Fatality

June 12, 2010 9:08 PM

Mortal Kombat: Rebirth (NSFW)

More information about the film.

posted by OverlappingElvis (41 comments total)

I'll probably see it.
posted by codacorolla at 9:28 PM on June 12, 2010

On the one hand... tongue in cheek! Awesome Cage vs Baraka fight! Michael Jai White! Jeri Ryan!

On the other hand... Harlequin baby syndrome as the reason he's scaly and even including footage of deformed dying babies was really, really crass and a cheap stunt.

Also, Cage didn't even get in ONE punch to the balls. WHAT THE HELL.
posted by ShawnStruck at 9:32 PM on June 12, 2010

Then again, Scorpion!
posted by oddman at 9:33 PM on June 12, 2010

What the hell's the point of doing Mortal Kombat without the weird magic and giant monsters and thunder gods and ninjas shooting coldness at each other? Enter the Dragon already exists, and Mortal Kombat is just that with a dash of Big Trouble In Little China. If they're gonna "gritty reboot" an old fighting game, they should do Clay Fighter. They could put in an absurdly dark back-story for Blue Suede Goo.
posted by "Elbows" O'Donoghue at 9:34 PM on June 12, 2010 [11 favorites]

what
posted by dunkadunc at 9:39 PM on June 12, 2010

MOR-TAL KOM-BAT!!!!!
Dundadundadundadundun
dundadundadundadundun dundadundadundadundun dundadundadundadundun dundadundadundadundun dundadundadundadundun dundadundadundadundun dundadundadundadundun dundadundadundadundun dundadundadundadundun dundadundadundadundun dundadundadundadundun
posted by Avenger at 9:46 PM on June 12, 2010 [22 favorites]

I own the original Mortal Kombat movie on VHS.
I am also PUMPED about this.
posted by The Esteemed Doctor Bunsen Honeydew at 9:53 PM on June 12, 2010

Few things freak me out like the harlequin fetus...
posted by marxchivist at 9:59 PM on June 12, 2010

sweet another teal & orange action movie
posted by p3on at 10:00 PM on June 12, 2010 [5 favorites]

The Utah Saints. If they are not involved, it is for naught...

But, hang on, let's step back a ways. Smokin' Aces has fantastic casting and direction and premise, and it was still stupid and unwatchable.

Jacks and Sonia and Scorpion are stupid and unwatchable here. It's only the promise that maybe we might get to see someone cooler later in the movie that keeps the interest alive. Unless they can drag Kinka Usher back into the game, it's not going to be all that good.
posted by Slap*Happy at 10:07 PM on June 12, 2010

sweet another teal & orange action movie

You know you love that color scheme. Everybody does.
posted by Avenger at 10:08 PM on June 12, 2010 [1 favorite]

Yeah, the 'harlequin' thing was extremely crass, given that there are upstanding and inspirational adult survivors of the condition.

Also, hey, it's Seven of Nine!
posted by flibbertigibbet at 10:09 PM on June 12, 2010 [1 favorite]

At first I thought the woman playing Sonya was her. Now that's something I would watch!
posted by hermitosis at 10:25 PM on June 12, 2010 [1 favorite]

Not to rain on anyone's parade, but this isn't coming to theatres. The short is a "pitch," the director is basically saying "Hey, Warner Brothers, if you're doing a movie with that thing you own, I should get to direct it!"

Personally, I think this is one of the best pitches I've ever seen, and I would love to see a full-length version (although like many others, I also would like more goofy magic).
posted by ®@ at 10:28 PM on June 12, 2010 [1 favorite]

I'm torn between anger at everything needing to be "DARK AND GRITTY" nowadays, and the 14-year-old in me wanting a new Mortal Kombat movie so badly.
posted by SNWidget at 10:32 PM on June 12, 2010

toasties
posted by klangklangston at 10:33 PM on June 12, 2010 [2 favorites]

Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call Outworld
posted by codacorolla at 10:50 PM on June 12, 2010

SNWidget: "I'm torn between anger at everything needing to be "DARK AND GRITTY" nowadays, and the 14-year-old in me wanting a new Mortal Kombat movie so badly."

Brett Ratner planning "edgy 3-D re-imagining" of Snow White

It's like bad movie Mad Libs.
posted by brundlefly at 10:51 PM on June 12, 2010 [2 favorites]

I can... still see his soul dancing.

Finish Him!
posted by codacorolla at 10:51 PM on June 12, 2010

I can... still see his soul dancing.

Finish Him!

Is there a scene where a coked up Kano just stares at Reptile for minutes on end?
posted by justsomebodythatyouusedtoknow at 12:09 AM on June 13, 2010

For the record, if you are easily squicked out, don't go doing a google image search for "harlequin type ichthyosis". Just trust me on this. The stuff they show in the pitch is kind of dark and blurry compared to what you could be looking at.
posted by juv3nal at 12:23 AM on June 13, 2010

I'm excited at the prospect that this could be the video game movie that isn't terrible!
posted by aubilenon at 12:36 AM on June 13, 2010 [1 favorite]

Not to rain on anyone's parade, but this isn't coming to theatres. The short is a "pitch," the director is basically saying "Hey, Warner Brothers, if you're doing a movie with that thing you own, I should get to direct it!"

