Why would anyone want realism from a Mortal Kombat movie?

Baraka is shit and so is the acting, but the rest I like. Cool. Hey, is that Jeri Ryan as Sonya Blaze?? Is this already completed?

I'm in! And no way is that a work of some fan. This almost looks too good to be a demo reel. What if they've been shooting this film in complete silence and this is the first reveal. Maybe they are trying the JJ Abrams marketing strategy, who knows…

Michael Jai White? Yeah, ok, I'll buy it. Jeri Ryan for the whaaaa?

I'm sold.

I'd watch it.

Jesus…corny as hell.

"This video just showed up in my inbox, and while I would normally dismiss it as the work of a fan with waaaaay too much disposable income…"—-Well, that IS Michael Jai White and that's certainly his M.O. Isn't that how "Black Dynamite" got made in the first place? Good for him if he's behind this or involved in more than just an onscreen capacity. He's really grown on me lately, and even if many of his DTV projects haven't been so great, at least they give him a playground to work on his filmmaking skills.

Oh great. Realism. Just what a series about a secret martial arts tournament whose participants are half-monsters needs. This sort of taps into EXACTLY what you were talking about yesterday in the modern movie geek. The modern viewer apparently isn't looking for reasons to be happy and enthralled by the fantastic, they're just looking for movies that don't offend real-life-feeling-logic. Hence nolan-love. I mean seriously… this thing is trying so hard as to be completely inane…. That being said I kinda like the gore treatment though.

Is Mortal Kombat even that marketable now?

Its looks pretty impressive to me…If they can build on what they have started

Have to admit, I'd watch a movie based on this in a heartbeat…

…a heart beating in Kano's hands, that is. Amirightoramiright?

But seriously, looks good.

Looks better than any of the other mk movies, if not still a little cheezy, "find him and finish him!"

That's Michael Jai White, innit? SPAWN lives.

"After his movie career died, he needed work" so he got hired for the Mortal Kombat reboot.

Not bad. I would see this movie.

This has to be real. Very top secret though. The fact that Jeri Ryan and Michael Jai White are in this should be proof enough. The look and texture of this movie is a step in the right direction. Very realistic and NO costumes, I am looking forward to seeing the rest of this.

Jeri Ryan as Sonia? Sign me up for some of that.

After MK:Annihilation, anything would look good. If the video is an indication of how they approach the material in this "realism" mindset, this could be promising.

It looks like complete cheese. I actually kind of dug it.

This looks very awesome. And i would definitely see this movie. But, I think that it's more likely just some kind of extended trailer for a new game (and potentially also a demo for a movie tie-in). E3 is coming up so it would probably be officially announced there. Remember back in the 90's when they had Romero direct some extended ads for Resident Evil? Same idea, I think. It even has a bit of an RE feel to it…

I'd believe this is viral marketing for a new video game over it being for a movie. It's too goddamn cheesy, even for a movie.

Don't know if I like the "realistic" approach, but it reeks of over the top cheesy action movie that something Canon would release, this could be some solid above-average DTV material, and that's fine in my opinion.

Looks like a great B-Movie to me.

I enjoyed this seven minutes more than both the MK movies combined. I say its a go.

so I wasn't expecting much…but I have to say…this looks entirely watchable.

I'd watch it, but it deviates so far from the source material that I don't know why they're bothering. The first MK movie will still be superior, clearly. But this could be a good movie without the unnecessary "Mortal Kombat" brand name.

Dont kill off Johnny Cage in a Flashback!
He was the best thing in the first movie, in the second one he was wasted and now they just want to waste him again in the Reboot? What a waste.

E3 is just around the corner so it would be a perfect time to launch a trailer for a new Mortal Kombat movie. Jeri Ryan, nom nom nom.

Takashi Shimura as Reptile?!

You really thought that was made by a Mortal Kombat fan with disposable income?? What is the matter with you? Anyway that looks awesome. I'd watch the shit out of it.

