Will Mortal Kombat actually turn out…good?
Here’s a fresh look at Hollywood’s latest attempt to bring the arcade classic to a different kind of screen. It’s the movie’s opening scene and it sets up a blood feud between two of our key characters before they don the mantles that fans of the video game series know so well, Scorpion and Sub-Zero.
The scene has a little bit of everything: story build-up, blood-letting, displays of fantastical power, even a look at how the movie establishes one of the game’s most popular and well-known special moves. Notably absent: a layer of cheese. Past attempts to turn Mortal Kombat into a filmed story have been characterized by some inherent cheesiness. But this? It just looks like a slick and violent martial arts action movie with some magical fantasy thrown in.
Color this fan excited. Mortal Kombat arrives on HBO Max and in theaters on April 23.