“And now a taste of things to come…”
~Shang Tsung, Mortal Kombat (1994)
The official Mortal Kombat Twitter account has released some amazing images from the upcoming Mortal Kombat film which hits HBOMax and theaters (where they are open) on April 16th, 2021!
In an Entertainment Weekly piece, Mortal Kombat director Simon McQuoid gives some press-friendly insight on the R-rated film and promises blood, guts, and fatalities, but not enough to cross that NC-17 line.
As someone who grew up with Mortal Kombat being the center of my twelve to fourteen-year-old universe, I absolutely adore both of the campy films that were released during the heyday of Mortal Kombat-mania, and I have to wonder if including blood and gore will help the film.
One thing that makes the series enjoyable is how over-the-top it is. Even to this day with the incredible graphics, the fatalities are so ridiculous they come across as funny and not horrifying. Personally speaking, I don’t want realistic depictions of people suffering gruesome deaths in a world where cryomancers use fantastical powers to freeze their opponents with ice while shapeshifting sorcerers from the nether realm battle thunder gods. I go into this with an open mind, but I certainly hope the focus is on fun rather than “gritty realism.” Let’s take a look at some of the released photos and see what this Mortal Kombat fan can see.
Here we clearly have Liu Kang (Ludi Lin, Power Rangers) and Kung Lao (Max Huang, No Way Out) about to enter into a battle, but who might they be fighting? Could it be the four-armed Shookan Prince Goro? Maybe the vomiting drunken master Bo’ Rai Cho? Maybe it is a character actually in this movie, who knows!
Interestingly, in both photos, Liu seems to be preparing a fireball attack, which was barely touched upon in the 1994 film. This could be the climactic battle, or are we getting a Liu that is more comfortable with his powers? It is also possible that someone in post-production discovered how to make fire emanate from someone’s hands. Regardless, their costumes are on point and undeniably awesome.
Next up we have a shot featuring Sonya (Jessica McNamee, The Meg) Vs. Kano. (Josh Lawson, Super Store). This is actually a very informative shot, most likely we have a re-telling of the same story from the first film and games. Special agent Sonya Blade chases Kano and ends up in the tournament.
Definitely getting a modern-day “tacticool” vibe from the photos here, then again it could be the muted color grading. I certainly hope we end up with more distinctive costumes and Kano’s unique eye plate. It makes him stand out more than just “random criminal #242” or in the above photo, I get strong “WWE Superstar Sami Zayn in Mortal Kombat” vibes. Hoping this is early in the film and he has some character progression to make him the truly evil Kano we want to see get pummeled by Sonya.
Then we have our first look at Sub-Zero. This is more my style. The Lin-Kuei Cryomancer Sub-Zero (Joe Taslim, The Raid: Redemption) seems to be generating an ice sword in battle. This captures the character’s essence perfectly. A deadly warrior with unique powers that elevate the series from an average fighting game/action movie to exciting supernatural battles. See why I love the over-the-top style? If you are going to have fireballs and ice ninjas, lean into it hard. I like the purple bruising/frostbite on Sub-Zero’s hands, a very nice touch. Very… cool.
Moving right along is our first glimpse at Jax Briggs! Remember how I started this article saying that I love the Mortal Kombat movies- plural? I am an absolute fan of the glorious mess of Mortal Kombat: Annihilation. This isn’t a guilty pleasure but instead, a genuine love for the level of commitment the film has to taking the concept up to 11. One of those reasons is Jax. (Portrayed in the 2021 film by the amazingly talented Mehcad Brooks [who you probably know from Supergirl on The CW])
I’ve got to say I get strong camp vibes from this photo. Maybe it is wishful thinking, but seeing those mechanical arms gives me hope that we will see things get ridiculous sooner than later. Again, right on point with Jax. Kano not so much, but Jax? Simply perfection.
From what I understand, this is a new character Cole Young (Lewis Tan, Deadpool 2) and he seems to be the Johnny Cage equivalent. Instead of being an actor, he is a washed-up MMA fighter with the MK logo on his chest. I suppose this is to make it more relatable to modern audiences which may be bigger fans of MMA than film actors.
He seems bland from the descriptions and photos given, but we will see how things go with him. I want to put something funny here, but as I am not a fan of real fighting. The MMA character doesn’t resonate as the protagonist at this point. I hope they will change my outlook on Cole Young before April 16th with a few trailers or something interesting to let audiences believe in him while surrounded by supernatural ninjas.
Now if we could just get my favorite character, Stryker, in the film somehow I would be waiting in line for a seat on my couch for the film to begin.
Stick with me, I plan to cover this film all the way through release here on Geek Anything! Which characters are you hoping to see pop up from the game series? Let us know in the comments section below!
