MK: Rebirth, Legacy, & 2013
Obvious enough. Discuss your take on the web series Legacy, the pitch Rebirth, and the tbc 2013 laf.
The concept of Kevin Tancharoen's Rebirth intrigued me as I've never been a particular fan of the multidimensional aspect of MK. I was drawn to watch when hearing the idea of Reptile being a victim of disease and deformity rather than an outright otherworldly creature. I was especially pleased with the take on Baraka's "background" as a plastic surgeon. No hint was given as to Reptile's fighting capacity but neither was explanation offered as to Baraka's fighting ability. Surgically implanting blades into forearms does not a warrior make. The look wasn't great either. I was able to picture a far more convincing Baraka in my head who retained surgical self-mutilations to his face. The dual-layered blade installation is the only way I can imagine a two-foot blade to be able to sheathe into an at most 13" forearm, but they still looked awkward. Then again, one could imagine the blade retracts and then protrudes out past the elbows, not only meaning it's never fully sheathed but giving Baraka an elbow weapon in combat.
In Legacy, Baraka returned to his Tarkatan roots as K-Tan decided to give MK it's multidimensional quirk back. The tarkatans in Legacy looked more like giant rats than fear-inducing demons. I did not like Shao Kahn either. When I first heard of Rebirth's Baraka, I instantly pictured how his self-mutilation could be transferred onto Mileena, making her Dark Knight's Joker-esque. I wouldn't say I disapprove of Legacy's take on her character though. Kitana's Sindel soul-infusion made me-"What?"
I whole-heartedly approve of he casting of Sonya, Jax, Kano, Scorpion, Sub-Zero, and Raiden. I'm not sure how I feel about Raiden's nature; as I've stated already, I'm not the biggest fan of MK dimensions, but I can't think of another way to allow Raiden electrical attacks unless you give him a frickin' taser. Still, the concept of Raiden merely being a mortal who can endure insane amounts of electricity coursing through his body (as opposed to being able to utilitize it) would make for an interesting character in my book. I didn't really like seeing Quan Chi and I'm a little wary of the choice of actor for Shang Tsung.
Obviously, as the 2013 film is still in development (probably still being written), we can only speculate or make suggestions.
Somebody has put up some cast suggestions on IMDb here: Casting Mortal Kombat
