The director isn't going for a hyper-realistic feel to this movie. I highly recommend you check out this interview: http://www.collider.com/2010/06/09/kevin-tancharoen-interview-mortal-kombat-rebirth-feature-film/


He wants it to be realistic and gritty, true, but there WILL be fantasy/mythological elements as well. The budget didn't really allow any of that, hence the more human origins for the villains.

And yes, change IS good. If Mortal Kombat wants to succeed, it MUST change with the times (this goes for both games and movies). It has to appeal to the masses - like you said, this is a business at the end of the day, and make no mistake, the new game and upcoming movie will reflect that.

As for calling this a 'turd', that's a bit much; This wasn't even a proper teaser trailer, just a quick 'test' shoot and nothing more. If this was the first official teaser trailer, then you would make some valid points, but you have to be realistic in judging something that was literally shot in 2 days with a $7,000 budget. The director should be praised for being able to pull out great acting, a great fight scene, and a killer atmosphere with those restrictions. Turning Reptile/Baraka into human characters (most likely due to financing issues) doesn't take away from that.

Feh, that's a defeatist attitude. Just because studios don't put enough faith and effort into video game adaptations right now doesn't mean I can't hope for a future where one day MK DOES get a big budget and does the canon right.

It's a realistic attitude more than anything. Hoping this project will have an A list cast and a ridiculous budget is not realistic, and you'll only be setting up yourself for disappointment. MK doesn't need a huge budget to be successful IMO (the first MK movie already proved this); It needs solid acting, a great story, great fight scenes, and decent FX, which they should be able to achieve within the ikely $40-60 million range. Just look at what that guy did with $7,000 in 2 days - he nailed all those elements I just mentioned and created a ridiculous amount of buzz for the upcoming film. This guy knows how to handle this project IMO.

Well I'm sure his version if it becomes a full film will be very successful and have its fans.

But the Resident Evil films were also relatively successful, at least the first one, and I didn't like that one either because it wasn't about Chris Redfield and Jill Valentine in a mansion.

it's not like anyone here is a stranger to movies where they change everything. I'm just not a fan of doing it that way. I still say Iron Man/Spidey 1 and 2/Incredible Hulk are perfect examples of the right way to adapt a thing.

I have to apologize, but I think in hindsight that by "realism" I really try to express "contemporary". At least the more I think about it, the more convinced I become I was using the wrong terms.


If that is the case, be as it may, but photographical realism is the pinnacle of the expression of visceral violence. Or the implication of it. Now, the hammer-style of gore is both not enough, and both too much (of cheesecake)

I agree with you on Resident Evil. They didn't just alter origin stories and what not like so many people on here are talking about with this MK movie pitch, they absolutely ripped the soul out of Resident Evil with all of that crap about "The Hive" and basically being in the mansion for all of 5 minutes during the first movie (oh and inserting a new main character so the director could have his wife in the movie).

Honestly, I don't even understand why they called that movie Resident Evil. Take away the Umbrella logo and the names and there's no reason why it couldn't have been called Zombie Apocalypse or something like that. No one would've known the difference.

For this pitch, I look at where the plot was heading, with the tournament and how the characters looked, acted and minus the Deacon City and the Reptile/Dr. Baraka stories or whatever, it felt like Mortal Kombat to me.

Again, this is just my opinion, but if they'd taken away all of the names, MK still would've jumped to my mind. Knowing that the budget limited any chances for mystical elements and special effects, and after reading what the director had to say, I still think that this guy just flat out "gets it," and could make a great MK movie that both hardcore and casual fans could get behind.

Plus, I do think that there are some aspects of MK that simply wouldn't translate well from a video game to a quality movie. So if the director had to cut or change a few things, I have no problem with that so long as he's not inserting main characters and ripping entire things like, you know, having a Mortal Kombat TOURNAMENT out of the movie.

We'll see, but minus a few bumps in the trailer, I thought he did a fantastic job and would absolutely take this guy over most other directors in hollywood that would consider taking on MK.

I completely disagree. An MK movie should be serious to a degree, but it should be a kung fu film. The trailer we saw was that of a horror film (with one fight scene). Atmospherically it may be what you think an MK move should feel like, but it is not what MK has been like for all these years. A Mortal Kombat movie should not have the same atmosphere as Saw.


