After Mortal Kombat premiered in 2021, fans were left asking, “What about the tournament?” Five years later, their demands have been answered with Mortal Kombat II, written by Jeremy Slater and directed by Simon McQuoid.
Mortal Kombat II finds the champions of Earthrealm reunited in a tournament against Shao Kahn and the Outworld, with the fate of Earth at stake. It’s the 10th of 10 tournaments and Earth’s last chance to evade Kahn’s rule.
While this all sounds super serious, the sequel is best watched through the lens of an action comedy.
Your first clue that this is the case is the addition of Johnny Cage (Karl Urban), who the film cleverly depicts as a washed-up action movie star whose real fighting days are behind him. Fans might have been skeptical of Urban’s casting, but he earns this notch in his franchise belt with a fun, sardonic performance (there is a reference to another one of his franchises in the film that I won’t spoil but made me laugh out loud in the theater).
Also new this go-round are fan-favorite Kitana (Adeline Rudolph), armed with her iconic deadly steel fans, and her bodyguard Jade (Tati Gabrielle). Kitana’s tragic backstory about her father’s death and Shao Kahn’s conquering of her realm opens the film and remains important throughout.
The heart of the film is the dual journeys of Johnny Cage and Kitana rising to the challenge of becoming the heroes needed to save Earthrealm. The rest of the plot, however, is thinly constructed and mostly exists as an excuse to set up fight after fight.
There is a REAL tournament this time around, which fans will love, and that’s the main hook of Mortal Kombat II. The additional quest to stop Shao Khan from stealing Lord Raiden’s power feels contrived and more of a way to extend run time than actually adding to the film’s stakes.
Audiences will enjoy the tons of bloody finishing moves lifted from the games, and the action sequences are inarguably greatly improved from the first film. The heavy use of CGI backgrounds makes it look like you’re watching someone play a video game, for better or worse.
The CGI world is more visually offensive when the characters are at a standstill and will make you long for more practical details.
Kano (Josh Lawson) returns to provide comedy along with Cage, but the rest of the large returning ensemble cast (including Mehcad Brooks as Jax, Jessica McNamee as Sonya Blade, Ludi Lin as Liu Kang, Lewis Tan as Cole Young, and Tadanobu Asano as Lord Raiden) are mostly given clunky, throwaway dialogue.
Tan’s Young gets a downgraded role after being the protagonist of the first film. A plot involving Kang and a surprise return from the first film transparently only exists to set up the next film in the series, though it does lead to one of the best fights in the film.
Although a significant improvement over the first film, the same fan service that makes the film more enjoyable for game lovers also makes it less likely to connect with a broader audience. You’ll have to really enjoy watching people beat each other to a bloody pulp to overlook the larger narrative shortcomings.
If you love the Mortal Kombat games but found yourself disappointed by the first film, “get over here,” and give this franchise another try. Otherwise, you can probably sit this fight out.
Mortal Kombat II hits theaters on May 7.