Watch The First Seven Minutes Of 'Mortal Kombat' Right Now

Mortal Kombat comes to theaters and HBO Max this weekend, and just in case you need a little incentive, Warner Bros. went ahead and released the first seven minutes of the film online. This action-packed, blood-drenched opener takes you back to 1617 and shows the start of a battle between Bi-Han (Joe Taslim) and Hanzo Hasashi (Hiroyuki Sanada). Of course, those familiar with the Mortal Kombat series will likely recognize that those characters are destined to become Sub-Zero and Scorpion – but when the film starts, that hasn't happened just yet.

Did you know that that cool knife-rope thing (technically called a kunai) that Scorpion uses originated as a garden trowel? You do now, because the footage above featuring the opening seven minutes of Mortal Kombat shows us the origins of Scorpion's famous weapon. This opening plays up the long-running feud between Scorpion and Sub-Zero, going back to a time when they weren't even using those names. The footage also highlights the fact that this Mortal Kombat is very much an R-rated movie. The previous live-action Mortal Kombat film had a PG-13 rating, but this one gets to lean into all the blood and gore.

When I spoke with director Simon McQuoid about being able to stage R-rated fights for the film, he said: "It was freeing in that it meant I could really play the authenticity card, which is what I was trying to do through the whole film, with every aspect of it. I wanted it to feel real. I wanted it to feel authentic. I wanted it to feel as though you could really connect with these things. So it meant that if someone gets stabbed and blood would come out just as it would [in real life], so that was good...It meant we didn't have to hold back with how the fights were portrayed, and then we didn't have to cut around anything, which was great. And I think there's power in that."

In Mortal Kombat, "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 comes to theaters and HBO Max this Friday, April 23.