The power scaling in this movie is absolutely bonkers.
You're telling me those jobbers that Scorpion runs circles around can easily GG the supposedly badass dudes who beat him twice? Where'd their high-tech weaponry go? Their improved physiques? Truthfully, by the end, I was left thinking they might have stood a better chance had they not been turned into machines; which reminds me, the Lin Kuei Grandmaster? I realize he's not exactly the best fighter out there, but he does possess the Dragon Medallion which enhances his abilities and thus makes him more powerful than your average bloke, you'd think he'd go out against a bigger threat as opposed to some Netherrealm random without so much as a chance to do anything but uh, guess not.
Secondly, I realize Raiden lost his Godhood and all, but he's still a superb fighter with extensive martial arts knowledge and expertise as well as excellent techniques and eons of battle experience and Kitana of all people kicks his ass? He even boasts about his abilities beforehand and receives no retort from Liu Kang with the implication of what Raiden's saying being crystal clear to the audience and then he steps into the colosseum and gets wrecked.
How does any of this make sense? This thing is barely passable; the writing is mostly cheesy, the animation is also tacky for the most part and lacking the fluidity you'd expect from a movie that's all about fighting which results in seemingly slow, almost static fight sequences and while we're on it, the choreography isn't anything special either which sucks because this is an animated feature so you can go all out and experiment with things you wouldn't be able to easily do in a live-action piece.
Another thing that had me really disappointed was how much Johnny Cage has been nerfed and side-lined (in what seems like an effort to have Sonya take his place in the spotlight), I really thought that after he'd been shunned in the last movie until the last few minutes, he'd get a chance to shine more here and showcase what he's got but nope, fucking Stryker gets to dominate more than he does.
There's really nothing here to write home about but if you have an hour to spare and there's nothing better to spend it on then sure, give this movie a watch.
What's with Hellboy movies and blinding, seizure-inducing flashing lights? Scorch my retinas, why don't you?
Overall, the movie struggled to keep me engaged and suffered a terribly anti-climactic ending, the action was rather lack-luster as well which was especially disappointing because this was an animated film and the sky is the limit in that department, but Ron Perlman playing the titular character is always a welcome delight.
Great movie. I only gave it 7/10 though because it could've had a better ending.
