Film Review: ‘Mortal Kombat II’ is the Sequel Fans of the Video Game Franchise Have Been Waiting For

Five years ago, when I reviewed Mortal Kombat (here), I said that it was “not bad” and that there was “fun to be had with this deeply silly, overly violent, and paper thin action flick.” Well, that all holds true with Mortal Kombat II, though this time around, there’s a bit of a course correction here with the things that held the first one back. Now, part of the upward trend here is actually coming out in theaters, as opposed to a hybrid day and date release on HBO Max due to Covid, but there’s also a sense that this film paid attention to what worked and didn’t work last time. Here, we have a silly movie, but one that does succeed more than it fails.

Mortal Kombat II is an upgrade over the first one due in large part to it not only knowing what kind of a film it is, but also knowing what it doesn’t need to be. There’s far less generic action/fantasy stuff here, though it’s still peppered throughout. Instead of it being the main course and the fights being the tasty treats, the fighting tournament is what makes this movie turn. That allows the flick to lean into its strengths, alongside an added dose of welcome comedic beats.

After the events of the prior film, an actual Mortal Kombat tournament is about to begin. Things pick up with Shao Kahn (Martyn Ford), the emperor of Outworld, conquering Edenia, killing their ruler and taking his daughter Kitana (Adeline Rudolph) on as his own. If the champions of Outworld can beat Earth’s champions, it will be ten victories in a row, leading to Shao Kahn taking over. Lord Raiden (Tadanobu Asano) already has the last movie’s protagonist Cole Young (Lewis Tan), as well as Sonya Blade (Jessica McNamee), Jax (Mehcad Brooks), and Liu Kang (Ludi Lin) ready to fight. There’s just one more champion needed, and it’s washed up actor and former action hero Johnny Cage (Karl Urban).

As the tournament takes place, complete with a body count, Johnny grapples with being a mere mortal, without any of the powers his teammates have, all while coming to terms with the stakes of it all. At the same time, Kitana has to deal with suspicions by Jade (Tati Gabrielle) that she’s not fully committed to Outworld. It obviously all ends in some big fights, complete with the return of some seemingly departed folks from last time around, including a still wisecracking Kano (Josh Lawson). Carnage ensues.

The big new addition here is Karl Urban as Johnny Cage, who walks away with the movie. The acting here isn’t really anything to write home about, to be sure, but Urban is best in show. The mix of charisma and humor embody Johnny Cage as well as anyone could have hoped to have done. Josh Lawson has the best moments of comedy as Kano, while many of our returning heroes just crack wise in between fights. Supporting players here feature a mix of old and new, including CJ Bloomfield, Desmond Chiam, Chin Han, Damon Herriman, Max Huang, Hiroyuki Sanada, Joe Taslim, and more.

Director Simon McQuoid returns for the sequel, with the writing duties now being held by Jeremy Slater. The CGI is occasionally dodgy, though the fights are even gorier and more vibrantly realized here. McQuoid doesn’t exactly focus on performance from his cast, leading to only the charismatic ones shining through, but when it comes to brutal action, he’s on the money. What makes this installment the first one actually worth recommending is the screenplay by Slater, which is a cut above what you’d expect. Between the easter eggs and well timed humor, there’s also just a sense of what makes a successful Mortal Kombat installment. Instead of just a bit of what people loved about the games, with a lot of generic action thrown in, this is mainly about the tournament, with just some extra filler surrounding. When it all comes together, like with a really funny fight scene between Urban’s Cage and Bloomfield’s Baraka, you see what the franchise should have been all along.

Mortal Kombat II is hardly without flaws, especially when it comes to the palace intrigue aspect of things, but the fights work, the humor is successful, and there’s a sense that this franchise is on very steady ground. If this one does well and there’s a third installment, the series has gone from something I’d shrug at to one I’d actually look forward to seeing more from.

SCORE: ★★★