Mortal Kombat Legends: Cage Match

Did You Know?

• Joel McHale reprised his role as Johnny Cage in this film.
• The film was announced at New York Comic Con in October 2022.
• Actress Jennifer Grey and Gilbert Gottfried were among the cast.

Plot

It’s Christmastime in the 1980s, and Johnny Cage, a martial artist and action star, is hoping his next movie, Ninja Mime, will finally be his big break. The film’s producer, Brian Van Jones, tells him his co-star, Jennifer Grey, has gone missing. Johnny and his loyal assistant, Chuck Golden, go to her mansion to look for her. There, they find two women—Ashrah and Kia—fighting over a mysterious scroll. Johnny gets pulled into the brawl, and the three of them escape just before the house explodes from a planted bomb. Ashrah and Kia keep fighting on the highway, so Johnny hijacks a tour bus to chase them. During the chase, Ashrah kicks Kia out of her car, killing her. With Golden’s help, Johnny grabs the scroll from Ashrah. It turns out to be a star map of Los Angeles with Greek writing on the back. Meanwhile, Ashrah reports to Lord Raiden at the White Lotus Society. Raiden tells her to get Johnny’s help for the battles ahead. On his way to tell the police what he and Golden found, Johnny gets sidetracked by his agent, David Doubldy, who says “The Big Man” wants to hire him for a superhero movie. But when Johnny goes to Doubldy’s office, the agent demands the scroll and says a secret Hollywood club meeting at the Magical Mansion is interested in him. They fight, and Johnny realizes Doubldy is actually a demon. He kills him in self-defense. The police won’t help, so Johnny and Golden decide to investigate on their own and head to the Magical Mansion. While Golden deciphers the scroll, Johnny goes to the party. A club attendee named Jataaka invites him as a guest and leads him underground, cutting off contact with Golden. Before Jataaka can take him deeper, Ashrah shows up. She explains that Jataaka and Kia were two of three assassins working for the Brotherhood of Shadows, a cult trying to summon their god, Shinnok, to take over Earthrealm. With Golden’s help, Johnny and Ashrah defeat Jataaka. Golden then tells them the Brotherhood plans to use the spell from the scroll and the “blood of a god” beneath the Oriental Theatre to open a gate to the Netherrealm. Just as they’re about to destroy the scroll, the third assassin, Jennifer, attacks and captures them.

Reception

Sam Stone of Comic Book Resources called the film 'a goofy love letter to the '80s' and added that there are moments where the audience may have to remind themselves they are watching a Mortal Kombat movie because it feels like an off-kilter solo spinoff for Johnny Cage. Matt Donato of IGN rated the film a 6 out of 10, commenting that Cage Match is more interested in Johnny slinging one-liners laced with '80s pop culture references than replicating gameplay, and that it seems to try lampooning cheesy action movies but winds up being one itself. Douglas Davidson of Elements of Madness described it as delivering a delightful mystery that starts soft and ends with a series of blood-soaked fatalities.