Personally, I think this is one of the best pitches I've ever seen, and I would love to see a full-length version (although like many others, I also would like more goofy magic).

They didn't do magic stuff in the pitch because they didn't have a special effects budget. The director definitely wants more magical stuff in there. They spent just $7.5k on this whole thing.

This interview with the director has a lot more information. Definitely check it out if you want to know more.
posted by delmoi at 12:40 AM on June 13, 2010

The relevant Penny Arcade commentary and comic.
posted by neuromodulator at 2:09 AM on June 13, 2010

I worked at a movie theater in the early and mid 90s and remember when Mortal Kombat played. I laughed at this movie...but frequently went in during a run to watch. Especially for that very 90s techno song...."MORTAL KOMBAT!"
posted by zardoz at 4:14 AM on June 13, 2010

Crap. Yet another time I neglect to post something since I wasn't sure if it was Blue worthy or not.

Man, I suck.
posted by Samizdata at 5:09 AM on June 13, 2010

Ooooooooh, he cites Kill Zone. The ending showdown between Sammo Hung and Donnie Yen (a personal fave for years) is just made of bad-ass awesome. (Look here if you are not among the bandwidth impaired as I am).

It's the type of martial arts fight scene the mean person in me loves. All the moves, albeit seriously cool, are choreographed to put one thing across - one of the two of them are going to die.
posted by Samizdata at 5:49 AM on June 13, 2010

I hope this gets made. And as my fondest memory of Mortal Combat is of the original arcade game, i am totally stoked about this. In my opinion, all of the MK movies were for kids and thus sucked. Bring on the gore! This is the movie that should have been made back in the nineties.
posted by jake1 at 6:25 AM on June 13, 2010

I am increasingly convinced that Scott Pilgrim vs. the World is the only video game-related movie I'll ever need to see.
posted by danb at 7:15 AM on June 13, 2010 [2 favorites]

I was so sure this was a double, but nope.
posted by Sys Rq at 7:44 AM on June 13, 2010

That's one hell of a pitch. Two RED cameras and $7,500… pretty cool.
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 8:24 AM on June 13, 2010

Bah, this looks horrible. I loved and still love the original Mortal Kombat because it was the game: A bunch of tournament fights with entertaining techno and cast. This shoot reminds me all too much of the shitty Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li movie. I don't go to fighting game movies to see a back story with all kind of grit. I go to see the game on my TV with the fighting.
posted by jmd82 at 8:51 AM on June 13, 2010

This looks awesome. The original Mortal Kombat film was a treat and a half for an eleven-year-old, but I've watched it repeatedly since then and it just gets more "eh" every time. It's like comparing Silver Age comics to DKR-era ones. After a lifetime of More of the Same, I want to see a revision of the tropes. This is exactly what it is and god damn I hope the pitch goes through.

Also: The first time I ever said the word "shit" in front of my mother was when I got back from seeing Mortal Kombat: Annihilation: "How was the movie?" she asked. "It was shit."
posted by griphus at 10:29 AM on June 13, 2010

Shit. I thought this was a trailer for a new game. I even had a nerd seizure over it.
posted by cmoj at 11:22 AM on June 13, 2010

Lame. This is not Mortal Kombat.
posted by JakeEXTREME at 2:07 PM on June 13, 2010

Lame. This is not Mortal Kombat.

So which is it? You can't have it both ways!
posted by Sys Rq at 2:49 PM on June 13, 2010

I sneaked into a drive-in showing of Mortal Kombat in the trunk of a Chrysler! True story.

Yes, children, Chryslers did indeed roam the earth.
posted by Mister_A at 7:30 PM on June 13, 2010

This is awesome!!!!
posted by The1andonly at 8:47 PM on June 13, 2010

Yeah, the 'harlequin' thing was extremely crass, given that there are upstanding and inspirational adult survivors of the condition.

Yes, people with unusual conditions must always be portrayed as naive angels. Just make sure you don't go full retard.
posted by obiwanwasabi at 1:38 AM on June 14, 2010

The movie is true to its title, that certainly is a rebirth of Mortal Kombat. I watched both Mortal Kombat and Mortal Kombat Annihilation as a child, and they were only okay. This movie, however, has potential. I would love to see the movie if it came out.
posted by promptcurry at 6:58 PM on June 14, 2010

Funnily enough, I just found the original Mortal Kombat OST... So many different types of awesome. I'll have to go back and watch the movie again, to see if 17 year old me (holy crap, was I *really* 17 when that movie came out? I coulda sworn I was younger) has the same taste as 32 year old me.
posted by antifuse at 7:34 PM on June 15, 2010