‘Mortal Kombat II’ Review: Same Fight, Different Characters
Simon McQuoid’s Mortal Kombat (2021) released to a bit of a mixed reception. Some fans cheered the film’s embrace of the video game franchise’s bloody violence. Others felt let down by the film’s lack of an actual tournament. The filmmaker returns for Mortal Kombat II…and another battle that is going to have divided audiences picking sides. Like the previous entry? Great, this one pumps up the fun and bloody fatalities. Didn’t enjoy the last outing? Sorry, the sequel is once again as all over the place as the smoky Noob Saibot.
Based on the video game franchise created by Ed Boon and John Tobia, MK II picks up right where we last left our heroes, on the precipice of a tournament that will decide the fate of Earth. Cole (Lewis Tan) and the gang attempt to recruit washed up action-movie star, Johnny Cage (Karl Urban). He isn’t so keen on the idea, but the gods don’t give him much of a choice. An assassination attempt on Lord Raiden (Tadanobu Asano) leaves the lightning god incapacitated, and his power stored in an ancient amulet. Master of the Outer Realm, Shao Kahn (Martyn Ford) plans to use the amulet to make himself immortal, all but guaranteeing victory. Without the guidance of Raiden, fighters Cole, Johnny, Liu Kang (Ludi Lin), Sonya (Jessica McNamee), and Jax (Mehcad Brooks) must find a way to destroy the amulet or face certain defeat, all while competing in the tournament.
Meanwhile, Shao Kahn’s adopted daughter, Kitana (Adeline Rudolph), works with the fighters to bring down her evil stepfather.
If that sounds like a lot, well, that’s because it is! I’m exhausted just writing out the cliff notes version.
Jeremy Slater (“The Exorcist” TV series) takes over script duties from Greg Russo and Dave Callaham for this round. Nevertheless, the story issues remain the same. What worked so well with Mortal Kombat (1995)—one of my personal favorite video game adaptations—was that it kept a simple focus on the tournament itself. MK II does finally deliver on the tournament fans want, and the fights themselves can be bloody exhilarating, but it packs in so many subplots that the tournament once again becomes secondary. Perhaps the filmmakers didn’t want to run too close to Paul W.S. Anderson’s ’90s film. I don’t know. What I do know is that this sequel hates to stay in any one moment for too long. Scenes often rush through expository dialogue on their way to the next mission on the docket for the team to accomplish.
And then there’s the introduction of necromancer, Quan Chi (Damon Herriman). Able to resurrect the dead, he’s the reason we have Kano (Josh Lawson) and other previously deceased souls walking around. Returning from the dead isn’t uncommon in the Mortal Kombat world. Yet where that may work for the video games, here, it makes each death feel meaningless. And there are quite a few that would hit a lot harder if there wasn’t a very good chance the character would return for Part III. Part of the strength of Mortal Kombat comes from the vicious and deadly nature of the combat itself. None of it means much if you can just pop back up for the sequel. Still, it’s nice to have Lawson back and dropping loads of one-liners. The man’s responsible for roughly ninety percent of MK II’s laughs.
Another persistent issue that carries over from the previous entry is the use of CG blood over practical effects. Anderson’s PG-13 Mortal Kombat may not have featured much gore, but you felt the weight of Goro’s punch like you were the one getting knocked in the head. Not always the case here…though that’s not without trying. McQuoid fills this sequel with blood splatter and a few fatalities that had my audience hollering. And you can sense the brutality of Shao Kahn’s hammer in your bones. Despite that, CG blood spray always comes off as too lazy, too fake and too un-impactful to be as satisfying of moments as they should be.
All of that said, McQuoid still manages to deliver an entertaining Mortal Kombat film that at least tries to give the fans what they want. Some of you will immediately recognize iconic locations from the games such as Raiden’s temple or the acid pit. The introduction of Cage and Kitana infuse more of that old-school nostalgia calling back to the first game. I don’t care how many times we see it in these movies, it will never not be a joy to watch Johnny pull out his dick punch. Not to mention, Karl Urban couldn’t be a better fit for the character, making for a superb cocky counter to Kano’s smartass humor. The sequel is often at its best when those two are on screen together.
Rudolph also does a superb job in her portrayal of the Outer Realm princess. Like Hiroyuki Sanada’s Scorpion from the previous entry, Kitana acts as the secondary main to Johnny. Through her eyes, we witness the fall of her realm to Shao Kahn. The devastation. The pain. And the possession of her mother, Sindel (Ana Thu Nguyen). We feel her fury towards the towering villain. Her heartbreak at betraying her best friend/body guard, Jade (Tati Garbielle). All of that culminating in a dizzying finale of fists, blood and violent rage that’ll have you screaming, “Finish Him!”.
Despite some well-choreographed and entertaining fight scenes, MK II’s premise distracts from the tournament fans came for every chance it gets. What should be cheer-worthy gore feels too much like video game violence itself. And the film constantly gets in its own way by negating impactful deaths with hand wavey mechanics to bring back anyone at any time. But there’s still plenty to enjoy here, from fan favorite characters—I love you, Baraka (CJ Bloomfield)—and set pieces that will make players of the games feel at home. If you liked the previous entry, you’ll no doubt find plenty to pump your fist for here, even if it’s far from a flawless victory. At the very least, I can confidently say that MK II is still a good Johnny Cage kick above Mortal Kombat: Annihilation…a realm no MK film wants to be in.
Mortal Kombat II brings the fatalities to theaters on May 8th via Warner Bros.
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Mortal Kombat II
Summary
‘Mortal Kombat II’ delivers more of the same with a sloppy script supported by fun new characters and loads of bloody fatalities.
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