“GET OVER HERE!”
It has been over a quarter of a century since the previous big screen attempt at a Mortal Kombat movie, and while that adaptation wasn’t an out-and-out critical dumpster fire (48% on Rotten Tomatoes), it was a decent box office hit ($122 million on an $18 million budget), and is still considered to be one of the better movies-based-on-a-video-game ever made.
That is somewhat damning with faint praise, but now here we are, with another big budget remake, and finally – FINALLY! – the film-makers are truly leaning into what makes Mortal Kombat so gloriously great in the first place: the insanely over the top violence.
The new take seems to centre on MMA fighter Cole Young, accustomed to taking a beating for money, but who is unaware of his heritage – or why an Emperor by the name of Shang Tsung has sent his best warrior, Sub-Zero, an otherworldly assassin to hunt him down.
From the trailer below, fans of the game series will recognise a lot of famous characters, including Raiden, Kano, Sonya Blade, Goro, Scorpion, Jax, Liu Kang, Kung Lao, and Mileena.
The movie is produced by James Wan (The Conjuring, Saw), a horror movie legend, which probably goes some way towards explaining why this version, and this trailer, is backed to the absolute gills with gore.
Seriously, this is a proper, over-18s-only trailer, so if you’re in any way squeamish, look away now.
Mortal Kombat is due to arrive in US cinemas in April, with the release date for Irish and UK cinemas likely tied to when cinemas can be safely reopened.
Clip via WB Pictures