That fight scene was good, I'll give you that. But I don't think it compares to Shang Tsung v. Liu Kang in MK 1. The gritty atmosphere doesn't automatically make it better.

And, not to mention, what the £ü¢k was with that cigar smoking thing at the end? Since when does Johnny Cage smoke? And if you're about to be killed wouldn't you, I don't know, fight back more, or beg for you life? Not reach for a (magically) already lit cigar and smoke it? The least he could've done was have Johnny Cage reach for his sunglasses instead.

Also, where the hell did Baraka learn to fight, if he's a doctor? And where the hell did he learn to fight like an ape?


The genre. I've said it before, and I'll say it again.
Horror does not equal Kung Fu!

I don't even want this movie to be made anymore, because it really is not Mortal Kombat. I was an idiot to say that this is mind blowing. This is awful and if they did make it into a movie, I would not buy it.

On a completely unrelated note.

To any mod out there.

Why is this thread in the "Future MK Games Discussion" Forum as well as the "MK Movies and Media Discussion" Forum? Seriously, what does this have to do with future MK games?

This is crazy....

Someone said (Vash? Razor?) something about there being two sets of fans

a.) Fans who think the new game is too cartoony
b.) Fans who think this pitch is too dark.

Isn't it entirely possible that both are true? That those telling differences are where a balance should be struck?

It's funny because I actually do agree with a and b as stated. The game is leaning on the cartoony side, and should inherit some of the visceral taste from the pitch, and the pitch should listen to the game a bit more.

My prescription for whoever "Mr. Producer"//Writer//Developer" ends up being for a Mortal Kombat movie:

1.) Stop jacking with the character descriptions, persona's, habits, background stories, special moves, and overall presentations.

That shit never works when it comes to a movie adaptation of a video game. Haven't we learned this? lol The best MK movie is STILL the 1st one, and that first MK movie, is STILL one of the best game to movie adaptations to date. It still is, regardless of opinion on whether the movie was "great or not" for its time. haha....Why? Because they didn't jerk the fans around with the attraction to the content of the game for the fans! They didn't change anyone's character description, origin, overall look, or reason for being in the game//tournament//movie.

Now, there's something specific to be said in here. I'm not against experimenting with whatever part of the games content, in order to make the film work better. BUT, what's your interpretation of better? Does it deviate from what MK1-4 looks and feels like? Does it deviate from what we know about each of the characters in the game? Then it's probably the wrong way to go, guys. A secret?

The source material is the key to solving the mystery. In the first MK movie, it looked and felt damn close to what the first couple games looked and felt like....aaand..... That's still what the desire of the typical fan looks like as far as I can gauge. The problem now however, is that the games have had time to deviate from even that concept. That's why there's some fans saying the game looks too cartoony now.

It must be extremely tough in film to take that really old movie, and apply modern standards to it. Just the same as it must be tough to take the old games, and apply new standards to it. A direct 20yr step forward from the first movie, or the first couple games is the goal. Given some slight artistic liberties because trends change a little bit over time. MK is the same concept though....it's not a tough translation to grasp because it's the same taste in content as 16-20yrs ago.

The Pitch:

Pertaining to dark & gritty, the best part is how crisp all the nasty shit in the short film looks. How hard hitting, elaborate and fast-paced the fight sequences appear to be (level of difficulty...we can tell). The whole concept of "damn, that looks crazy". That's the "great part", essentially. Why? Because MK is full of characters that KILL stuff, that's why. Those elements need to be there in order to justify Mortal and Kombat.

What's messing up the allure to the short for the other side of the fandom, is that it sacrifices the "dreamy" stuff too much in order to be a clean, yet visceral presentation of that dark and gritty violence. Gore doesn't equate to Fantasy element. It equates to blood and guts.....it doesn't assume the question "is this really real?" enough.

---

The First MK Movie:

Had the fantasy element in-tact, the whole movie. No, not the "magical stuff", and yea, for the day and age it was set in, the special effects were okay I suppose... but that ain't what I'm after here. I'm sayin', the possibility of something fantastical happening at any time, was in there all the way through the thing. And i think it was in the way they shot the film. The atmospheric shit stayed there the whole time.

