Mortal Kombat Conquest

Mortal Kombat Krusades (Working Title)

"In Each of Us There Burns the Soul of a Warrior, 
in Every Generation a Few are Chosen to Prove It."

I guess I'm gonna have to admit that I'm probably going to be bias in my review here... because this is where I discovered Daniel Bernhardt, from which led me to become the obsessive Bernholic I am today. After all, if this show is where my obsession comes from, it's hardly gonna be a negative review is it?

Ok so bearing that in mind, on with the review. For the uneducated out there, Mortal Kombat's storyline is that there are many dimensional realms of existence, one of which is Outworld; a desolate wasteland infested with mutants under the rule of a viciously cruel, immortal warlord named Shao Kahn, obsessed with the domination of all other realms. 

In order to conquer another realm, the Elder Gods have decreed that he must battle the opposing realm in a martial arts tournament called Mortal Kombat once every generation, until either side wins ten battles. Once ten tournaments are lost, Outworld is free to conquer the realm and fuse with it... unfortunately as fate would have it, Kahn has set his sights on Earth. The first game (and its subsequent movie) was based on the tenth tournament for Earth, conducted in the late 20th century... however here we see the story told from the very beginning of Earth's fight, back to 16th century China when Shao Kahn first began his war with us.

In the pilot episode we see Shao Kahn hosting the first tournament against Earth, that he in fact loses. A local warrior named Kung Lao (Paulo Montalban) eliminates Kahn's greatest champion, the shape-shifting sorcerer known as Shang Tsung (Bruce Locke) and destroys Kahn's domination plans for one generation... or at least he thinks so. Being the evil dude that he is, Kahn doesn't sit well with a defeat and for the rest of the show's episodes he plots deadly devious schemes to work around loopholes in the Elder Gods' rules and eventually conquer Earth one way or another. Meanwhile Kung Lao is instructed by Earth's over-seeing God of Thunder, Rayden (Jeffrey Meek) and seeks out new warriors to train to defend our world from Outworld attacks in the future.

The two warriors who join Kung Lao are Taja (Kristanna Loken) and Siro (Daniel Bernhardt). Taja is a sly thief who unfortunately chooses the wrong Swiss ass-kicker to pickpocket, yet finds herself joining forces with Siro after facing a life of slavery. Siro is the bodyguard of Kung Lao's girlfriend Jen Reyland, who was sadly murdered in the pilot by the demonic ninja called Scorpion (Chris Casamassa) - and together the three of them move in together at Jen's home, the Reyland Trading Post as Jen's last dying wish.

So begins their fight against scantily-clad gorgeous women, mystical masked ninjas, sorcerers, mysterious cults, shadow priests and any other creepy evil doers who happen to sneak their way into Earth realm. Since I can't sit here typing out each and every biography, I will briefly comment on a few choice characters without going into their plots, quite simply because this'd just take way too long (and to be honest the best way for you to find out everything that's going on is for you to sit down, pull out the Super Nintendo, play the games, then watch the first movie and you should get an idea of who's who and what's what).

First and foremost, I'll comment on Kung Lao, our standard likeable and wise leader of the gang, who's excessive heroics can sometimes grate on the nerves (just like his descendant, Liu Kang in the movie) but the writers were able to toy around with the character enough to give him appropriate levels of nastiness when needed just to ensure we don't loathe him by the end.

Next up is Daniel's character of Siro. This is certainly the role that gave him the much-needed exposure to get him cast in the Matrix Reloaded and helped make him just that little bit more well-known. It also allowed him to really explore further depths to his character and expand his acting; since 22 episodes of a 45-minute TV show will certainly allow an actor to delve far more deeply into a role than any 90-minute movie. Siro himself is an honorable and very courageous man who unfortunately often rushes into dangerous situations a little too easily. This has great repercussions to his pride and he can unwittingly turn on his friends when confronted with his personal problems. Certainly the levels of Daniel's range are far wider than anything seen in any of his movies... and he also gets to kick a hell of a lot of ass; flipping and flying with added MK-finesse to really showcase his ass-whoopin' abilities! In short: Siro rules!

Taja however is the weakest of the three characters - largely down to how she's written. She's a wise-cracking modern-scripted American character in 16th century China and her 20th century attitude totally ruins the feel of the show at times, making you feel like you're watching 90210 rather than an ancient Oriental battle against evil. Oh and she loses all her fights too - as a fighter she absolutely sucks - although she is one hot piece of ass... so she has that much going for her, but not much else.

Lord Rayden is played most-excellently by Jeffrey Meek; adopting the sarcastic-witted version of the character that Christopher Lambert portrayed in the first movie. Although he spends most of the show just dropping in to inform our heroes of perils ahead in his classic "I'm a God and I freakin' love it!" manner, he does take the time out to do explosive battles with evil and also show off some fantastic dramatic acting when called for! Also, he's made of lightning, which instantly means he kicks ass!

The ninjas, namely Sub Zero (the ice-throwing blue one), Scorpion (the undead yellow one) and Reptile's race (the acid-spitting green ones) all have been fleshed out to no longer just silent ass-kickers in masks. We see them questioning their loyalties, unsure of who they are and their roles in the ultimate battle - basically being adapted far beyond their simplistic roles in the movie; Sub Zero (played by Bloodsport 3 co-star J.J. Perry) and Reptile especially. Scorpion's an evil dude who doesn't give a crap about anyone as always, and admittedly, his lines sometimes border on total stupidity, but hey Scorpion rules... so I can live with that.

Finally there's Shao Kahn! At long last they did this guy the justice he so desperately deserved! In the second movie, the pathetic Mortal Kombat Annihilation (please NEVER see that movie!), he was a huge bald thug who not only blasphemously removed his helmet (as far as I'm concerned the Emperor's face should never be seen, adds to his evil mystique), yet also hung out in fruity black satin pajamas and looked like an absolute unthreatening idiot (played very poorly by Brian Thompson from Perfect Target). However, here he's an armor-plated warlord, armed with a supernaturally-tainted broadsword, a face that's always hidden behind a menacing skin-tight skull-plate strapped to his head... and basically walks around being unrelentingly evil and quite simply kicking ass! He should get his own talk-show - he's that good.

Other characters come and go, some are awesome, some are naff... but overall, the show had a great range of personalities to keep every episode fresh. As such, like all TV shows, the series had its up and its downs - some episodes were a bit boring, but the majority were action-packed spectacles that gave MK fans what they craved; ass-kicking action, ninjas, hot chicks and superb intertwining subplots! By the end of the series' run, the episodes were just getting better and better, and the finale was just so outstanding that myself and my best bud (who was sat beside me for this epic final episode) were quite literally left open-mouthed and speechless upon witnessing the climax of our favorite show.

If you love Mortal Kombat, then you have no excuse for not having watched this show (especially since it more than made up for that dreadful second movie)... but likewise if you're simply a martial arts fan or a curious Bernholic, then you definitely need to check this show out for yourself. You'll see some of the best acting in Daniel's career and hopefully find yourself a new found fan of the legendary tournament known as Mortal Kombat!