty heart wrenching. I don't really have an opinion on Baraka's new look, though I think it is more monstrous and truer to the character, than the MK Rebirth pitch. Also, I admit Shang comes off as a bit of a magnificent bastard here, even though he has little screen time. Jerrod still being alive somewhere was a nice twist I did not expect, you can bet he is planning a rebelilon. I admit, though, no matter what changes you make, you cannot have Shao Kahn without his helmet, it just doesn't work.

Since the new canon has Jerrod as one of Ermac's souls, I wonder if they'll address that if/when he appears in another season or a movie. Of course I just wanna see Ermac no matter what, lol.

Ugh. I could only make it half way through before that annoying narrator became too much to bear