Scheduled to be released April 16, “Mortal Kombat” fans are ready for the newest live-action film to be released. This action-packed franchise started off as a video game in August of 1992, which was inspired by the upcoming popularity of “Street Fighter II: The World Warrior,” and is now worth more than 12 billion dollars. In 29 years, the franchise has produced many excellent sequels and spin-offs in both the television and the gaming world, and fans are expecting nothing less than extraordinary for this film.
The movie follows the story of Cole Young (Lewis Tan), a martial arts fighter who is being hunted down by a recurring character, Sub-Zero (Joe Taslim), of the Lin-Kuei assassin clan. Young is just as confused as to why a mystical man with dangerous ice powers is hunting him, for he is unaware of his hidden lineage, but he later learns it has something to do with his mysterious ‘birthmark’ of a dragon, which is really his invitation to the Mortal Kombat tournament, a single-elimination martial art tournament where the victor is granted immortality.
This film is being taken on by The Warner Brothers as well as director Simon McQuoid, and features actors such as Mehcas Brooks, Jessica McNamee and Hiroyuki Sanada. This blood-bash franchise already offers a diverse and violent array of characters, and viewers can expect to see six of the ten original game characters; Sub-Zero, Scorpion, Sonya Blade, Raiden, Liu Kang and Kano.
Fans are excited to see these characters come to life yet again on the big screen, for it brings a new form of appreciation to the character's backstory. While Mortal Kombat has an in-game storyline, players play for the gruesome and head-crushing gameplay that can be instantly captivating without the backstory, so seeing the live movie adaptation of these characters builds more of an imagination than relying on the fandom and short storyline.
Mortal Kombat has been described as one of the greatest videogames of all time, and fans are hoping the movie captures those aspects that make it great. The trailer showed amazing graphics, character design, and a glimpse into a promising fight between long-time enemies Sub-Zero and Scorpion. But more importantly, the official “Red Band Trailer” showed viewers what kind of gruesome, bone-crushing, and blood-splattering fights these supernatural characters will get into. The movie will be released to theatres and HBO Max subscribers on April 16, and fans can not wait to dive in.