‘Mortal Kombat’ Reboot First Looks: Director Promises “Gore, Blood And Fatalities”

The rules around ratings aren’t what a lot of people think they are,” he explained. “It’s amount of blood, it’s amount of red, it’s interpretation of how you go about it. We had a lot of discussions about getting the balance right so there was gore and there was blood and there were fatalities. And there is gore, blood, and fatalities.”

Let’s face it; if you’re a fan of Mortal Kombat, the iconic fighting video game known for its extreme violence, this is exactly what you want to hear from director Simon McQuoid about the upcoming movie reboot.  Anything less and the cry “FINISH HIM!!” might be for you!

Our first look at the new Mortal Kombat has been revealed by EW, and no, this isn’t anything like the PG-13 hit film from 1995. According to star Hiroyuki Sanada, who plays the spear-throwing ninja Scorpion (“Get over here!!”), the film is “like a family drama with excitingly brutal fighting.”

The Mortal Kombat storyline begins with a secret underground tournament, whose outcome could decide the fate of the world. The game franchise expands on that greatly, adding universal threats and new fighters into the mix.  After the 1995 movie proved to be a surprising success, the sequel Mortal Kombat: Annihilation was a dud in 1997. Warner Bros. attempted to launch a third film for years, before moving ahead on a reboot with James Wan as producer and McQuoid directing.

The cast includes Ludi Lin as Liu Kang, The Raid‘s Joe Taslim as Sub-Zero, Mehcad Brooks as Jax, Tadanobu Asano as Raiden, Jessica McNamee as Sonya Blade, Josh Lawson as Kano, and Chin Han as Shang Tsung.

Mortal Kombat opens in theaters and HBO Max on April 16th.

 

Travis Hopson has been reviewing movies before he even knew there was such a thing. Having grown up on a combination of bad '80s movies, pro wrestling, comic books, and hip-hop, Travis is uniquely positioned to geek out on just about everything under the sun. A vampire who walks during the day and refuses to sleep, Travis is the co-creator and lead writer for Punch Drunk Critics. He is also a contributor to Good Morning Washington, WBAL Morning News, and WETA Around Town. In the five minutes a day he's not working, Travis is also a voice actor, podcaster, and Twitch gamer. Travis is a voting member of the Critics Choice Association (CCA), Washington DC Area Film Critics Association (WAFCA), and Late Night programmer for the Lakefront Film Festival.