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Michael Jai White in The Unthinkable

By TK | Posted Under Trailers | Comments (29)



Michael Jai White 1.jpg

Holy fucking shit, you guys. The impossible has happened. The unthinkable. If this is legit — and given the actors involved, there’s no reason to think it’s not — we may be on the verge of something previously thought to be nothing more than a gamer’s drunken ravings:

A good Mortal Kombat movie. No, I am not shitting you. The footage below popped up on Youtube, and has little information other than the names of the players. It feels like a promo reel for a movie, but what’s weird is the only Mortal Kombat movie in development isn’t due out until 2013 (and is currently tied up in some legal troubles).

Whatever its story, this is actually pretty engrossing stuff. It’s gritty and definitely hard-R material, which a movie based on a video game that features as much blood and decapitating as Mortal Kombat does should be. It’s got some pretty cool stars, including martial arts badass Michael Jai White (Black Dynamite) and “Star Trek: Voyager” star Jeri Ryan. It features characters like Baraka and Reptile as real-world psychotics, not mythical creatures — insane serial killers with a talent for fighting and self mutilation. It’s got Scorpion!

It’s a Mortal Kombat movie based in the real world, with White as a detective named Jackson Briggs (Jax, natch) and Ryan as Detective Sonya Blade. And I’ll be damned if it doesn’t look pretty fucking cool. Take a look:

I know, right? Impressive. Also, it’s worth noting that anything becomes 68.7% more badass with the addition of Michael Jai White. It’s science, people.

We’ll just have to wait and see what this really is.

(Source: Film School Rejects)









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Comments

Apparently, this is test footage meant to attract investors in the hopes of raising money to make this project a reality, much like those Iron Sky teasers released recently.

I actually hope this gets greenlit - Michael Jai White as Jax is a masterstroke, as is Jeri Ryan as Sonya Blade. I love the idea of removing all the Outworld/dimensional portal stuff too (although I have a sneaking suspicion that, if made, the movie may eventually reveal Shang Tsung as an emissary from Outworld who encourages these homicidal maniacs to go on a killing spree as a way of softening up our realm for an Outworld invasion).

Posted by: Dill The Devil at June 9, 2010 11:35 AM

I saw this the other day. I liked it. It looked pretty sweet, especially considering the source material and the original, uh, "film."

Posted by: Forbiddendonut at June 9, 2010 11:38 AM

Oh FUCK yeah! Gimme somma dat!

Posted by: Rykker at June 9, 2010 11:40 AM

Also, it's crazy how they photo shopped a picture of Michael Jai White's head on my body.

Seriously, WTF people? Where did you get that picture of me?

Posted by: Forbiddendonut at June 9, 2010 11:42 AM

I've also heard this is a teaser trailer for another upcoming Mortal Kombat game.

Posted by: DeistBrawler at June 9, 2010 11:42 AM

Well, I hope this gets made, because this has the potential to be the best video game adaptation yet. Love it.

Posted by: logar at June 9, 2010 11:46 AM

Better.

Doesn't cure the fact that these are 90's video game names that are completely ridiculous.

But somewhat better.

Posted by: D-Day at June 9, 2010 11:50 AM

I was thinking this was test footage for investors, as well. It looks great.

Posted by: Robert at June 9, 2010 12:07 PM

Hey TK: I saw that HDNET MOVIES is premiering "REC 2" before it hits theaters. It's going to be on at 8 on July 7. FYI to pass on if you want. They previously did this for "Survival of the Dead" last month.

The first MK was entertaining enough. It would be nice to see a badass one, though.

Posted by: TylerDFC at June 9, 2010 12:08 PM

Hmm. This is either going to be the one and only good video game movie of all time, or a hilarious crapfest.

Also, I was seriously dissapointed that Johnny Cage didn't break out the crotch punch. Just saying.

Posted by: Royalewithcheese at June 9, 2010 12:11 PM

This was made without any studio input. Who thinks it'll stay like this after it's run through the grist mill? Also, Reptile as a grown up clown baby? What? How will that explain how he spits acid?

Posted by: Optimus Rhyme at June 9, 2010 12:11 PM

This feels very much like the campaign that got Black Dynamite made -- no coincidence that MJW is involved with both.

I'm a fan of the original bloated mess that was Mortal Kombat...wait. I'm sorry. It's MORTAAAAAAALLLL KOOOOOOOMMMBAAAAATTTTTT!!!!

/start techno

But this feels right. Fingers crossed.

it’s worth noting that anything becomes 68.7% more badass with the addition of Michael Jai White. It’s science, people.

To quote BD, "This is also true"

Posted by: Fredo at June 9, 2010 12:21 PM

A little bit more awesome: Baraka is played by Lateef Crowder.

Mr. Crowder played the Capoeira fighter in the temple fire scene in Tony Jaa's The Protector aka Gimme Back My Shit 2: Elephant Blues.

