Los Angeles, Apr 22 (IANS): Actor Chin Han, who plays the sorcerer Shang Tsung in "Mortal Kombat", said the film retains the spirit of the popular game as well as the original film that released in 1995.

"This film retains the essence of the games, the spirit of the original movie, and uses it as a jumping-off point to tell a story that speaks to our time, a time of superheroes and antiheroes. For me, it's interesting because of the insights into why Shang Tsung is so determined to take over Earth and to build his empire on top of it," he said.

Describing his character, he says: "The ultimate in evolution and intelligent design, Shang Tsung is not only a shapeshifter, he's also a soul eater. He can move among humans and they don't know he is there, and he can access the signature moves of all the fighters in Mortal Kombat, so he has all their strengths, minus any weakness," the actor said.

Directed by Simon McQuoid, "Mortal Kombat" is scheduled to be released in India on April 23 by Warner Bros. Pictures in English, Hindi, Tamil and Telugu languages.