first look at Mortal Kombat

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Mortal Kombat, produced by Todd Garner and Aquaman's James Wan, begins with a crucial piece of lore from the original games: the blood feud between the clans of Hanzo and Bi-Han (Warrior's Joe Taslim). The 10-minute opening sequence kicks off in feudal Japan, long before these fighters wielded supernatural abilities as Scorpion and Sub-Zero, and it ends in "a pretty nasty hand-to-hand combat" between the two, McQuoid says. It's why the first-time feature filmmaker cast Sanada and Taslim, two actors known for their martial arts prowess. "[Hanzo's] the leader of a ninja clan and he's strong, but also… at the beginning, he's a peaceful family man," Sanada says. "It is like a family drama with excitingly brutal fighting. That's the image of this movie for me," he adds.

The story of Bi-Han and Hanzo "needed to be told within the fight," McQuoid says. "There are some great camera moves to give it a bit of dynamism, that make it really enjoyable. We needed it to be really elemental and really brutal. It's not a shiny film… I wanted the dirt and the grime to come through."

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"There are some crazy fatalities," Tan confirms. "We've picked a couple of iconic ones. There's a lot of really cool signature moves that you'll see, a lot of Easter eggs that we snuck into the film, but there are some really badass fatalities that I can't wait to see on the big screen. They're brutal, man. They, they don't hold back." At the same time, McQuoid "didn't want to get into NC-17 territory." He notes, "It's amazing how quickly you can get there. It doesn't take much." At least, not for a Mortal Kombat movie.

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