Topic: Mortal Kombat for the 21st century (Read 6277 times)

MrBlu · « **on:** 08 Jun 2010, 12:40 »

My title cannot possibly express how excited I am for this (pretty damn much), as this trailer looks TOO HSDLFjhi34fjhsjfa kAWESOME

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9_MqZn7E-mk&feature=youtu.be

Scandanavian War Machine · « **Reply #1 on:** 08 Jun 2010, 14:21 »

saw this on Kotaku earlier, pretty freaking awesome.

I always liked the other movies, despite their obvious shittiness, but this actually looks good in slightly more legitmate way. As opposed to a "good because it's actually bad" kind of way.

Alex C · « **Reply #2 on:** 08 Jun 2010, 14:36 »

Legitimately good seems a li'l bit of a stretch for a trailer in which they explain that an action movie star got killed while working undercover. Besides a lot of the buzz seems to think this is a teaser trailer for a game rather than a movie.

Scandanavian War Machine · « **Reply #3 on:** 08 Jun 2010, 14:36 »

i have very low standards

Alex C · « **Reply #4 on:** 08 Jun 2010, 14:46 »

It's cool. There's not much point in trying to remove too much silly from MK.

Scandanavian War Machine · « **Reply #5 on:** 08 Jun 2010, 15:11 »

exactly. I like that they removed the silliness that wouldn't work, in favor of silliness that would work (probably.....sort of....maybe).

I mean, a deranged plastic surgeon with giant knives in his arms? Hell yeah, I'll watch that. Much more interesting than whatever Baraka was before, which was...what? Some sort of mutant or serf from some alternate dimension who also happens to have blades in his arms, for some reason? BOORING.

also, I love how one of the first things the trailer shows is Johnny Cage getting decapitated. I always hated his show-boating ass and his stupid sunglasses.

hee hee "Get out there and FINISH HIM." So awesome.

edit: so according to wild speculation on the internet, this might not even be for a new movie. Some say it's just a short teaser to advertise the new game. I don't really believe that, but I'd love to hear one way or the other.

Alex C · « **Reply #6 on:** 08 Jun 2010, 15:21 »

Yeah, this at least establishes him as a creepy guy who we're not supposed to feel bad for when his spine gets ripped out. As an emotional cue and story board shorthand it's a helluva lot more practical than his old bio, which was being a warlord from some fictional place nobody sane could ever give two shits about.

I mean, really, there's nothing sadder than the youtube comments out their bemoaning the loss of canon. Holy shit, you guys, I play WoW and I think you're a li'l sad.

Scandanavian War Machine · « **Reply #7 on:** 08 Jun 2010, 15:35 »

when the canon is as stupid as Mortal Kombat's, then it's loss is no great tragedy.

SWOON! at My Gravitas · « **Reply #8 on:** 08 Jun 2010, 16:00 »

I like how the guy failed at plastic surgery and decided becoming a serial killer was the only logical career move

Alex C · « **Reply #9 on:** 08 Jun 2010, 16:04 »

Particularly since he could have been a big star in the world of body modification.

Anyway, I don't really mean to crap all over MK when I say that losing the canon isn't a big deal or anything. I just don't think all franchises are meant to be immutable monoliths, with Mortal Kombat being a good example of a franchise that went waaay too far and could have used more shakeups. After all, its trademark of over the top violence isn't very specific and there's nothing about it that really requires them to keep using the same characters and over and over again. It's a series that is in many ways born of limitations-- the tradition of palette swapping initially had as much to do with production budgets and hardware limitations as it did with a lack of originality. I have a real hard time believing that John Tobias ever believed that every character design he came up with for the series had to be seen as some sort of sacred cow.

look out! Ninjas! · « **Reply #10 on:** 08 Jun 2010, 16:58 »

"But why are you murdering everybody?"

"Oh, I'm just a jerk"

Scandanavian War Machine · « **Reply #11 on:** 08 Jun 2010, 17:01 »

Quote from: tender on 08 Jun 2010, 16:13

This is quite long for a preview of a movie that is slated for a 2013 release (according to imdb). Probably a teaser for a game, unfortunately. A campy movie like this could be fun.

