Mortal Kombat II (Film)

Note: This review contains spoilers for Mortal Kombat (2021).

Back in 2021, during the height of the COVID-19 Pandemic, Warner Bros. released their first film in a rebooted Mortal Kombat film series, simply titled Mortal Kombat (MK). As this release occurred as part of a day-and-date theatrical and streaming film slate for that year, I watched it through HBO Max and liked it enough (with a much more positive view on a rewatch), though I was unsure if it would ever materialize. Sure enough, this year saw the release of Mortal Kombat II (MKII), which received a better critical response (64% on Rotten Tomatoes vs 55% for the original), though with a shaky box office return that may put the prospect of a third film in jeopardy. Nevertheless, I actually watched this one in a theater, albeit a few weeks late, and walked away wishing for the potential third film.

The tenth Mortal Kombat tournament is on the horizon, with Outworld, led by Emperor Shao Kahn (Martyn Ford), threatening dominion over Earthrealm. In need of a fifth champion to represent Earthrealm, Lord Raiden (Tadanobu Asano) and Sonya Blade (Jessica McNamee) retrieve Johnny Cage (Karl Urban), a washed-up Hollywood actor and martial artist whose best days are behind him. Johnny is on board with participating until he learns the true stakes, after which he returns to Earthrealm, where he wallows in self-pity at a bar. Unfortunately for him, once the first round of the tournament begins, he is forcibly teleported to face his first opponent, Kitana (Adeline Rudolph), and must rediscover his potential if he hopes to survive.

Johnny Cage (Karl Urban, right) has his life changed forever when he's recruited by
Lord Raiden (Tadanobu Asano, left) and Sonya Blade (Jessica McNamee, middle).

While MK was already pretty enjoyable on its own, MKII is a noticeable improvement. For one, it does away with the original’s Arcana system, so characters are implied to simply have their powers innately rather than through some unnecessary explanation. Although Johnny’s story does involve waiting for his powers to unlock, much like Cole Young (Lewis Tan) unlocking his Arcana, the idea that it’s tied to him rediscovering himself feels more natural. In general, this installment feels much more comfortable including elements from the games, like the Netherrealm, Shinnok’s amulet and Stage Fatalities to name a few. There’s even a new rendition of “Techno Syndrome” that lists the characters who appear in the film. The roster of characters is noticeably larger this time, but it never feels overwhelming and they serve a clear purpose for the story, with various subplots that move along at a good pace and contribute to the overall story in a meaningful way. For example, Kitana has a good, if telegraphed, story arc and Shao Kahn feels like a real threat. Plus, the returning characters have a real explanation for how they come back and their presence is far more than just fanservice. I also recognized an attempt at making the film feel self-contained, with recaps that are helpful for those who haven’t seen the original in a while, but watching the first film certainly helps with context for what’s going on and the relationships between some of the characters.

Considering that Johnny Cage is the main lead this time, it’s fortunate that MKII does an incredible job with him. Depicting him as an already washed-up actor who goes through a journey of self-discovery works very well for a character arc in a feature and helps tie the film’s themes together rather neatly. Karl Urban does a fantastic job in this role, portraying Johnny’s journey very well at all stages, including when he finally returns to his old self and even surpasses his prior limitations. His dialogue and personality are very fitting for what fans expect from his game counterpart and also help make him fun to watch at all stages. As an added bonus, they really went all-out with capturing the tone of the glimpse we get of the over-the-top action film Uncaged Fury, down to the quality of the film stock, the rather obvious stunt work (like none of Johnny’s attacks actually connecting, yet the enemies react as though they did) and a great use of “Rock You Like a Hurricane (2011)” by Scorpions. 

What fans are really here for, of course, are the fights, which MKII delivers on in spades by depicting the actual Mortal Kombat tournament that MK set up. There are even more fights than in MK, but they’re all very purposeful and help advance the story or character arcs in their own way. It helps that they’re all very easy to follow, with clean fight choreography reminiscent of John Wick in places (there’s even a spoken reference to part of John Wick's background in John Wick and the “pencil kill” in John Wick: Chapter 2). As expected of the “R” rating, these fights are also very bloody and gory, perhaps even more so than the original, which fits right in with the tone of the original games. It was also fun seeing various moves and Fatalities come to life on the big screen, including Johnny’s famous “Nut Punch” attack, as well as the camera occasionally recreating the game’s 2D plane before certain fights begin.

Mortal Kombat II more than delivers on its fights;
L-R: Scorpion (Hiroyuki Sanada), Bi-Han/Noob Saibot (Joe Taslim)

While I didn’t have many real issues with the film, as I didn’t mind any of the cheesy dialogue, I did notice that the opening doesn’t follow up on the ending of the original, at least not exactly. MK ended with Cole going off to Hollywood, with the implication that he was searching for Johnny Cage as another champion for Earthrealm. However, we never see Cole in Hollywood, who is first seen here training in Raiden’s temple. Instead, Raiden and Sonya Blade are the ones who locate and recruit Johnny while he’s packing up after a fruitless convention appearance. It doesn’t make me enjoy the film any less, but it is something that I wished the two films had bridged a bit better.

Like its predecessor, Mortal Kombat II isn’t perfect, but there is a clear passion for the source material that helps elevate it above the original as one of the better video game adaptations out there. Whether you’ve played the games and want to see the series’ signature violence come to life or just an action fan wanting some cool martial arts, this film delivers.