Reel Short: MORTAL KOMBAT — REBIRTH

Reel Short: MORTAL KOMBAT — REBIRTH

Jun 13

When Mortal Kombat: Rebirth first hit the net a few days ago, eyebrows were raised all over the world. The short film is slick and polished, with professional lighting and choreographed fight-scenes; it even features a couple of almost-celebrities, in the form of Michael Jai White and Jeri Ryan. But no studio would claim responsibility for the short video game adaptation — it wasn’t commissioned by anyone as proof of concept, it just existed, in all its professional accomplishment, and all its authorless mystery.

The next day, news broke that Kevin Tancharoen (who directed last year’s Fame) had directed the short. It was shot for $7,500 on a pair of RED cameras over two days, and edited over the following couple of months. Tancharoen was so passionate about the project that he pulled together a script, cast and crew, pulled out all the stops and showed the world what a Mortal Kombat movie directed by Kevin Tancharoen would look like. Warner Bros., who currently holds the rights to the Mortal Kombat franchise, would do well to pay attention, especially if rumours of their interest in rebooting the franchise are true.

The short film is in no way perfect. The overbearing seriousness of the actors’ delivery becomes grating very quickly, and some of the character intros could have been tightened for maximum efficiency, but there’s no denying the professional quality on display here. The result is much more watchable than something like the original Mortal Kombat movie, or the more recent Prince Of Persia adaptation. Why? Because Tancharoen was so passionate about this project that he built it from the ground up, sacrificing his own blood, sweat and tears in the process; big-screen video game adaptaions are commissioned by studios, with directors shoehorned into helming them regardless of their passion or interest in the project.

If you, like me, don’t give a hoot about the original video game, you can still marvel at the level of polish $7,500 and a lot of friendly favours can get you these days, and you can still be impressed by Tancharoen’s sheer commitment to the project.

REEL SHORT

Each Sunday Reel Thinker shares a short film we have enjoyed.

As independent filmmakers ourselves, we enjoy a good, wholesome, well-told short film. Not only do they provide something for us to aspire to, quality short films demonstrate that the format can achieve wonderful, memorable film experiences for the viewer. We look forward to sharing the short films we’ve discovered & enjoyed.