Yeah, why not. Looks bad, but in a fun way. And the franchise only became popular to begin with because it was gritty (fatalities, blood, Kano's heart rip, etc).

There's been a lot of chat lately on a proposed reboot of the films, supposedly spearheaded by Warner Bros. Again, it's been speculation up till now, but this clip definitely fits in line with the rumours.
Either way, it looks pretty damned cool. Unfaithful to the source material, sure, but a neat take on the characters and mythology. I'm interested now.

"Make it dark and intense! Make it gritty! Make it like Dark Knight! Yeah!!!"

and they will flock like flies on . . .

Into it.

The fight was cool, but why did they have to turn the rest into a Saw movie?

coming from a non-gamer, i'm in.

looks as great as "streetfighter : legend of chun li"

i.e total and utter shit.

Undisputed 3 had some truly fantastic choreography; if this can follow suit, that alone will make it worth watching.
And for what it's worth, I'm THRILLED to see a MK film go in this direction because I've already had two go down a very different path. So I'm down for something new.

This is such an incredibly shitty idea that it's brilliant…

This isn't for a movie. You're not going to show Johnny Cage getting Fatality'd before you even get an official teaser. Being this close to E3 and and the next non-crossover MK game expected to drop at the end of this year (or early next), it's probably a promo reel that's there to create hype for the new direction of the series.

They killed Johnny Cage right away…. why do they always kill Cage…. bah. It looks amusing… but still….

Johnny Cage was the best thing about the first movie.

CAN'T KILL HIM! WTF!

Also, is that Seagal as Shang Tsung?

I like the look a lot. I like the casting… But a little criticism. There is no need to have a real world explanation to all the characters or getting rid of the Outworld concept altogether. I think if they can find their median between realism and mysticism, it could really work.

Oh and don't kill off Johnny Cage in a flashback, please. If you gotta kill someone that way, kill Striker or someone unimportant.

Some things really benefit from the dark and gritty "realist" shtick (Batman Begins, The Dark Knight) and some things are too far out in terms of the source material that the audience will be unable to suspend disbelief….this is the latter.

A gritty real world take on Mortal Kombat… WHY?! This shit didn't work for that shitty Street Fighter Chun Li movie or even Doom when they took out the hell dimension from that. Why the hell would it work for Mortal Kombat which relies even more on the fantastic than those two?!

It's too bad because the cast and production values sound pretty amazing.

Instead of a lizard from a hell dimension, the fun goofy character of Reptile is made into.. ugh.. a real life tragedy of a harlequin baby.

As goofy (and fun!) as the original MK is, making it overly realistic like this is somehow more goofy and stupid. They're just trying too hard to go all Batman Begins and it's painful. It's like making Lord of the Rings into a realistic urban drama. IT DOESN'T WORK THAT WAY.

I thought the days of Hollywood taking fantastic properties and turning them mundane were over. Next thing you're gonna tell me they're gonna make a Dead Space movie movie in Alaska. Maybe a Sonic the Hedgehog movie where he's an urban kid who's a street runner going against a scientist pushing drugs onto the streets named Dr Ivo Robotnik. It's jamming a square peg into a round hole at its worst.

This is the point where fanboy wank love for anything "dark" finally begins to eat itself. If you think this looks tolerable in any facet that isn't 100% ironic then I feel sorry for you. I'm no Mortal Kombat purist (do those even exist?) and I realize what a silly franchise it is and that it hasn't been decent in video game or any other format in 15 years, but this is such a hilarious and vapid play for street cred it makes Vanilla Ice look genuine by comparison. Nothing about this makes sense as a Mortal Kombat project on ANY discernable level. Not the characters, not the tone, and especially not any of the names ("Code name: Baraka"? What? Why?). Even the idea of the tournament seems sledgehammered into this painfully unlikeable demo. SEriously, why make this have anything to do with Mortal Kombat? Why not just invent a whole new property as, literally, NOTHING is retained (and yeah, I know it's for brand recognition smart ass). And moreover, why would anyone with even a slight nostalgic bent for the games be AT ALL excited about this except out of some insane fanboy fantasy of everything you loved as a child being twisted into something it never was or was meant to be just to fit an adult tone? It's totally unjustifiable, especially considering that nothing about this is ANY less hammy than Mortal Kombat: Annihilation, and infinitely less Mortal Kombat-esque than that horrible film. If there was any way to make a video game film less about it's source material than Super Mario Bros.: The Movie, then they certainly found it. Fucking idiot fanboys.

