‘Mortal Kombat’ Red Band Trailer: I can’t tell if I hate this shit or not.

The trailer for the new Mortal Kombat has dropped, and I have no idea if I fucking hate it or not. Undoubtedly, it’s got some of the classic iconography that makes my dick stiffer than one of Sub-Zero’s victims. (That’s an awful pop culture reference, and if you enjoyed it, woof.) At the same time, isn’t this franchise supposed to be fun? It’s a patently idiotic franchise, and that’s what makes the games (and the original movie) so dope. The whole grim dark posturing going on this trailer is pretty ass, and antithetical to the heart of the franchise.

But, you know how it goes. It’s got classic characters doing their classic shit, and people are marks for that sort of pablum.

Where do I fall? Again, I really don’t know. Genuinely.

The Verge:

The rebooted Mortal Kombat movie has debuted its first trailer — and, much like the games it’s based on, the upcoming film looks to be very violent. (Warner Bros. has actually released two trailers, with a more gory red-band version available on YouTube.)

Mortal Kombat stars Lewis Tan as an MMA fighter Cole Young, who seems remarkably blasé about the suspiciously dragon-shaped scar on his chest (he assumes it’s just a birthmark, which certainly strains credulity.) But Cole is quickly recruited to fight in a legendary tournament — the titular “Mortal Kombat” — with the fate of Earth in his hands. (Literally. There’s going to be a lot of fighting.)

The trailer also gives the first good look at the latest live-action versions of Sonya, Kano, Raiden, Jax, Liu Kang, Shang Tsung, and Kung Lao, along with the dueling supernatural warriors Sub-Zero and Scorpion (the video game’s unofficial mascots). The new film is set to be a rebooted attempt to adapt the hyper-violent fighting game after the original Mortal Kombat and Mortal Kombat: Annihilation films from the 1990s.

Like all of Warner Bros.’ 2021 blockbusters, Mortal Kombat will be released in theaters and on HBO Max simultaneously on April 16th, 2021.