I believe it's more like a proof-of-concept. Something to show investors, so they can actually make the movie.

I'm just hoping it's not for a game because I don't think that Mortal Kombat should ever be a game ever again. It's just not relevent or necessary anymore.

Alex C · « **Reply #12 on:** 08 Jun 2010, 17:22 »

See, I figure Mortal Kombat is far less relevant as a movie series than as a gaming franchise. To put it bluntly, there's no other western fighter franchise that ever managed to be more than a blip on the radar. It's almost strictly Japanese territory, with all the stylistic references and cultural baggage that entails. I don't know if there's still a place for a more juvenile, westernized and irreverent approach to the fighter genre, since frankly fighters are something of a dinosaur in general, but I think it'd be more interesting to see someone take a crack at the job than it would be to see another gory low rent action flick.

Storm Rider · « **Reply #13 on:** 08 Jun 2010, 17:48 »

I'm going to be a wet blanket and say that I thought that trailer was kind of awful. Trying to gritty up the goofy Mortal Kombat mythology and give all the ridiculous characters serial killer backstories just struck me as cringe-inducing. It looked reasonably stylish and the fighting scene looked fine, but I think trying to give Mortal Kombat the Dark Knight treatment nakedly exposes just how stupid the story in those games is. Not to malign the games themselves, I don't play fighting games so I don't really care either way. But I don't really like this direction for an MK movie, I think Mortal Kombat has to have a tongue in cheek element to work.

Alex C · « **Reply #14 on:** 08 Jun 2010, 18:06 »

I'll just put it this way: If they try to go the Dark Knight route and support an entire movie with aspirations towards feigning realism, I think it would fail horribly. But I think the more apt comparison would actually be Twisted Metal Black, and as a game that formula could very well be a success. Short vignettes, openly impossible scenarios, some dark humor and over the top action can work out pretty well. Of course, unless the property has changed hands more than I know, David Jaffe (of Twisted Metal and God of War fame) couldn't possibly be heading up this project, and his crew would really be the only guys I can think of who could make something properly ridiculous out of it.

McTaggart · « **Reply #15 on:** 08 Jun 2010, 20:34 »

It'd surprise me if there wasn't a new Mortal Kombat game. There hasn't been a better time to make a fighting game since the nineties and all the current ones are very japanese. I think the problem though is that all the people who played MK back when it was fresh have grown up and gotten over gratuitous gore and violence and I don't it will have nearly the same effect now that gore is everywhere and you don't have to sneak off to a bowling alley and drop a bunch of quarters to get it.

MrBlu · « **Reply #16 on:** 08 Jun 2010, 22:37 »

There is going to be a new MK game. Boon said that he's aiming for M-Rated for the next one.

EDIT::

BAD NEWS EVERYONE!!!

http://twitter.com/JeriLRyan/status/15752179609

Quote from: Jeri Ryan

It's not a game trailer. Actually was made for the director to sell WB on his vision for a reimagined MK film

http://twitter.com/JeriLRyan/status/15753355067

Quote from: Jeri Ryan

More MK FAQs: I did it as a favor to a friend. No idea yet what WB's reaction to it was. And I'm not sure how you can contact WB to push them to make it. But you guys are resourceful...!

J · « **Reply #17 on:** 08 Jun 2010, 23:49 »

i'm actually somewhat interested in this. i can't say it looks good, but as a shlock horror/action movie it could really work. now i never really followed the games (more of a street fighter guy), but it looks like they're trying something diffrent with the franchise, and i'd like to see where they can take it. at the least, i'd like to see what the pseudo-realistic/non-mystical version or raiden is like.

the thing is, that fighting games are not really great story mediums anyway, so most don't really make the effort, and that leaves very little to work with in an adaption. this is why previous attempts
have turned out poorly (though raul julia was an awesome bison). just starting from whole cloth and using the original for inspiration seems like a good way to go.

think of a cross between bloodsport and planet terror.

Blue Kitty · « **Reply #18 on:** 10 Jun 2010, 12:07 »

As if hearing your prayers, a new game has been announced

JD · « **Reply #19 on:** 11 Jun 2010, 18:52 »

Slick video

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Author Topic: Mortal Kombat for the 21st century (Read 6277 times)