I'd say at most this a promo or maybe an ashcan film, made just to retain rights and set the tone of what the film will be.

And what if, THERE IS another world… only hidden. And Johnny Cage could return during the movie, as he always do (he's always killed off in the games, but he always come back)

MAKE THAT A MOVIE THE CLIP WAS SWEET AS HELL CANT WAIT TO SEE IT

I guess this looks interesting if well executed but I doubt this is for the movie. It was well made to a certain extent but it felt more like a commercial or a promo reel, defenitly not like a big studio movie. It's probably related to a new game, like many suggested, and will be unfolded at E3 next week. They might even end up releasing a bunch of short movies or maybe this is a preview of the cut scenes from the game; live action with known actors, fight choreographers, etc.

The Xenos: It's entirely possible this ISN'T deviating from the source material. Midway was talking about rebooting the game series for ages, it was the entire point of Armageddon. Armageddon was to be the end of that storyline. They didn't like how far out of control the character's and their powers had gotten so they wanted to start over from scratch.

Midway is gone in name, only. Their studio still exists, as part of WB Games. It's also the studio in charge of MK9. So it's 100% possible that this promo is a tie in for the movie AND Mk9. And that the movie is a reflection of the new MK direction.

Ummm….Mr. IndustryKiller! and Mr. The Xenos…you guys realize that you're writing your soliloquies about make-believe, right?? Interesting to see closet fanboys bashing mainstream fanboys. In the end…they'll make a movie about it…it'll probably be awesome and all the haters will swallow their words and end up buying said movie on Bluray at Target. Who cares if Baraka looks like an evil brother of Eddy Gordo's….the Scorpion vs. Sub-Zero thing intrigues me. Fuck you—–GOODNIGHT!!!!

Some fans of MK are confused about what Mortal Kombat is. My brother and his girlfriend both feel that they "destroyed the lore" with this trailer/feature. What they are confused about is that the "lore" has always taken a backseat in the MK games. They add story as they go along just as connective tissue and to keep some general idea of why the characters are fighting each other. The vast majority of fans couldn't care less about MK lore. They like the familiarity of the characters and their relationships. Jax still works with Sonya, Scorpion still uses the trademark spear, Reptile has the scaly skin and eats peoples heads, etc. Mortal Kombat was always supposed to be dark and sinister. The 1995 movie and its sequel were never that dark. They were about as dark and sinister as the Power Rangers movies.

Anyway, now that they've confirmed this to be setting up for a new movie, my day has been officially made.

We also have to remember that, as far as I know, this video is just a promotion for an upcoming movie and isn't going to explain everything. So if they don't tell you why the codename is Baraka, maybe the movie will. But even if it doesn't, I highly doubt that Baraka is a main character in this movie.

Freakin Stoked to see this Movie! Looks amazing, and anyone else that can't even fathom that their making a movie about MK.. Don't see it! xD Doesn't take a scientist to figure this out. It looks fun, Looks amazing, and going to make someone a lot of money. I say bring on the movie, and if they make another game, WooHOO!!! I love it!!! 😀

looks like the list of x-file episode rejects.. at least its a deathmatch like a fighting game movie should be about.. they better be more faithful to the actual moves instead of this jet li slaps and elbows backflip monkey style.. or it will be bloodsport with gimmicks..

this is how the movies should have been made. not like the crap they made before. nothing like blood and violience….just like the game mk rules……

that looks horrible. there is still a good, and serious movie that could be made about mortal kombat. you can keep the pseudo asian mysticism and tournament. cross enter and big trouble in little china or the golden child, not se7en and dark knight, and there you go. nostalgic awesomeness.