Posted by: Vermillion at June 9, 2010 12:23 PM

Wait a minute here. This don't jive with me. Someone with Harlequin Ichthyosis is in constant paint and needs to be under 24/7 medical supervision with unending medications to survive. Very few patients are known to have survived to adulthood. Not that I've spent hours researching this in the past because of Discovery Health special-induced nightmares or anything.

Can't they just give him a mean case of psoriasis? Maybe make him a severe burn victim? Acne scars? Ritual scarification? I don't know. Anything that stops assholes like me from going all over the Internet and complaining about the medical inaccuracy.

Posted by: Robert at June 9, 2010 12:39 PM

If it weren't for the spidermonkey pic below killing my libido for the rest of the day, I would definitely be retiring to my sleeping quarters and masturbating furiously.

Posted by: Drake at June 9, 2010 12:39 PM

I'm thoroughly meh and completely unimpressed by the grittying up of the universe, but I think I'm just over everything being a "gritty remake" as though that somehow automatically improves it. Too much grit. I'm over it. Not everything has to be run through the brown and blue filters and not everyone has to be dirty half the time. I also don't buy skinnybitch Jeri Ryan as Sonya Blade for one millisecond. Does not work for me. And yeah... Reptile's just stupid-looking. Baraka's okay I guess. Scorpion and Sub-Zero may or may not be cool, don't really see enough of them to decide. Ditto with Shang Tsung.

On the other hand, the fight scene was pretty rad. Have my standards just gone down because I'm excited that you can actually SEE them fighting? Die, shaky cam, DIE.

So if this gets made, I'll probably see it for the fight scenes if nothing else.

Posted by: Nat Kittyface at June 9, 2010 12:46 PM

@Drake: Somehow the visual isn't working for me there. Then again,
needs more spidah-monkey.


The pic of chocolatey muscley hawtness up there? That's not the guy
that played Urkel, right? Am I getting my 3-name Michaels all mixed up?

Posted by: Ms MoMo at June 9, 2010 12:47 PM

The teaser look AWESOME
I hope it's a movie but I have doubt
I think it might be a new MK game

Posted by: madclawmannn at June 9, 2010 12:48 PM

Let's get these guys involved:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UMf40daefsI

Posted by: Paul Southworth at June 9, 2010 12:50 PM

The pic of chocolatey muscley hawtness up there? That's not the guy
that played Urkel, right? Am I getting my 3-name Michaels all mixed up?

Jaleel White played Urkel. I know this thanks to a childhood of torturous comparisons with the character.

Posted by: Vermillion at June 9, 2010 12:53 PM

Per Jeri Ryan's Twitter, this was made as spec for Warner Brothers. She said she did it as a favor for a friend and doesn't know if it's going to go forward.

Per me, I hope it gets made. MJW is a great fighter (Dynamite!) and I also liked that you could actually see the Johnny Cage fight. No quick cutwaways.

Posted by: calliope at June 9, 2010 1:01 PM

Wow, this does look totally badass, and completely fucking gross. I think if someone fleshed it out and worked out some of the rough edges, it could be genius.

And oh, Michael Jai White is pure walking sex. Rawr.

Posted by: figgy at June 9, 2010 1:16 PM

Oh, don't worry. I'm sure this will get picked up, and by the time the studio is done with it Katherine Heigl will be playing Sonya Blade, with Tatum Channing as Sub Zero and Damon Wayans as the wacky sidekick. The bulk of the film will deal with the meet cute of Sonya and Reptile at their physical therapists. She's overcoming a torn rotator cuff from fighting Jade, and he's constantly there from his severe sunburn (The sunburn tested well with focus groups). She sees past his horrible disfiguration and they fall in love during a montage scene of the actual tournament. Then, at the end his peeling scaling skin finally sloughs off, and he's a smiling Bradley Cooper!


Gritty my ass.

Posted by: Mrcreosote at June 9, 2010 1:55 PM

Gritty my ass.

I have ointment for that.

Posted by: Paul Southworth at June 9, 2010 1:58 PM

Um, HOLY FUCK!

What?!

Okay, that has to be something close to real, considering the production value and the actors and whatnot, not to mention the admittedly cheesy name-dropping lines that video game movies feel is so fucking necessary. But oh my god, that completely caught me by surprise.

Posted by: ChristianH at June 9, 2010 2:26 PM

"Tony Jaa's The Protector aka Gimme Back My Shit 2: Elephant Blues."

I. Can't. Stop. LAUGHING AT THIS!

Posted by: vdo86 at June 10, 2010 12:32 AM

Holy freakin' crap, this looks OSSOM!!!

Posted by: Jelinas at June 10, 2010 12:57 AM

This video is really cool, but I'm not sharing this. I cannot and will not spread this because I don't want to show a single person Harlequin Ichthyosis that hasn't already heard of it.


To see babies that way...it damages your soul.


Posted by: AmbroseKalifornia at June 10, 2010 2:52 PM

Tony Jaa's The Protector aka Gimme Back My Shit 2: Elephant Blues.

Brilliant. Too good. You are my hero.

Posted by: commanderfunky at June 10, 2010 8:57 PM