[Editor's note: The following contains spoilers for the first 13 minutes of Mortal Kombat.]
We've been poring through tons of info and goodies from the cast and crew of the upcoming Mortal Kombat movie, all of which has me plenty excited. But at a certain point, talk is just talk. How does the movie look, feel, play?
While we still need to wait a bit longer to see the full, feature-length Mortal Kombat in its entirety, we were lucky enough to catch the opening prologue sequence, about 13 minutes in total. And I found the experience to be hard-hitting, intriguingly shot, very well-performed, and best of all — surprisingly emotional. I have some gripes in its editing rhythms, but by and large, I found this first look to be a captivating overture, and, to borrow Shang Tsung's parlance, a promising taste of things to come.
And, oh yeah, there's lots of blood.
The sequence serves as mini-origin stories for two of the most iconic Mortal Kombat characters since the first game: Scorpion and Sub-Zero. But here, we're introduced to them as Hanzo Hasashi (Hiroyuki Sanada) and Bi-Han (Joe Taslim), two warring ninjas from rival factions. And while Bi-Han can use the magical power of freezing right out of the gate in this introduction, Hanzo's usage of that "get over here" spear feels more grounded in a Batman Begins kind of way; it's something he grabs and throws, not shoot out of his hell-hands. But more on their weapons and fighting tactics in a moment...
The very first thing we see in Mortal Kombat is, oddly, peace. A still, tranquil cottage where Hanzo takes care of his wife and child. Smiling, loving, even playfully teasing faces, rendered with space and stillness by director Simon McQuoid, whose sense of efficient visual storytelling and mastery of production design is evident from frame one. I find it, frankly, ballsy to open a big-budget martial arts fantasy with such domestic simplicity, and I find it more than effective in aligning ourselves to the emotional endearment and journey of the characters.
But peace cannot last this long. When Hanzo leaves to fetch buckets of water, Bi-Han and his clan strike. The first act of violence and bloodshed is not one of raucousness or bad-assery. It's the abjectly terrifying, horror-tinged image of a weapon cutting through a paper window, blood streaking and spurting as it lowers. I'm not thrilled at this image, I'm shocked and saddened. How am I already this moved by a Mortal Kombat movie?
Bi-Han is here to find and exterminate Hanzo and his family, and the moments of suspense and villainy remind me very much of the opening sequence of Inglourious Basterds, in which our villainous Hans Landa invades a cottage to find the hiding Jewish family amidst the floorboards. But whereas that scene slowly heightens to a place of nigh-unbearable tension before it explodes in gunfire, this scene gets to its moment of loss and violence much quicker. And, of course, explodes in martial arts combat.
When Hanzo returns to find his family exterminated, his wife in a literal block of ice, grief can only live by itself for so long, before it must transition to rage. A group of fighters are here to finish the job, and Hanzo must fight back. So, he grabs that Scorpion spear and annihilates the hell out of them. This multiple-person fight scene is kinetic and thrilling, featuring lots of gruesome contact and lovely beats of choreography. I love the moments when the camera spins around our fighters in longer takes, allowing the performers to fight unadorned — plus, it gives us ample opportunity to watch Sanada emote as he pummels. I will say that the editing rhythms can be a little too quick for me, losing some of the appealing fluidity and authenticity of the fight in a barrage of impact cuts, jarring inserts, and eye-straining reorientations. I hope this is a unique style of editing for this opening fight; otherwise, I worry some of the best moments will get muddled on the chopping block.
As the fight ends, Bi-Han appears again to defeat and taunt Hanzo. Here, the film's emphasis on an authentically multi-cultural cast shines brilliantly, as the two share lines of dialogue alternating between Chinese and Japanese, even commenting on how they come from such different worlds and can't understand each other. It's another surprising use of space and character for the film to delve into right at a moment of climactic conflict. And as this sequence ends with Bi-Han prevailing (for now), the title card slowly fades in, leaving me absolutely ready for more.
Mortal Kombat comes to theaters and HBO Max April 16, 2021. Check out a 15-second look at this opening Scorpion fight scene below.