I saw 1995’s Mortal Kombat in theaters. I owned its flawless victory of a soundtrack on tape. As much as I enjoyed the arcade-to-screen adaptation back then, it definitely isn’t a “good” movie.
It was fairly true to form when stacked up with video game movies as a whole, though, and didn’t suffer the kind of bloat that annihilated its sequel. As much as the games have grown since then, particularly from its 9th entry on, I have to admit I was skeptical at the prospect of a new film in the series.
Judging by this debut trailer, I’ve got nothing to worry about.
In it we’re introduced to some familiar faces, with Sub-Zero in particular getting a lot of focus and the series’ trademark gore. We’re also introduced to Cole Young, a new character being drawn into the Mortal Kombat mythos amidst these fighting game legends. While there’s only the loosest of story details to gather compared to the current narrative focus of the games, the action is on point and full of nods to their shared origins.
Mortal Kombat come to theaters and stream exclusively on HBO Max April 16th.
Written by Ricky Berg
When he isn’t writing for Nintendo Wire, Ricky’s anticipating the next Kirby, Fire Emblem, or if the stars ever align, Mother 3 to be released. Till then he’ll have the warm comfort of Super Smash Bros. to keep him going.