You all saying its cheesy are ridiculous. You all obviously don't know the concept of what cheesy is in the movie. The movie was done realistic with good acting and was seriously portrayed. If you want cheese, watch a Uwe Boll movie. I am excited to see this after that badass trailer!!!

People who can't have fun with the Original MK movie must be real fucking kill joys in real life. Douchebags.

fuck johnny cage, I'm glad he got decapitated, he's such an annoying poncy shithead.

as for the whole dumping on realism thing. after seeing two complete failures in the previous ridiculous mortal kombat films, I'm up for a new spin on things.

If anyone plays the game, the first one was more realistic then fantasy, so idk why you bitches are complaining, im excited to see what they can do with this film

I don't really understand all the hate from some of you. The reason this game got so popular in the first place was the VIOLENCE! So what is the problem with a "hard-R" type of reboot? and for that matter, what(besides trying to make $$) was the point in making the first two PG-13? Not saying I didn't enjoy the first ONE, I'm popping it in as we speak, but the fights could have done with a tad more brutality(It's Mortal freakin' Kombat for gods-sake!)

Wow! Just wow!
This looks utterly shit-tastic!
Michael Jai White is amazing! I'm so sad to see he's attached to this.

They claim they're going for realism… then show a plastic surgeon going insane, instantly knows martial arts now, and has retractable friggin swords in his arms. Yeah.. realistic as hell!

Just stick to the story.
Give us a fantasy world version of 'Enter the Dragon'. That's what the game was, that's what the first movie was.
And it worked.

If anything, this looks just as awful as MK: Annihilation.

I won't be seeing this.
Instead, I'll rewatch the first MK movie, and 'Black Dynamite'.

The first movie was awesome, probably the best video game movie to date. Annihilation was one of the worst movies I've ever seen, if this is a movie, it can't be much worse than that… But it won't be any better than the original. BUT BUT BUT BUT! I do like the more steady direction in the fight scenes, as opposed to how most these days all have hand held shaky cam and real quick cuts, this looks alot more watchable than Bourne or something like that. But there is no reason they can't make a delayed Mortal Kombat 3 and keep with the story of the first 2, just execute it a lot better if they wanna make another movie.

@Palmer… It's Sonya Blade dip shit.

Yeah, baby,this is fucking awesome!
Give me 2

BARAKA LOOKS LIKE SHIT.

But a MK movie where Scorpion is the main character = gold. It doesn't have to be completely realistic though.

And for the love of god, change Baraka. He looks awful.

And why didn't he just use his blades at the beginning of the fight? Oh yeah… so they could have a boring drawn-out fight. Right.

this can't be from a major tent pole film from WB…it looks cheap (good for a fan film/bad for a major studio). I mean it looks like it was shot on the 5D…the whole thing seemed like an really expensive cut scene from a game. I'm not buying this as being something the WB is backing. Unless its just a spec piece to get them to back the property

I can't understand why this is so popular? I feel like its a case of "the emperors new clothes". I think its a terrible idea that betrays what MK is. Not everything needs the Nolan/Dark Knight treatment. Its on par with doing an ultra dark and gritty version of Dick Tracy where they explain that the crazier looking villains simply have birth defects. Or it would be like doing a dark gritty Super Mario Bros. movie where it takes place in an industrial wasteland with dinosaurs who evolved to be human like. But seriously it sucks.

Who knows, it worked with batman begins in bringing realism to it. So bring it on, and it may just be the only movie made from a game thats good!

MK by way of The Wire and Saw??? No thanks.