Take the Johnny Cage vs Scorpion fight from the old movie (especially when they go to Scorpions lair), and show that up against Johnny Cage vs Baraka in this pitch. It doesn't translate well at all atmospherically. Even if the point is to create something that looks Mortal Kombat-like, but just have a different style because the directors are different or whatever....it still doesn't look like a Mortal Kombat movie. Looks like something from the SAW movies, Final Destination, or something along those lines....

----

Bottom Line

A new Mortal Kombat film should be as visceral, violent, brutal, and as gory as this pitch suggests a final product could be. Yea... Rated R, or if they squeeze, maybe a really strong PG-13 rating sounds about right. It's Mortal Kombat after all.

However, in order for it to look and feel like a Mortal Kombat film, the new director(s) can not, or should not sacrifice the fantasy element throughout the films atmospheric appeal. The fantasy element that was in the first movie was right on, mind you. Just update that. It's something specific that fans notice, but not many directors accomplish capturing on-screen. It's one of the main parts. lol...

The other thing is, again, stop screwing around with the characters. It's getting to the point for some of these game-to-movie adaptations, to where it seems like the only thing they HAVEN'T tried, is "real-izing", or in other words, "translating" what's actually in the game...right in-to the movies. Port it...don't avoid it. Stop trying to wiggle out of it...or over compensate for it...or "throw your own idea in there"....haha...or whatever.

I don't care one bit about some directors experimentation with a "Dr. Baraka" (no offense Kevin) . The one I'm familiar with is Ed Boon and John Tobias', so that's the one I want to pay to see. Use a stunt man and an excellent CG art team or something. But I want to see it done the right way. Same thing for Reptile, or any of the other monster, or God characters.

As for their character descriptions and such. Use the basis of what we understand the characters to be, and put more meat on them. Fill in the blanks based on what's already there. We know the story is jacked up, but there are some common sense assumptions that could be made by now, because of the fact that the characters are just about 20yrs old. Y'know? Johnny Cage for example would probably behave like, talk like, walk like, or be susceptible to...."this selection of things here". Even though it's not exactly written into his character description, yet.

Characters for just a sec...

(monsters)

So, if Baraka is the leader of a group of gross savages from another planet, the translation I conclude on for a film, is that "He's the leader of a pack of savage monsters. They're probably dog//wolf-like, except they're abstract humanoids." Do something inventive with that, and keep the basis of the original design of the character in-tact.

For Reptile, I'd like to see a ninja//reptilian/man in some capacity. His character translation to a movie almost feels like a waaay stronger Smeagol from the Lord of the Rings movies ( in MK1 the movie, they showed 2 forms for Reptile, combine Smeagols' personality, with the deadly martial arts behavior of the character in the games)...but then again, I'm not a core fan of his. His behavior would still be completely cannibalistic and gross, he just happens to be fantastic at martial arts.

These sorts of characters need to be grounded in that dream-like fantasy.

(gods)

Gotta do Raiden, right? MK1 the movie got him damn near perfect. The only thing more I wanted from him, was a greater show of his power, one good time (who doesn't like a lightning show?). Closer to what his concept was based on//kin to, that character "Lightning" from Big Trouble in Little China.

Other god characters should give us a show too, I believe. Why have them in there if we can't see what they're made of? It should be an obvious separation between the character types too, I think. One type is more powerful than the others...*shrugs* That's gotta be common sense.

These sorts of characters also need to be grounded in that dream-like fantasy. They're Gods...c'mon. They should be presented with awe-some presence. Positive or negative = Raiden or like Shao Kahn. And by the way...nothing should humanize the god-tier characters in the movie. I hate that crap. Something extraordinarily fucked up, or something just as awesome as the way that they are presented to us, would have to happen to them to make that play right. ONLY huge graphical and special FX moments in the film should knock god characters down a notch.

(humans)

Ground them in our reality...almost exactly like this pitch did. My only problem with this pitch and the humans, is that it didn't pay enough attention to the games' character descriptions when it came to Jax and Sonya. It's vital right here, to make the most of their character on-screen. There's more than enough supporting content for characters like them to where, they'll be just as interesting...if not more interesting than we expected. MK has left a gapping hole for experimentation.... here (How awesome a super-solder could Jax be, as a U.S. Special Forces leader if you had your way? That is, without getting too far away from the fact that he's just a human. Same for Sonya). The first point in my last rant in this thread (pg.26) touches that enough I think.

