Watch the New Mortal Kombat Movie’s First Brutal Seven Minutes [NSFW]

If you were excited by the kung fu action, otherworldly creatures, and superpowers on display in the recent teaser for Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, but you are bummed that you have to wait until it opens in theaters in September, never fear: you can scratch that itch right this Friday when Mortal Kombat debuts on HBO Max and in theaters. To show off the movie’s production values and awesome fight choreography — and presumably to prove that this adaptation of the classic video game actually has a story — Warner Bros. has released the first seven minutes of the movie.

The prologue takes place in 1617 in Japan and shows how and why that Hanzo Hasashi, aka Scorpion (Hiroyuki Sanada) and Bi-Han, aka Sub-Zero (Joe Taslim) have been mortal (no pun intended) enemies for centuries.

MMA fighter Cole Young, accustomed to taking a beating for money, is unaware of his heritage—or why Outworld’s Emperor Shang Tsung has sent his best warrior, Sub-Zero, an otherworldly Cryomancer, to hunt Cole down. Fearing for his family’s safety, Cole goes in search of Sonya Blade at the direction of Jax, a Special Forces Major who bears the same strange dragon marking Cole was born with. Soon, he finds himself at the temple of Lord Raiden, an Elder God and the protector of Earthrealm, who grants sanctuary to those who bear the mark. Here, Cole trains with experienced warriors Liu Kang, Kung Lao and rogue mercenary Kano, as he prepares to stand with Earth’s greatest champions against the enemies of Outworld in a high stakes battle for the universe. But will Cole be pushed hard enough to unlock his arcana—the immense power from within his soul—in time to save not only his family, but to stop Outworld once and for all?

Mortal Kombat was produced by James Wan (Aquaman) and directed by  Simon McQuoid. It was written by Greg Russo and Dave Callaham, from a story by Oren Uziel and Russo. It is based on the classic video game created by Ed Boon and John Tobias. The ensemble cast includes Lewis Tan as Cole Young, Jessica McNamee as Sonya Blade, Mehcad Brooks as Jackson “Jax” Bridges, Josh Lawson as Kano, Tadanobu Asano as Lord Raiden, Ludi Lin as Liu Kang; Chin Han as Shang Tsung; Joe Taslim as Bi-Han/Sub-Zero; Hiroyuki Sanada as Hanzo Hasashi/Scorpion, Max Huang as Kung Lao and Sisi Stringer as Mileena.

Mortal Kombat will be released in theaters and streaming on HBO Max on April 23rd.

Image courtesy of Warner Bros.