The new Mortal Kombat film opens this Friday on HBO Max and in theaters. If the entire film maintains the momentum of the opening minutes, it will be a radical, sad, and violent affair.

MK's broader appeal lies not in its deep lore, but in its intense, slightly surreal battles colored by just enough characterization to establish the stakes. The stories of the last few films are the best examples of "Mortal Kombat," balancing goofy action, violence, and twists with substantial, semi-serious character arcs.

And the first slice of the film strikes a similar balance with a brief introduction to the series' most iconic rivalry between Scorpion and Sub-Zero. The film opens with the pre-transformed Scorpion. They are doing chores in the forest and a whimsical flute is played to let us know that all is OK. A tragic backstory is coming.

Eventually, the whimsical flute fades out and Scorpion goes to fill a bucket with water or something. 2 minutes ago: gore! A sword slices through a guard, piercing the thin membrane of Scorpion's family home, and the family quickly hides the baby under the floorboards.

A suited Sub-Zero walks in looking mean. Scorpion is still playing with the bucket of water. Scorpion is still playing with buckets and water. He seems to have an old grudge with these people and performs an intimidating ice trick before the scene switches.

At this point I am thinking, OK, they are in the mold of dead wives and toddlers, but at least they are not showing us dead bodies. Now. When Scorpion finishes his bucket and water and returns home, the camera finds, lo and behold, Scorpion's frozen wife hunched over the frozen toddler. She, too, has been pierced by a spear of ice. Pooh, "Mortal Kombat" really gets going in the opening scene. I appreciate that this is definitely not for the faint of heart, though.

Some men show up to help Scorpion get his revenge, and he deftly stabs, slashes, and punches them, then improvises a primitive version of a strange arm snake, swinging it wildly and slitting its throat, most memorably, blowing the back of a man's head off. The action is straightforward, smoothly choreographed, and the flashy visual effects don't ruin the athleticism or framing. Excellent.

If "Mortal Kombat" can maintain this momentum, I'll be very happy. While it certainly provides an extremely clichéd backstory, I appreciate the efficiency with which it quickly springs from two minutes of pathos to cool fight scenes and ridiculously violent punchlines. If the remaining hour-plus is equally effective, it would make for a fun and flamboyant (and bloody) reintroduction of MK on the big screen.

I don't expect the script to be an all-timer, but I don't think anyone would want that from MK anyway. I expect cheers and laughter throughout, with the occasional willful suspension of disbelief and immersion in tragedy for the sake of pacing and character development. And soon, it's back to loud cheers. Don't let me down, Mortal Kombat. Don't let this kind of seven minutes get to me and trip me up the rest of the way.