Simon McQuoid, the director for the upcoming Mortal Kombat reboot, recently spoke about why the film won't be as gory as the video game series. Mortal Kombat serves as both an adaptation of the popular video game series of the same name, while also rebooting the theatrical side of the franchise after two live-action films came out in the 90s. Both Mortal Kombat (1995) and Mortal Kombat: Annihilation (1997) drew in a mixed response from both moviegoers and critics, and many fans of the video games have been clamoring for the series to land on the big screen again for decades.
One of Mortal Kombat's most iconic aspects is its over-the-top and bombastic use of violence and gore. One of the major points of contention with fans about the 1995 Mortal Kombat film was its PG-13 rating. The film's violence was watered down in order to reach a wider audience, but its iconic fatalities and fighting moves were a far cry from their video game counterparts. In the following decades, many Mortal Kombat fans had hoped that a potential cinematic reboot wouldn't sanitize the film in the name of accessibility. Luckily, the new reboot was confirmed to be rated R.
At a recent press event (via Comicbook), McQuoid spoke about how he and the creative team behind Mortal Kombat decided how far they should push the envelope. McQuoid confirmed that certain aspects have been toned down compared to the video games. The director stated that some of the more extreme violence in the video game series would make the film "unreleaseable" and that there were many discussions concerning how far the team could actually push it. McQuoid also said that line producer Bennett Walsh, who had previously worked on Kill Bill, played a significant role in figuring the proper level of violence for the film. Check out McQuoid's comments below:
It was something that took up a fair amount of brainpower amongst us, because we didn't want to underdo it and we didn't want to overdo it. So, overdoing it means... When certain things in the game, if you tried to make a real version of that, the film would be unreleasable. That's just the fact of it. But we knew we wanted to get up to the line and not cross it, and that was really... The discussions were about that.
Although it may not be as violent as the video game series, both the cast and crew of Mortal Kombat have assured fans that the film's R-rating is well deserved. Producer Todd Garner had previously spoken about the reboot containing one of the most brutal fight scenes ever captured on film. Lewis Tan, who plays protagonist Cole Young, had also mentioned that one of the film's fatalities was so violent that it made him physically sick.
McQuoid and the team's concerns about violence aren't unfounded. Film ratings boards are generally more strict than their video game equivalents, and if the film were to receive any rating above an R, it could enormously limit its release. However, fans concerned about McQuoid's comments should rest assured that Mortal Kombat still nearly received an NC-17 rating for its violence despite being toned down from the games. From the trailers and pre-release material, Mortal Kombat is certainly shaping up to honor the video games' violent roots.
Source: Comicbook
