Hiroyuki Sanada as Scorpion in New Line Cinema’s action-adventure Mortal Kombat.
Warner Bros. Pictures
Few video games make it all the way to the silver screen, but if any game is deserving of becoming a major motion picture, it’s Mortal Kombat. The hyperviolent fighting game is so iconic that it became a center piece in the 1993 congressional hearings that led to the creation of the Entertainment Software Rating Board, which assigns ratings to games in regard to age appropriateness and level of violence. Maybe that’s why Mortal Kombat has already had two film adaptations, with a third hitting theaters and HBO Max on Friday, April 23.
If you can’t wait for that, however, the movie’s first seven minutes are available to watch right now. The clip starts out sweet, and rapidly deteriorates into a tale of vengeance and expertly choreographed violence, ending on a cliff-hanger as Scorpion and Sub-Zero face off.
Editors’ top picks
Subscribe to CNET Now for the day’s most interesting reviews, news stories and videos.
Previous trailers for Mortal Kombat offered us a broader look at the plot, which sees a new movie-original character teaming up with classic game characters like Liu Kang, Kano and Sonya Blade to fight in legendary combat for the fate of the universe. This teaser shows us a more intimate story, starting at the Hanzo Hasashi compound in 17th century Japan.
We see a happy family come under threat from a sinister martial artist with ice powers. Quickly we see the beginnings of a rivalry between two of the game’s most iconic fighters.
Despite being just a few minutes long, the clip shows just how much the movie is drawing from existing Mortal Kombat lore, and it bodes well for those hoping the film lives up to the franchise’s action chops.
Mortal Kombat is scheduled to be in theaters and available to stream on HBO Max on April 23.