Not sure I agree with most of that..

They are making assumptions about the characters from unseen episodes.. and their reviews of the episodes are not taking into account this was made for 2 million dollars for 80 minutes of Kombat.. if it was a budget of 20million you maybe can expect more.. but 2 million will not get your far in Hollywood today

There's nothing wrong with making mere predictions based off of your observations IMO.

I'm glad they're handling this by pointing out pros and cons without entering angry fanboy nitpicking territory

It's not great to make predictions when you call it a pro or con however.. you can't say its a con that Shao Kahn is just a person.. they had a tight budget, we haven't seen the episode yet.. maybe he wears his skull crown in battle

Like he said it's merely a prediction based off of trailer impressions but as for Kahn even if he wears his mask it kinda does hurt his character's impact to be humanoid appearing IMO. I tend to see Kahn as a demon incarnarnate version of Genghis Kahn to some degree. He canonically seems like he could be a Shokan based on the way his face looks in MK:SM, the comics and other MK related works where his face is shown. Will I bash the series for changing that? Not really but still it's worth noting IMO. Plus if used right you could atleast use practical effects to make him look more demonic regardless of budget.

As far as Kahn goes, they could at least have gotten a bald guy. The Caesar hairdo just doesn't seem right. Though I do think gluing some fake spikes on his forehead couldn't be that expensive.
And hell, even random-ass cosplayers and goth kids can get their hands on contact lenses, or he could've simply colored the eyes red in post since there's already so much color correction going on. That one simple touch alone, take the same guy with his goofy Caesar hair and just make his eyes solid red, that would've been all you actually need to convey "scary demonic warlord from another world".

Reeks of butthurt

I didn't even notice Shao Kahn in the trailer until I re-watched it. I can't say I'm too pleased with his look, but we'll have to see what happens. Hopefully, they'll at least make his costume familiar to that of his game counterpart, especially incorporating his helmet. I wished that Quan Chi had those lines on his forehead like his game counterpart, but I do like the touch with his eyes.

Hopefully they utilize a twist where Kahn is hiding his real appearance to make Kitana not question whether or not he really is her father seeing as how if he shows his demon appearance at any time around her she might be skeptical considering that no one in her family had a demonic appearance or simply question why she only sees him with that mask on. Which could be an idea that Shang advised him to use even though Kahn doesn't agree with it because he sees doing such a thing as beneath him but agrees because he wants to not have her team with Earthrealm since he would see her as an asset.

They could even wait to explore that twist in a movie or season 2 if they choose to but as long as it's explored to a point I'd be happy.

Or perhaps they actually use him as a role, personality instead of an excuse for generic barbarian looking overlord.



I am all the more for these new iterations. The more it moves away from the games shackles the more I like it.

^ Well I wouldnt call making Kahn look like a Scottish gangster, the best idea lol.

I dont mind change to a point myself but when it comes to these things there should always be a line that's not crossed but as far as Kahn goes that lines looks like it already has been crossed.

I was annoyed by it in MK:Annihilation as well , so I'm not going to praise it just because KT is now doing it/

How has it been crossed?
Seriously.. this is still a reimagning of the MK story.. with a budget of 2 million for 80 minutes of new kombat.. maybe a redesign for Kahn wasn't seen as a priority..
Don't make judgement from 2 seconds of footage on lines being crossed.. this is the ONLY chance for a Mortal Kombat movie we will EVER get

^ I never said that I'd hate the movie but (I actually enjoy the 3 episodes Ive seen so far but I have a feeling there will automatically be things I dont like about episode 4)

1. Reimagining doesnt equal complete overhaul

2. I see it as crossing the line because he was switched from a demonic looking Emperor to a humanoid looking emperor which takes away his intimidation factor a great deal. IMO

3. You do the best with what you have and using practical effects or him simply wearing the mask/crown on during all of his scenes would have also been a good way to solve such a problem.

Really, All I'm saying is as far as THAT character goes I've never supported a humanoid looking version of him. Not in Annihilation or this, if Aleks Paunovic can be menacing cool but make him put his mask on and keep it on in the movies when they get them.

I like this series a lot and I'm keeping an open mind but just because I'm an MK fan doesnt mean I'll praise EVERYTHING about it. get what I'm saying?

Hey, I get that.. but as i said, wait til you see the episode. VERY LITTLE about this series differs from the game.. maybe just the appearance of Kahn, but you see one second of him from a Kitana - Mileena fight.. maybe he only wears his helmet in battle (which is actually what emperors did do.. they didn't wear it 24/7..
but i getcha

^ Now FWIW, There are some things I'm looking forward to about this episode as well but that's mostly seeing Sam as Kitana since she fits the character the way she is in the games better than Talisa Soto did since Kitana was supposed to LOOK like she was in her teens despite her old age and I hope her character arc is more faithful too because she has a pretty compelling story IMO. The beautiful young princess living a completely orchestrated lie her whole life being loyal to the man responsible for her family's demise and her realm's fall.

I didnt like that in the previous movies she was just an exotic looking cheerleader for Kang who gave ridiculous deus-ex machinas out to him.I didnt hate the first film but this was wasted opportunity in it and it wasnt the only one either.

Anyway, Kahn is just something I dont agree with because when it comes to characters like him, change should be done carefully because something someone might look at as a minor change would end up actually change a lot about him.

Episode seems like it'll be a mixed bag for me with a mix of things I like and thing I dont like on an equal level.

Ha ha ha! Although the new Kahn is probably the hottest of all the Kahns, he looks about as threatening as a basket full of kittens. I'm personally partial to Jeffery Meek's potrayl of Kahn, but more then willing to give this guy a try.

: To be fair MK9's Kahn just has incredibly piercing eyes but still validates my theory of him being something relative to the Shokan species as well as still being an imposing figure. But,what's really funny is they could have made Aleks look more fitting for the part and just use some prosthetics to "demon" him up....... just look at this pic of him from Fireball:http://www.alekspaunovic.com/PhotoGallery/Film/Fireball_n10441401755_1324542_5294.jpg and obviously give some good" Warlord" getup and you've got an imposing Shao Kahn.