I think at least the majority of MK fans would agree that the first movie was pretty good, and that just about everyone agrees that the second movie just simply doesn't exist (on account of it being one of the worst movies of all time).

So I've been studying the MK canon storyline and been thinking about how the movie would have played out if I were calling the shots. I'm also wondering what you all think would have made the first movie better, or how a movie made today would play out. I'd also like to point out that while Legacy is entertaining, in it's own right, I'm not particularly a fan of how far it deviates from the original canon.

So here is a short list of what would make the movie (based on the first game/tournament like the '95 movie) better in my eyes:

1. Scorpion and Sub-Zero are not just henchmen of Shang Tsung. Scorpion is neutral and the audience should be given insight as to why he is in the tournament (to kill Bi-Han), while Sub-Zero would be recruited to participate by Shang Tsung, and in exchange the Lin Kuei will not be exterminated when Outworld and Earthrealm are merged.

2. Shang Tsung should not be recruiting the Earthrealm warriors. That never made any sense to me. Shang should be recruiting Sub-Zero and Kano, while Raiden should be the one paying Sonya and Johnny Cage visits and convincing them to come to the tournament. Liu Kang has been training for this his whole life so he shouldn't need any convincing.

3. All of the bad guys need to have a chance to show that they are badasses. Kano never did anything to convince me that he was dangerous, despite how well his character was played by Trevor Goddard. Sub-Zero was given a bit of the chance with his demonstration on the random henchman. They did this fairly well with Goro, with the little montage of all the Earth fighters getting thrown to the ground as he defeated them, but for the most part, all the members of Team Outworld simply show up and lose, not indicative of the team that has won the last 9 tournaments.

4. Take out Kitana. She is with Shao Kahn, who doesn't participate in the first tournament. She serves him directly and has no real reason to be with Shang Tsung at the beginning, and it takes screen time away from the other characters who could use more developing. Save her for the sequel.

5. Work in the back story of the Special Forces vs Black Dragon and show Sonya's partner getting killed during the raid in which he acted as their informant. This is one aspect of Legacy I did like, as far as meshing well with the canon.

6. More Jax. He should find himself stuck in this tournament along with Sonya. I have my ideas about the specifics, but basically they would follow Kano, who escapes the initial raid I mentioned in #5, and lead an entire SF team to the island, most (or all) of whom get slaughtered pretty quickly, giving Blade and Briggs even more of a score to settle. Also, Jax should lose his arms, though I'm not sure how. I'd say it would have to be something other than an opposing fighter removing them in a fight, because that would leave him vulnerable to Shang Tsung's soul stealing antics. It would have to be something like a cave-in, where he sacrifices himself to save others. I also like the idea of him getting his arms replaced with the same technology that Kano gets his eye replaced (which is the same tech adopted by Cyrax/Sektor/Smoke and other Lin Kuei).

7. Johnny Cage should be less whiny and more cocky like the MK9 Johnny Cage (I consider him probably the best written and voice-acted character in the game). I also wasn't too fond of Liu Kang's trolling every time Cage made a comment in the movie, but that's not a huge issue really.

8. In the Shang Tsung fight, he should actually morph into at least one of the other fighters, instead of raising them as separate fighters. The effect they used to have him morph into Chan to try to trick Liu Kang was seamless, and obviously could be implemented today mid fight, making him very formidable, as he should be.

8. Finally, here is a rough outline of which fights should definitely occur as far as the tournament goes (with more in between as time would permit):

-Scorpion vs Sub-Zero (Scorpion should win it with a classic fatality)
-Sonya vs Kano
-Johnny Cage vs Two fighters (Reptile maybe and someone else? a 1v2 to reflect the fights you had to win before fighting Goro in MK1)
Liu Kang vs Goro
Liu Kang vs Shang Tsung
Jax - Not too sure as the supply of Outworld's main cast is limited.

I think maybe it's worth considering. If Shang Tsung enlists Sub-Zero to fight for him against Earthrealm, that the other Lin Kuei would join him as well. One of my favorite parts of MK9 was human Cyrax having his internal struggle with the Grandmaster's plan and what he thought was right. We could have human Cyrax, Sektor, and Smoke to create a sufficient supply of fodder for the protagonists, but they wouldn't have time to be developed individually.

Anyway, my post grew long quickly. I'm curious as to what everyone's thoughts are on this!