Mortal Kombat II

The video game sequel is an imperfect, but fun, step in the right direction for the franchise

The good thing about Mortal Kombat II is the fact that, when you sit down to watch it, you’re going to get exactly what you came to the theater to see.

First: It’s pretty much wall-to-wall action with fights and fatalities galore for nearly the entire runtime. And secondly (perhaps the biggest and easiest improvement that director Simon McQuoid’s sequel is able to make from the 2021 film that rebooted the franchise on the big screen) we actually get a Mortal Kombat this time around.

Mortal Kombat II picks up right where the first movie left off. Shao Khan (Martyn Ford) has built his army of warriors ready to conquer Earth if the Outworld is able to beat Earthrealm for a 10th consecutive time, so it is up to the planet’s champions to win in the ultimate no holds barred tournament with the fate of the world on the line.

The movie introduces two new fighters as we get ready for the tournament. Earthrealm has recruited Johnny Cage (Karl Urban), a washed-up action hero who has seen better days when he’s called upon, while Outworld is led into battle by Kitana (Adeline Rudolph), a princess from one of the realms enslaved by Shao Khan and whose allegiances are torn by connections from her past.

At its core, Mortal Kombat II keeps its focus on the dual narratives of these new characters as both of them have come to the time where they will ultimately have their date with destiny. For Cage, a jaded and cynical outsider, that comes with learning to buy in, while Kitana’s path toward proving herself worthy of the legacy left behind by her father comes with learning exactly what it’s going to take to live up to it and take her rightful place among her people.

Urban and Rudolph’s performances were the clear standouts for me, and represented when the movie was working at its best to toe that line between goofy fun and dropping in the serious story beats.

But while they were up to the task of carrying the bulk of the emotional weight of the story, any time we went away from them and shifted the focus onto the other characters it was just a reminder of how flat all of them have felt in these two installments since the franchise rebooted. The big broad fight scenes with all of the different powers worked, but there just was no connection with the characters and it made for a story that didn’t feel balanced tonally speaking.

It was also a bit of a mixed bag visually. While some moments looked great, there were a lot of moments where the CGI almost looked half-finished or cheap and it just felt very dark and grey for extended periods of time in ways that felt wrong for a video game adaptation.

But ultimately this is a movie that delivers where it needs to. It gives the big action moments, we get to see an awesome Mortal Kombat tournament, and it does give fans of the game that spectacle that they come to expect when they go see it. There are absolutely flaws, but it’s a fun sequel that feels more focused and bigger, and is much more entertaining than its predecessor.

If you’re going into this movie looking for something tightly crafted and super impactful from a storytelling perspective, you might leave disappointed again. But if you’re willing to meet this movie on its level with all the messy ridiculousness that comes along with that, Mortal Kombat II will be a good time at the movies.