Here's the real reason this is obviously shit. Remember a movie called Street Fighter? Seems they went for a similar idea with that one, what with making all the characters have "real life" explanations. Who can forget Dhalsim no longer being an Indian fellow, but rather some scientist who went bald from some weird chemical and had his skin burnt which is why he looked brown, and those necklaces and bracelets? THey were actually shackles that broke free of the chains.

In other words, expect another Street Fighter: the Movie. Why not have Baraka be a demon from hell, instead of making some nonsense excuses for making him look the way he looks? And they still gave him stupid dreadlocks. If you're going to completely change the character then don't pander by trying to make excuses to make him at least look similar. That's condescending and insulting.

I liked that old cheesefest Super Mario movie when I was a kid. Watching 130 minutes of a moustached man with a red cap running, jumping over turtles and hitting boxes would have been pointless and boring. Don't take me wrong, it makes a fun game, but not a good movie.

Movies are stories. Some game concepts can't be translated to a movie… just think what an Asteroids or Space Invaders movie would be like: Armaggedon and Independence Day?

MK's "lore" (canon story) was a mess anyway, it had lost all sense already in the time of 32bit consoles.

This trailer makes me feel impressed like I was 10 years old again when the first MK game was released. So haters gonna hate but so what…

Theres moments when I wish I pursued a career in film-making instead of design. This is one of them, it is not hard to make a good Mortal Kombat movie – they way to do it is to be faithful to the source material. Use the sardonic tone, give it a look not dissimilar to 300 and you're pretty much there. Unfortunately Paul Anderson gave as a techno b-movie with terrible fights, acting, effects and lighting. oh and score.

Weird when people complain about this trailer looking cheap. I guess only 150 million movies do it for assholes anymore. Glad to know you hate such movies as Evil Dead, the entire works of Godard, El Topo and Eraserhead. Fuckers.

ok.that weird baby in the start was really born.in gilgit pakistan.why that video was taken?

i would so watch this i've always been a huge mortal kombat fan!

Why do people think this looks cheesy? The old mk movies and games were cheesy camp crap. And I loved them… When I was 10. I'm 26 now and this is the 21st century, so I say bring it on!

@comment #15 how in da hell did Michael Jai White's career died when he just co-starred in 2 of Tyler Perry's films – "Why Did I get Married?" And "Why Did I Get Married Too?" both of which were box office hits and both starred an A-List cast which included Janet Jackson….dumbass

Its real, and Im proof. I play Sektor on the scene – do you want the actual storyline?????? I will give it to you, but this wasnt supposed to be leaked, it was a prequel to the actual trailer which is 100x better than this greenlighted trailer (this trailer is too concept yet) so wait for the actual trailer!!!!

i'd die to watch this film. end of

ok, dark and gritty is unrealistic? the game was unrealistic. LISTEN! the real world is corrupted by some of the most fucked up people you've never seen. to be angry that this genius is taking it in a whole new direction is wonderful! and to be honest what direction was the first mortal kombat that makes it untouchable, cause i've recently seen it and it was garbage. and no not because it as made long ago, but because the story itself just throws into a tournament that decides the fate of the world? theres no back stories but the video game. we should just know every character, right? well fuck that i would love to know the story of lou kang, i would love to see how raiden obtained his electric contol (if this is to be realistic raiden can not be a god) i would adore the story of scorpion.

Lets be real people. why do you think the game was made with two cops a demi god and has so many rivalries. it was meant to be stretched out into possibly one of the greatest movie ever written…..talk about going in!!!

This looks so wack. Do they always have to recreate these movies all WRONG and OFF from the real story of the actual video game? Only good thing about this is that it looks like it's going to be much more gritty and full of gore.

This movie will be badass should WB pick it up!!! Michael J White as Jax (Jacks) is brilliant, as some of the fight scenes he's done are great. Even if it doesn't seem on top of source material, it is only the early release of a trailer. That is all.

