Don't get me wrong - it's a well-made series, rather entertaining and enjoyable to watch. It would just be better off if wasn't a Mortal Kombat title.
Kevin Tancharoen got carried away and went too far from the MK universe in many ways. First thing that strikes your eye is the cast. They look and act so different from the characters in games, movies and earlier series that it's impossible to believe that you're actually looking at Sonya, Johnny Cage and the rest of the gang. In fact I think Legacy has the worst cast possible for an MK series (except for Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa - he's the best Shang Tsung ever!).
The other disappointing thing is the spirit of the series. For some reason Tancharoen laid emphasis on gore while MK has always focused on mystery and darkness, and the whole MK world would give you the chills. Gore has always been a secondary thing that just added to the whole dark spirit of the story.
Random stupid jokes don't help building the right spirit either (a drunk bum sees a man disappear and looks at his bottle of booze in astonishment? come on! this joke stopped being funny about 100 stupid movies ago!). They just make you miss Christopher Lambert's outstanding performance.
And the story itself got transformed beyond recognition. Why Tancharoen decided to make Liu Kang and Kung Lao best buddies instead of distant relatives is beyond my understanding. It's a great idea to shed light on the characters' backgrounds but the stories this series tells are just too far-fetched and unbelievable.
Of course all the above might concern you if you used to love the games or MK movies. Otherwise you're just about to watch an entertaining series that will give you a distant idea of what Mortal Kombat is all about.
Kevin Tancharoen got carried away and went too far from the MK universe in many ways. First thing that strikes your eye is the cast. They look and act so different from the characters in games, movies and earlier series that it's impossible to believe that you're actually looking at Sonya, Johnny Cage and the rest of the gang. In fact I think Legacy has the worst cast possible for an MK series (except for Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa - he's the best Shang Tsung ever!).
The other disappointing thing is the spirit of the series. For some reason Tancharoen laid emphasis on gore while MK has always focused on mystery and darkness, and the whole MK world would give you the chills. Gore has always been a secondary thing that just added to the whole dark spirit of the story.
Random stupid jokes don't help building the right spirit either (a drunk bum sees a man disappear and looks at his bottle of booze in astonishment? come on! this joke stopped being funny about 100 stupid movies ago!). They just make you miss Christopher Lambert's outstanding performance.
And the story itself got transformed beyond recognition. Why Tancharoen decided to make Liu Kang and Kung Lao best buddies instead of distant relatives is beyond my understanding. It's a great idea to shed light on the characters' backgrounds but the stories this series tells are just too far-fetched and unbelievable.
Of course all the above might concern you if you used to love the games or MK movies. Otherwise you're just about to watch an entertaining series that will give you a distant idea of what Mortal Kombat is all about.