I think that if they can find a good medium between Rebirth and Legacy, it's going to go over well with everyone in general. Looking at the reaction from everything KT has done so far, there's 2-4 types of polar opinions to appeal to. Hard Rebirth fans, hard Legacy fans, and then there's the hardcore MK Game fan, and the casual MK fan watching.
Kevin has done a great job thus far, even if it's just the fact that he's been able to erect those opinions and make them visible BEFORE a big screen attempt. That data, if their paying as much attention as I think they need to for this production, is vital. Is anyone looking at it from this perspective?
Here's my understanding of each type of the aforementioned fan:
1.) Casual Mortal Kombat Fan:
Most important customer. As long as the movie is "cool" by today's standard of movie entertainment, and things in the movie relate to what they got from MK9, these folks will eat it up and come back for seconds and thirds.
A Mortal Kombat movie for these folks might want to think about elements or qualities from the most recent, most popular, and most successful movies in the last 3-5yrs or so. Qualities in a new MK movie will need to behave similarly enough to stuff that other successful movies have in them, yet be different/new enough to escape that ol' ripoff label.
Fight Scenes - Look at any recent movie with Jason Statham, Tony Jaa, and though I think he's fading in the general populus' mind now, Jet Li. Older movies than 3-5rys ago, and you mind as well just take your pick. But I think you still have to confront the heavy hitter movies LIKE Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, and The Matrix though too. You still have to deal with the standard that those movies set with this general MK fan because, they don't know how to accept anything else, really.
I think KT and team have a good grasp on this part though. They got the job done with a skeleton of a budget and minimal time already so, I'm actually excited to see what else they come up with given more money and time. I'm not worried here, but don't believe they have any space to slack.
Action Scenes - The casual fan has ADD, are we clear on that? So, they're going to HAVE to pay attention to movies LIKE Transformers, 300, The Incredible Hulk, and others. But, I think since we understand how ADD works, there's going to need to be fighting, or somebody doing a special move (great CG, or SFX), somebody chasing someone else, or something exciting happening ever so often in the new MK film. You will not keep our attention without it.
Drama & Suspense Scenes - I'm talking those scenes where most information is transferred between the characters in the film, and to the viewer. Trust me, I know alot of this stuff can happen in simultaneously with the other qualities going on in the movie. But, I'm saying that when the film does slow down (and it will), let's try really hard to stay away from painfully obvious ad plugs, or over-campy references to the game. Be creative here, sneak stuff in there, and give the actors something worthwhile to do during the dry-er parts of the movies.
I also don't want to see that bs where suspense is being employed, but all that is really accomplished is the characters are becoming dumber by the second. You've got clans, military, and other factions like that -- that need communication at their center in order to be effective units of operation. I'm very tired of seeing movies where information is not transferred between the characters. And it always seems to happen during the dry-er part of the movie...yeesh.
Anyway, I think because movies like this one is heavier on the action and fighting, films feel that there is not a need to write in quality material in these spaces. Bothers the shit out of me... Movies to look at in the last 3-5yrs as per Mortal Kombat-esk for drama? Batman: Dark Knight, The Fighter, Robin Hood, I am Legend..etc etc Suspense? Paranormal Activity, No County for Old Men...etc etc Yes, there's more, and probably better choices than these but, I'm merely looking to pinpoint a direction.
Horror/Gore Scenes - The casual fan is almost desensitized to this element now. So, there's almost nothing effectively "new" that this MK movie is going to do... However, I believe there is ample opportunity to be as inventive as they want to be here. And I think people will accept alot more of it this way because of what Mortal Kombat is about. Casual fans kind of expect it anyway. Movies to look at are obvious then. The SAW series is still relevant because of how inventive they were/are when they kill something. "Insidious" is good...."The Mist" is cool. And on and on...
2.) Hard Core Mortal Kombat Fan:
Essentially, we NEED our Mortal Kombat movie to express the ideals and themes in the game almost to an explicit degree. So, don't go pulling that shit where some actor says the name "Sub-Zero" the wrong way completely or whatever. I don't wanna see Scorpion in a blue vest...dig?