Ok. WTF? Seriously? Realism? why the fuck does this series need realism? And why the hell did they have to change the origins of Baraka and Reptile? This shit won't fly.

Are you responsible for this? If so there are some ideas I'd like to throw your way for the rest of the cast.

For the Jeri Ryan comment from #2 Palmer…Its Sonya BLADE you $%^.

2…Threshold is doing their darnest to tie up Anyone that ever wants to re-boot/re-make/etc this Franchise…they just filed a lawsuit against WBn in Feb of this year for breach of contract.

This looks like iit will be a great film. I wonder who willl play Lord Raiden. I want one of the two actors who have already played him in the films, to play him in this one.

it looks spectacular. it looks like a(dare i say it)GOOD movie based on a game. maybe after the great prince of persia film we'll have no more films like alone in the dark. from the casting so far it looks gud. COME ON WB

This is poison.

The entire series is about all unrealistic hardcore fighting/killing transforming into animals and testing your might in combat, it shouldn't be talking about a disease that Reptile got powers from. Ridiculous.

Too much talking and realism is in this trailer. The first 50 seconds had nothing in it but artificial suspense.

let me clarify what is going on with this film. It is not a movie trailer for a upcoming 100% planned movie. The director Larnell Stovall I believe was part of team for a mortal kombat movie who didnt even have a script. Yet he wanted to prove he can direct the film so he made this trailer. This trailer is kind of like pilot. The purpose was to demonstrate that he can direct a mortal kombat film, his vision and create buzz for the movie. But if you research a bit you can find the mortal kombat script does have mysticism according to the writer's notes. However I like how this trailer avoids the mysticism side of the story. Yet it is very possible that the new movie has very little to do with this pitch trailer. I hope they end up making the movie.

This movie looks good in terms of action, but in terms of realism, ahhhhhhh! I dont know what they were thinking trying to turn reality on Mortal Kombat, tsk tsk. But in the long run, Id watch it, even though they butchered Baraka (who is the best character ever.) Oh well, its still worth it I suppose

i think that this would be an excellent movie. especially because sub-zero isn't the main character. i also liked how they explained reptiles syndrome. i did think that baraka was kabahl. but it was still awesome. And johnny cage?!?!?!?!?! fuck yes. he IS the best character in the mortal kombat universe.

there should be a game comin out about mortal kombat in january

Sub-Zero looks like Terminator's abortion, Reptile has a skin disease, Baraka a mad surgeon, Johnny Cage gets killed in first 5 minutes, Scorpion in custody… What's next?! Raiden with taser guns??? The director should have studied the history of every character and MK in general, before making this "Fight Club + Saw" mix with psychos and radiation effects survivors. Go to mkwikia, or simply wikipedia and do some research on the subject! Guy have a talent, and maybe he could make a good movie, but don't change the characters and the storyline! I'M BEGGING YOU!!! You'll make the same mistake like people from Street Fighter – The Legend Of Chun-Li (and the original Street Fighter from 1994)!!! Isn't it more simple just to stick to the original story then to dramatically alternate both bios and storyline? I'm scared because Ed Boon said it's awesome?! Ed, for Christ's sake, you made this fantastic 18 years old saga, how can you say it's awesome? The production is good, action is good, but characters and the story is outrageous. Anyways, just make a movie worth the title and it's story, and I don't care who acts, just so the actors look and act like their characters. Peace!

And another thing, the characters aren't supposed to be realistic, nor the story.
Example: Imagine that a new Star Wars film is being made and it will be more realistic, and Chewbacca is a human with a rare hair growth disorder, and he was born deaf so he mumbles! WTF?!
Btw it's way too dark (I know MK is dark, and they should put fatalities… but enough is enough). If you wanna watch that type of movies there's Saw, Hostel…

One final thing. I like MK more than Street Fighter, but check out this. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h2ZXSzaUIBQ

This is how movie looks like when it's been directed by a true fan who knows every single detail to it's core!!!