I can understand the decision to cash in on the revived franchise but it makes me want more. Mortal Kombat had its chance. What about all of the other games that we’ve always wanted to see on the big screen? Here are just a few of the films that could lure us away from our couch and GameStationCubeBoxes.

The Legend Of Zelda

The sprawling adventure of The Legend of Zelda has been ripe for a movie adaptation for a long, long time. It has swords, explosions, monsters, intrigue, and an epic quest. The folks at Nintendo should have rushed this into production years ago. But it has to be the original Zelda — none of this Twilight Princess transforming into a wolf and helping stupid villagers with their gay farming problems crap.

Manhunt

Part The Running Man. Part The Warriors. And part slasher film. Manhunt is excessively violent and therefore would make an excessively awesome film. The stealth game focuses on a recently executed death row inmate who awakes to find he was spared. However, he’s now the center of a snuff film. He’s released into a dilapidated city while bloodthirsty gang members hunt him. Weaponless, he must defend himself in the most brutal fashion with whatever items he can find. Plastic bags, broken glass, baseball bats, hatchets, cleavers, crowbars, and eventually a chainsaw (after squaring off against a Leatherface-like enemy) all become his inventory as he eviscerates the criminal underground.

A word from Jeri: “I could do without the Bubonic Plague.”

The spec short was made for $7,500, with much of the cast and crew’s time donated to the cause. Michael Jai White will be continuing his character from the spec throughout the series. As disposable as most video game film franchises are, especially those from a concept that peaked in popularity in 1994, the spec job looked pretty amazing, so bring on the webisodes. As for the R-rated feature reboot, it’s unclear how this project will affect that development, if at all. The cast of characters is expected to include Shang Tsung, Liu Kang, Sub Zero, Durak, Kabal, Kitana/Mileena, and Scorpion. If you have no idea who these people are, ask your 11 year-old self. I’m sure he remembers. Cross your fingers that the producers go overbudget by getting a little overzealous with wanton use of ripped-out spines.

Just the other day, that weird Mortal Kombat thing arrived online. It sparked immediate debate whether it was for the upcoming video game or the film. We know now that the gritty video was shot by director Kevin Tanchareon as a pitch to get himself hired for the upcoming job. Michael Jai White was one of many actors working for free to appear as Jax. He tells Asylum that the vibe on set was "one of camaraderie." He’s got a lot of ideas about what he can bring to the role of Jax:

"Our natural take on it is to make it gritty and dark. Jax is still a hell of a fighter. He’s still a super-badass, but he’s just restrained by the letter of the law. We played with some ideas of building that up between him and Scorpion. There would be some great fights with Jax. There’s so much I haven’t had the chance to do. I’ve probably shown one-eighth of my martial arts ability on screen. With Jax having his metal arms, I’d use a lot of Wing Chun because it relies heavily on the arms."

I really don’t feel we need a "serious" take on Mortal Kombat. While Dark Knight was a meditation on the weight vengeance bears on the soul, Mortal Kombat: Rebirth is likely to be a meditation on punching someone’s skull through their rectum.

Much like a transient hobo, a mysterious video appeared online today and wagged it’s weiner at all of us leaving us bemused. We’re not really sure if this has anything to do with Warner Bros. planned Mortal Kombat reboot or the next game in the series. What we do know is that someone dragged the Mortal Kombat mythos through the Saw garden and brough Black Dynamite and Seven of Nine along for the ride.

Still, it’s interesting to see a grittier, more realistic take on the source material. Or as realistic as a movie featuring a brain-eating reptile man, a knife-armed plastic surgeon, and a washed-up action star turned cop can be. Hey, Steven Seagal did it. Wagged his weiner at people, I mean. Whatever, at least ninjas aren’t raining from the sky. (Kotaku)

Check it out after the jump and be the judge. Ridiculous movie or expensive videogame?

MORTAL KOMBAT – Watch more Funny Videos

After acquiring the rights to Mortal Kombat this past summer, Warner Bros. is moving ahead with a new film version of the once popular video game. The game tells the story of an ultra-violentfighting tournament, the outcome of which decides Earth’s fate. 2009 blacklist screenwriter Oren Uziel is in talks to flush away his new-found credibility by penning the script.  Not to be a cynic but this seems like a tough one to inject with any real character or emotion. Let’s not forget that this is a series built upon ninjas raining from the sky, punching monsters in the nads, pulling out spines, and cybernetic arms. All qualities that make for a great Japanese film, but over here they just lack nuance. (Bloody Disgusting)