If the new directors can do this well without ignoring the fantasy element at the same time, it probably looks like an early Martial Arts flick. Jet Li, Jackie Chan....or like the old Kung Fu Master Killers movie, or an old Bruce Lee film. Considering the fantasy in the thing, maybe add movies like The Matrix, Aeon Flux, Kill Bill, or most recently, Iron Man 1/2 or The Incredible Hulk. THEN tack on the recent horror stuff; Saw, Rob Zombies Michael Myers or Devils Rejects...or whatever's relative.

So long as the fight scenes are fantastic, and the script is intelligent because of modernization, i think it'd be something to see over and over and over again...

//EDITED...alot.

Why would anyone want the MK movie to do the canon right?

I completely agree with everything you said in that post (I decided not to quote the entire thing). Now, I can only hope that Ed Boon, the WB, and Tancharoen read what you wrote!

You don't think that MK, of all properties, could be the exception to that statement?

MK has tons of blood, heads ripped off, spines pulled out, skin ripped off, skeletons pulled out of their bodies, and yes, obviously the list goes on. This fairly large aspect of MK... You don't think that's horror? What would you call it?

I mean, I think of horror movies and I think of Friday the 13th, Saw, Hostel, etc... Was it Baraka's basement or whatever? The whole dingy factor with Baraka and Reptile? Is that what evokes images of horror to you? Because I look at Scoprion, Jax, Sonya... Seeing how that image reminded me of Bruce Lee going to the fighting tournament in Enter the Dragon, only having this from an anti-hero's perspective...

I dunno, I look at this I see fighting tournaments and ninjas, with the horror elements of MK, but I don't see this as a horror movie pitch.

And I still maintain that this guy is the perfect director of this movie. It's possible he changed the stories to suit the pitch, because he's already said that he didn't have the time or the budget for the mystical elements, but that they would be important parts of his telling if he got the job (and a budget of more than 7,500 dollars).

The guy obviously cares alot about the source material and seems to have the motivation to get something off the ground. I just hope that WB is listening.

Just like to point out the Shang Tsung vs Liu Kang fight is extremely crafted. It has no natural freeflow to it.... just like classic pre Bruce Lee cantonese wuxia movies. Punch parry punch parry .... it is schematic. NO disrespect for Cary H. Takaga, I think it was more or less the cinematography that required so preset moves.

The Scorpion Cage fight was however not, you can really see why Casamassa was hired so many times. Ashby was quite good though. N

The choreography there was top notch in the concept trailer. THAT can pass as a real fight. was also quite good.

Thank goodness, because if there's one thing I want from this series about Sorcerers, Deities, and magic ninjas, it's realistic fights.

...that passes as convincing. The fight has to look like a fight first and foremost not a dance routine. Wether you add elements that defy the laws of physics is another matter. Again, you confuse things....no part thanks to it me being so vague.

Example: Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon had wire fu, albeit the fights looked real. What I want is suspension of disbelief to be perfect: have fantastic elements, but do not negate the effect of the fight with being absolutely out of place. Restraint needs to be exercised.

Remember when Liu Kang backflipped to avoid Smokes missile in Annihilation? The backflip looked absolutely horrible, and not only defied gravity (not the point), but defied artistic value (point, it looked bad, out of place and was dissonant with the fights).

Same with Kitanas fans and the speed with she lumbered around with them.

While Mr. Tancharoen's vision could be a nice conversation piece if it ever get's translated to full feature length, I still think Warner Bros. should consider other directors for a new MK movie before giving him the green-light. In the past, there were great directors who worked for Warner Brothers: Mark Lester (Showdown in Little Tokyo), the Wachowski Brothers, etc. Recent films like Ninja Assassin are also promising and when you combine the fantasy in MK with some realistic martial arts action, you can just imagine how mind-blowing a movie like that could be.

I remember those great films from the 90's and 80's that had fantasy and sci-fi in them were directed by some under-appreciated filmmakers. Albert Pyun comes to mind. He directed Cyborg and Kickboxer 4 and I think those movies had some of that MK vibe spot on. If Pyun is unavailable, there's always the guy who directed Crank 2.

