FINISH HIM! Well, pick your poison. Would you rather engulf your opponent in flames or drop them onto a floor of spikes? These are just two choices for casual and hardcore gamers alike in “Mortal Kombat,” still going strong nearly 30 years later. Still, let’s not forget that the gratuitous violence in Ed Boon and John Tobias’ title helped paved the way for creating the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB). Back to its popularity, though. It was palpable enough to spawn two feature-length films in 1995 and 1997. And now must be as good a time as ever for a reimagined film of the same name.
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Stepping into the director’s chair in his feature debut is Simon McQuoid. Though a newcomer, McQuoid is surrounded by a collection of great talent. Highlighting that list is horror film director extraordinaire James Wan (“Saw” & “The Conjuring” movies), onboard this project as a producer. Also on the team are co-screenwriter Dave Callaham (“Wonder Woman 1984” & “Zombieland: Double Tap”) and composer Benjamin Wallfisch (“Blade Runner 2049” & “Hidden Figures”).
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Portraying some familiar faces from the game’s universe are equally familiar faces from the big and small screens. First up is Lewis Tan (“Wu Assassins,” “Deadpool 2“) as Cole Young and Ludi Lin (“Aquaman” & “Black Mirror”) as Liu Kang. Joining him are Joe Taslim (“Warrior”) as the not-at-all-nice master of ice Sub-Zero and Tadanobu Asano as the shockingly awesome Raiden. The rest of the cast includes Jessica McNamee (“Battle of the Sexes” & “The Vow”) as Sonya Blade, Mehcad Brooks (“Supergirl”) as Jax, and Hiroyuki Sanada (“The Last Samurai”) as Scorpion. The cast is round out by Josh Lawson and Chin Han.
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“Mortal Kombat” —originally slated for a January 15 release—will be out now on April 16 on HBO Max and wherever theaters are open. Until then, GET OVER HERE! and check out the trailer below.
