We're definitely not feeling 'meh' about Mehcad Brooks! - copyright Instagram
The red band trailer (i.e. not appropriate for kids) for the upcoming Mortal Kombat movie has become most viewed of all time hitting a whopping 120million views as of last week.
The Mortal Kombat video game franchise started life in 1992 when ‘beat ‘em up games were all the rage in arcades and at home. Street Fighter II was top of the pile (of bodies) but Mortal Kombat’s USP was the fact the graphics were based on motion captured actors and the violence was above and beyond anything anyone had ever seen.
The gory ‘finish him’ fatality moments became iconic and one of the reasons you would play the game – waiting to see how inventive the murder was going to be. From disembowelling to spine removal to single-handed decapitation, the game designers went to town trying to please the player with their inventive horrors.
Joe Taslim shows us his selfie game before he becomes Sub Zero
- copyright Instagram
In 1995 the game series got its first movie adaptation. Some might say this was a little premature seeing as the games had only been out for a few years… and they would be right. The Mortal Kombat film of the same name wasn’t exactly bad per se, it was just not really in keeping with the spirit of the game.
Eighties and nineties film adaptations of popular IPs were notoriously terrible (stand up Super Mario Bros – The Movie and Street Fighter: The Movie). One main thing that was missing was the gore, pure unadulterated horror. Fatalities are back in the new film which is what the fans were calling for.
Lewis Tan plays a new character in the movie
- copyright Instagram
What are also present and correct are buff physiques to embody the video game characters. First of all, we have actor Mehcad Brooks who is playing Major Jackson ‘Jax’ Briggs. Mehcad, 40, has previously played James Olsen in the CW Supergirl series and was in Desperate Housewives too from 2005-2006. Did we mention he was a Calvin Klein model as well?
Also on the cast is Lewis Tan who plays the movie only character of Cole Young. He’s hot, has bulging biceps and clearly knows how to throw a punch so what’s not to love? Finally, there’s Joe Taslim, the Indonesian martial artist who’s playing fan favourite Sub Zero. When the violence and horror is cranked up to 11, it’s no wonder the new movie is touted to be the reboot the franchise really needs.