Our understanding of how other mediums misconstrue content allows for the movie producers to fudge or change things maybe 5% out of 100%, but we are extremely critical when it comes to the 5% "we allow you." lol We can accept variations of those ideals and themes but, put too much on top of it, or take too much away from it....embellish too much or not enough, and we will crucify it.
Not going to do the movie thing here like I did with the casual fan section because there's no need. We don't want "other movies."
To follow that I'll say this; as a hard core fan, I see that everything you need to make a good MK movie is in the game. Can you? So to me, it's only really a matter of how the producers choose to use what's already there.
Good thing Kevin is an actual, maybe even hard core Mortal Kombat fan himself. He's in tune with the games content, and has a good enough tab on the pulse of the hard core MK fan demand.
3.) Rebirth Mortal Kombat Fan:
Sorry guys but, Rebirth fans look alot like our typical n00by to these MKO boards. Like alot of us here, I've been around the MK sites long enough to have seen the same behavior from different people over and over (no matter what country, race, or creed you're from either), and now I just accept their perspective as a way that some of the new folks genuinely feel and behave. I understand is all I'm saying really.
So, these folks are hotter in temperament, and love the blood, gore, fights, and fatalities. They like the flashy stuff, and radical new ideas like what was expressed in the Rebirth pitch. Nasty, gritty, sticky, disease-ridden Reptile, and they appreciate "Dr. Baraka" with the dreads because he was different, and such a savage at the same time (irony? Jeckel & Hide complex? idk ).
This crowd doesn't generally have an over abundance of knowledge when it comes to the story element in Mortal Kombat. If they do, they don't appreciate it so much because hey, it's just a fighting game....it's not supposed to have a super serious story element. Let's just fight, right?
More of the flash and glamor (shock and awe) gets these guys going more than reading between lines and understanding the relationship between say Shao Kahn, Raidn, Liu Kang, Kitana, and Mileena. Y'know, they care but....they really don't give a shit. lol!
The thing I'm not quite sure of on this one is that this fan is also modern. So, I'm not sure if actual "flashy stuff" is the right terminology to use right there. Dark & Gritty might mean the same thing artistically to these folks.
4.) Legacy Mortal Kombat Fan:
Legacy fans are more like the typical veteran hard core MK fan who knows every single little thing about Mortal Kombat for no apparent reason whatsoever. Moreso, Legacy fans seem alot more inclined when it comes to Mortal Kombat's story element, and we are kind of able to tell where an embellishment should probably happen. We already know where the plot-hole or the retcon is...we're just watching to see how the producers deal with it//fix it. Further than that, we're watching to see if they're going to take care of it like we might have.
Being more like the hard core fan listed above, we're not going to allow the producers very much room to play around with here. Even though we recognize the need to fill the void is pretty desperate. It's to the point where, if you know what I know, you'll probably make a similar decision as I would. Which makes sense, even if the path you take is different than what mine would have been.
More specific, Legacy fans are the Story Element Fans, or people who play for the story, mood, and feel of MK. The lore, the sub-plots, and so on... they are the MK Comic book reader, and know the difference between what happened in the old MK Cartoon and the live action MK T.V. show...etc.
Collectively, we could probably write the script for the movie, and we probably (indirectly) shaped what happened not in Rebirth, but in Legacy. We pretty much told them what to to have saay Sub-Zero & Scorpion dressed in...how they should talk and behave, and what sorts of things they might say.
Think about it. Xaihoudun84, RazorsEdge, Chrome, Sub-Zero7th, Garlador, Zentile, and on and on and on... we told them what to do with it. I think that maybe some of the liberties that KT took were the things we either loved or hated with Legacy.
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All in all I think as the producers of this movie, they'll have to look at this quality about the fans and use that information to their advantage. Y'know? We're going to give them the movie, they just have to have their ears and eyes open, and spend the budget and time getting those things done.
Hope this rant helped!