Here are my observations though on Kevin's pitch:
1. Jax and Sonya are police detectives. Instead of using Jax or Sonya, why not just use Stryker? Jackson Briggs and Sonya Blade are Special Forces, they're covert operatives, not LAPD or part of law enforcement. They're a part of the state's dark side, they do wetworks or dirty work for the government like assassinations or murders of foreign diplomats, etc. To turn them into cops is just too artificial to be believable and would be ignoring the military side of MK. An MK without its military personalities is like Street Fighter without Guile and Cammy or Tekken without Brian Fury. Stryker on the other hand, he's the man for this, with the nightstick and all. How Kevin the director is supposed to portray Stryker is subject to speculation though. He could transform him into Dirty Harry for all I care as long as some fantasy elements and character peculiarities are preserved, then it's okay.

2. Reptile is a cannibal psycho. One of Reptile's appeal from the first two games is that he combined martial arts elements and some hint of the fantastic and magical. He was a ninja but at the same time, when he took off that mask, there's that mystery that he could be something else. None of this mystery is in Kevin's video. He's just another Francis Dolarhyde/Red Dragon maniac. Might as well turn Hannibal Lecter into an MK fighter (I kinda like that idea though). Have someone else as this meat-eating killer, how about Meat? He's perfect for the part. Meat doesn't even need to have a skin disease since judging from Armageddon, he's skinless right?

3. Baraka with dreadlocks. Since the Tarkatan now has a PhD, and some dreadlocks to booth, he might as well cure the collective butt-ugliness of his countrymen through some badly needed cosmetic surgery. With his retractable blades and all, he doesn't even need a surgeon's knife to do operations.

4. Saw atmosphere. Is it just me or is this video releasing vibes from that Lionsgate film series? The skin disease explanation for Reptile even seems like it came from the Texas Chainsaw Massacre remake (also a Lionsgate release, I guess). Whatever happened to that special MK vibe you feel every time you play MK I and II?

I guess I was too harsh with my early judgments about it but I guess if it helps MK go that extra mile with the new generation of audiences, then go ahead.

He could be good because it is definitely a good trailer. But if the main idea is to keep this attempt of changing origins and making Outworld Mutants and Zaterra Citizens homicidal crazy human begins.....no. A big fat no.

Ehh... the entire movie in general defied artistic value.

It never ceases to amaze me how much people love to bitch. No, this is not the exact same plot as the "real" Mortal Kombat. We get that. The director gets that. People have overlooked the following things, though:

1) This was obviously meant to be a reboot. As some have said, the mysticism would still be there (I guarantee Shang Tsung would have some supernatural qualities to him revealed as the movie headed on). The characters aren't meant to be exactly the same. Could a MK movie be done with them as they are in the proper story? Perhaps. But that may not neccessarily translate over well.

2) This was a teaser trailer. Fuck, the entire plot could pretty much change if it were green-lit. This was meant to show what sort of feel the movie would have, using what resources were at the director's disposal at the time of shooting, and to perhaps give a little indication about where he wants to go creatively with things. You don't know the entire story of the fucking movie from watching that, so shut the fuck up about it.

3) How much love for the MK series is actually in that video. Scorpion vs. Sub-Zero being at the centre of the story, instead of the "good guy who saves the day." Reptile may have been changed, but the concept of him is pretty terrifying -- and his habits are pretty much a reference to his classic Fatality. I think I saw little nods to Raiden and Stryker in there, too.

I loved this teaser. Granted, there is part of me that fears it will confuse people as to the true story of Mortal Kombat, but when you look at it as a film "based on the characters created by Ed Boon and John Tobias," you see a film that knows how to set a mood, keep an audience engaged and BUILD. The intensity of that Johnny Cage vs. Baraka fight was intense. The director also doesn't throw his characters into a supernatural world. That will be an easing in process. Even the grunt characters like Baraka and Reptile are getting backstories for this, too. They might not be the ones we know and love, but they are at least there.

Also, everyone I know that has seen this trailer has fucking loved it. Mortal Kombat could use a fanbase renewal.

So by that logic, if I wanted to reboot Spider-Man, the film could be about a serial killer who uses tarantula venom to kill his victims.

The frist film was PG-13 and for fuck sake especially in 1995, did not look that cheezy and lame!!!!!

Use the first film as the framework for a new movie but bigger, bloodier, more serious blah blah blah.

The director of this trailer seems to be out to make a quick buck, continuing on with this bullshit SAW trend.

I would rather Paul Anderson direct the next film. Continuing on from the first.

lol.... ...... . . . .. . wait, wut?

I am all over this one. Video game or movie, I'm fuckin' getting it!