STACK #201 Jul 2021

FEATURE FILM

measure of humour, McQuoid elaborates: “I went in knowing that there needed to be comedy, but it had to be the right type of comedy. It had to come from a character, and it couldn’t be sprayed across the whole film, because then the tonality would be out of balance. So we needed the comedy that comes from Josh to balance the important and very earnest aspects of the Mortal Kombat lore.” Although Mortal Kombat is McQuoid’s first feature-length movie, he is no stranger to filmmaking, having come from the world of commercials. His notable work includes advertisements for companies like Duracell,

CONJURING KOMBAT

whilst being respectful to the fantasy tone, violent action and gore of the game that fans have come to love. We wanted to bring these vivid characters and stories back to the big screen in a modern, exciting way for a whole new generation who may not be as familiar with the films as we were growing up.”

“It's been over 25 years since the first [Mortal Kombat] feature film came out, and fans have been pretty vocal asking for another big screen entry,” says co- producer James Wan. “As a fan myself of the games and movies, I, too, wanted to see another theatrical version of this, and felt

it was time again to revisit this IP that has been kept relevant in the game world but not as much in the feature world. “From the get-go, [co-producer] Todd Garner, my Atomic Monster team and I were gung-ho about creating an updated version with today’s filmmaking technology,

Nissan and Samsung, and when asked if stepping into the world of big budget Hollywood filmmaking was a daunting proposition, his response is unequivocal. “No, not at all. I was so ready and so looking forward to it. And the commercials I do on a day-to-day basis feel pretty similar to this, it’s just that I don’t do them for so long, you know?” There is no doubt about it, Mortal Kombat is bang-for-buck cinema – a highly stylised, ultra-violent and ferociously fun film that honours its source material, while also providing an easy entry point for newcomers to the franchise.

• Mortal Kombat is out on July 21

Strong violence and coarse language High impact violence

MORTAL KOMBAT, the DRAGON LOGO and all related characters and elements are trademarks of and © Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. © 2021 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. All rights reserved.

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