It's been a while since I've been overexcited about a quick post for blogger, but I saw the pseudo-trailer for a potential new Mortal Kombat movie yesterday morning. I am actually very intrigued. So here goes my 15 minute break at work...
Here's a link-
http://kotaku.com/5558339/if-this-is-the-next-mortal-kombat-movie-sign-us-up
An impressive quality for a "fake" trailer, I'd have to say people may be seeing this some time in the near future. Decently high production value- the "trailer" by Kevin Tancharoen has some very good ideas throughout, although poor dialogue, assumably to please fans. ("Find Shang Tsung and finish him.") By the looks of it, this potential Mortal Kombat would be a mix of the Dark Knight and Dexter.
It shows Jax(Michael Jai White) and Sonya(Jeri Ryan), police agents of some type in Deacon City, giving information to a shadowed prisoner in a police station interrogation room.
The first information is on a man with a genetic aberration giving him scales and a taste for flesh- code named Reptile. I believe if they grunged him up a bit more and had him living in the sewers or a forest area it would be a bit more interesting. But he looks to be handled well enough so far. A bit more work could make him a movie villain that is not forgotten.
What doesn't make sense for him is Jax says his eyes were formed "inside out". What the hell does that mean? How would he even see?
Anyway, next up is a failed Physician that experiments first on patients, then on himself in the form of body modifications. He even gives himself 10 inch retractable blades in his forearms.
He is code named Baraka. This is a character I believe needs much more work. He doesn't look monstrous or alien enough. He's still too human. And the dreads look ridiculous, they could possibly pass if he was the character Kabal mixed in, but I would think as Baraka, he would have a shaved head with short nails or spikes all over his skull. The blades would also need to be seriously anchored in. The way they look, they could be ripped off without a problem. I also think he should not be wearing slacks and a white shirt, and a button down over it. If he went to all the trouble of changing his face and arms, he would probably be wearing something a little more durable or closer to his persona. Maybe a torn apart leather jacket and army fatigue pants with combat boots.
Johnny Cage is mentioned as well. He is portrayed as an ex action-movie star working undercover with the police. Baraka fights and kills him. While a nice addition to the movie, he could be slightly better cast. It is fairly humorous to think this is how he could be: a hotshot moviestar that overestimates his fighting abilities, then gets his ass handed to himself in a real fight. The Baraka versus Cage fight scene needs more work. It looks completely absurd, it needs more "real" fighting. HEL-LOOOOO!!! WHERE IS THE FIGHT CHOREOGRAPHER??? No one is going to do a backflip standing a foot from their opponent. Baraka even moves on all fours at one point!
They also have a still shot of Shang Tsung as a potential criminal mastermind, attempting to create a tournament for the worlds greatest killers, assassins, and fighters. I believe he could be an unbelieveably amazing character if he stole the faces off people to be the "shapeshifter" he is known as in the games. A man that learns about a person- their mannerisms, their habits, various traits, speech patterns, and fighting styles, etc- and after defeating them in battle he would steal their identity and become them. Skinning them and using their faces as his own, he would literally take over their lives.
Turns out Scorpion is the prisoner Jax and Sonya are giving the intel to. Not that the yellow shirt was a dead giveaway. He is said to be the greatest assassin known. Then there is then a quick flashback to him assassinating a man with a small spear through the neck and the man is yanked backwards off his feet. (a note here, I really like the blood falling into the wineglass shot- it is a wonderful shot)
Sonya and Jax are trying to get him to enter this underground tournament to kill off Shang Tsung, Baraka, and Reptile, and whomever else he may encounter, to make Deacon City safer. Scorpion tells them he could leave their custody whenever he pleases. The cuffs he has fall off and he asks them why he would help. They give him a photo of Sub-Zero (YES!!! My favorite character, as the screen capture above shows, and I think they made him look quite awesome.) Scorpion says he is dead, but Sonya says Scorpion had actually killed Sub-Zero's brother as the photo is from the day before. The great assassin gets up to leave and Jax gives the "Finish Him" line (ugh.), and Scorpion turns to reply and has completely white eyes. Which looks cool but leads me to ask the question, "If they are making this a gritty and realistic take, as spending all the time explaining Reptile and Baraka, why leave the impossible eyes?"
There should be some supernatural elements left in. That was part of the appeal of the original Mortal Kombat, which I still believe to be either an homage to, or blatant ripoff of, Big Trouble in Little China. (One of my favoritest movies EVER!) Big Trouble in Little China shows how a great balance of real and supernatural can be handled well(excepting the orange beast-thing).
This "trailer" by Kevin Tancharoen has some very good ideas throughout, although poor dialogue, assumably to please fans. ("Find Shang Tsung and finish him.") By the looks of it, this potential Mortal Kombat would be a mix of the Dark Knight and Dexter. If they do end up making this, I feel it COULD work, it just needs more thought. More character developement. Another thing would be that this would work better as a television series. Like an HBO or Showtime series. That would give it 12 to 16 hours of runtime, so they wouldn't try and shove tons of crap into 2 hours.
Some of my own ideas for this:
1) If Jax and Sonya are there, would Stryker show up in full SWAT gear as a fighter? Maybe an overly violent SWAT member that kills too many people.
2) The Sub-Zero thing. Would Scorpion be protecting the brother like the story from MK2 or would he still be a rival clan member attempting to eliminate the competition? Would they be wearing traditional, but slightly altered, ninja garb?
3) Liu Kang and Kung Lao- I believe they should be monks. Like orange, maroon, and brown fighting monk robes, with shaved heads and all. Possibly even working in tandem in fights. Kung Lao could have a bladed hat, but it would have to be adapted into a more realistic one.
4) If Scorpion is a wraith with white eyes, Raiden could be Kang and Lao's god. A forgotten Deity or some such, perhaps only appearing in dream or a vision sequence.
5) Where is Kano. He would be an easy adaptation. Man with bionic eye. Simple. He could also be a mercenary of another combatant, hired as bodyguard, or to kill off other contestants before the tournament.
Oh, my break is almost over, sorry about any typos.
Twelve year old Josh is squirming around in my mind, excited with any more information on this as possible. Both good and bad.
It was recently one of my friend's birthday and I was struggling with what to give her for a gift. After much deliberation I decided to put some old skills to the test, and make something so amazing, all future birthdays would seem paltry in comparision. What could be that awesome? Then it dawned on me...
