I wasn't sure what to expect when I first saw this but I have to say that eight minutes later when I was done, I was really impressed. This small piece gathers everything that should be expected from a game adaptation, even if we're speaking about a more somewhat alternative universe. The effects are quite good and the plot is really interesting. It's to bad we don't actually have a bigger movie after this that would follow the plot on this short one.

I remember the original Mortal Kombat video game. Back in the early 90's it was immensely violent and supernatural. It was the first video game where the characters had true to life faces (so when a head was being ripped off it felt real and intensified the violence). These two themes (violence and the supernatural) have been a constant in every video game, movie or TV series with the MK title over the last >20 years.< In fact these two themes are what a lot of people identify MK with. Without them Mortal Kombat loses its identity (Van Dam in Street fighter anyone --i know, i know this one doesn't suck b***s).Actually Ed Boon and John Tobias the creators of Mortal Kombat weren't involved in these shorts. But if Kevin Tancharoen is successful in his bid to be the next director of MK they will be apparently, so I hope they ad in all the traditional elements. Good short, Im hoping next they can re-do xmen and instead of bone claws wolverine can have knives stitched to his hands and a bipolar disorder to make it more 'true to life' and 'real' ;)

This short is really quite good. The action is really thrilling, the acting is about what I expected and the casting was great, at least for Jax and Scorpion. For those of you that think this short is nothing short of AMAZING, sorry, if you are looking for a cheap action flick that provides action with a severely lacking plot, then there are hundreds of movies like that from modern American cinema. Mortal Kombat has a rich story for most of its characters and to see their stories wasted on another film that goes for action graphics and tries to be more aesthetically pleasing than intellectually stimulating. Also, for those of you that think this short is the worst thing to happen to American cinema...you are most mistaken, that would probably be the remake of Clash of the Titans. Anyways, the dark tone that the short has and the frantic, overwhelming presence of mass murders in a city is something that has made the batman series a huge success. It does lack the supernatural element, which I think is key to the Mortal Kombat universe. If they found a way to keep the supernatural nature of the majority of the "kombatants" intact within the movie, I think it could be a huge success and pleasing to both fans and non-fans. Also, if you notice right at the end Hanzo Hasashi's eyes are...whited? out and he makes the claim that "Hanza Hasashi is dead." This could be hinting at the fact that he is the ninja spectre that we have all come to love. I also think that if non-fans did some research on the characters of MK, they can come to appreciate the supernatural elements, the interplay between Scorpion and Sub-Zero (both), the conflict of Raiden, and all the other rich elements of the MK universe. All in all I think this short lacks in certain key elements that make Mortal Kombat something different than UFC 121, but the direction that it is heading (meaning the dark tone and desperate feel) is right where a Mortal Kombat movie should be.

What can I say, it looks interesting, but twisting the whole story line towards a more "realistic" approach is a retarded idea. Mortal Kombat is meant to be far fetched.. with thunder gods and mutants.. coming up with doctors gone made (who are martial artists ofc) etc wont work. They tried it with that GOD AWFUL Street fighter movie, and it will not work with this one either. The 1st Mortal Kombat movie almost had it right, but still kinda failed as they made it cheesy with a poor plot. X-men 1&2 is a fine example where they got it right, although a little far fetched it was still believable while being easy to follow. You can make a movie with gods, mutants and assassins without trying to make it "real life" as this trailer attempts, and in my opinion fails. +4 stars for the effort -6 for the idea