Jay Rohr
Mortal Kombat II tries to execute a combo. One punch is a self-aware flick inclined to cheesy, ironic comedy, while the other is a brutal martial arts movie full of delightfully excessive gore. Both aspire to feature franchise elements fans will gush over, and yet, successfully capturing such sections robs the overall film of any slickness. The result is a two-hour cinematic trailer for a video game that can only remind the audience: playing is more fun than watching.
The film opens with the gruesome defeat of King Jerrod (Desmond Chiam) by the evil emperor Shao Kahn (Martyn Ford). Narration explains that interdimensional imperialism is handled in this reality by 1-on-1 fighting tournaments rather than armies. The evil conqueror then sets his sights on Earth Realm. There, the champions from the preceding movie struggle to hold off what seems like inevitable subjugation. Losing fighters left and right, they turn to a washed-up actor named Johnny Cage (Karl Urban) to fill their dwindling ranks. Although initially wanting no part in the struggle, he’ll find he has no choice except to fight.
Mortal Kombat II is a strange sequel. It almost doesn’t want to acknowledge the previous picture. Screenwriter Jeremy Slater tries to use refreshers as a side door for overarching exposition. Though this works to a degree, the main results are info dumps, often reminding audiences of a disappointing installment. Thankfully, these scenes are brief and only at the beginning, as Mortal Kombat II aims to arrive at brutality as quickly as possible.
After all, let’s not pretend viewers are lining up for the narrative. When it doesn’t look like clunky wirework, Mortal Kombat II features some impressive fight choreography. Most of it is suffused with satisfying CGI effects, producing colorful displays of mystical martial arts moves as well as settings taken straight out of the video games. The problem is that many of the fights lose their organic feeling, coming across more like poses than beatdowns. Director Simon McQuoid delivers screenshots from the game rather than orchestrating an engaging and violent ballet.
Fan service is abundant throughout Moral Kombat II; this works for and against the film. Most of the sequel’s attempts to include familiar material typically mean shoehorning references instead of the story utilizing them organically. Although, it is satisfying to see familiar fight moves, hear a particular catch phrase, notice easter eggs, or cameos such as game creator Ed Boon playing a bartender — there’s little here that the video game doesn’t do better.
Mortal Kombat II often feels like a prolonged ad for a version of the franchise soon to be available on consoles everywhere. Granted, pulling a satisfying narrative from the game’s own preexisting web is tricky. Developers NetherRealm Studios even did a sort-of-reboot simplifying their own storyline back in 2023.
As the name suggests, Mortal Kombat II isn’t shy about viciously killing combatants. There are several gory defeats sure to delight the most bloodthirsty franchise fans. The problem is that the film makes this quintessential component of the ultra-violent game an infrequent part of the big screen adaptation. Part of this is because it would mean multiple main characters crippled or killed before the halfway mark. Consequently, the movie needs to keep devising plot armor for certain people.
The other side of the coin is that nothing in the narrative gives an audience a reason to care what happens to anyone. Johnny Cage and Kitana (Adeline Rudolph) might be the only two roles with enough story behind them to foster some concern. The rest of the time, when a gruesome finish ensues, there’s only the spectacle of the kill. In other words, it never really seems to matter who wins. What’s important is how spectacularly gory their defeat is. As such, it’s unfortunate that Mortal Kombat II doesn’t just lean into being the bloodiest martial arts movie possible.
What story and themes Mortal Kombat II tries to deliver are hackneyed wafers. That isn’t to say the movie needs to be a Hegelian dialectic through fisticuffs, but the narrative feels like an afterthought in the overall composition. Some of that suspicion stems from a tonal imbalance throughout. Slater has written a movie that seeks to be taken somewhat seriously, at least until certain characters are on screen. Then the mood sharply shifts to self-aware comedy that feels like someone mimicking a Deadpool flick.
It isn’t that the humor doesn’t land. Several of the jokes are clever. Kano (Josh Lawson) often steals a scene or two with a slick quip. Karl Urban showcases a real talent for comedic timing. Unfortunately, instead of blending with the feature’s grim tone, the contrast collides like two different movies jammed together. As such, Mortal Kombat II is never as dark as it desires, nor as mirthful as it could be.
The cast is fabulous during their combat portions. No one can deny the acrobatic skill or graceful brutality of Jessica MacNamee (The Meg) as Sonya Blade, or Ludi Lin (Aquaman) as Liu Kang. Meanwhile, the dramatic side of their performance leaves something to be desired, and that goes for too many other players in this movie. Though I doubt audiences are coming for eloquent line recitations, the meatier roles are thankfully in the hands of more well-rounded performers like Hiroyuki Sanada (John Wick: Chapter 4) as Hanzo Hasashi/Scorpion, who prove even bad material can be elevated by quality performers.
Mortal Kombat II is mindless murder mayhem during its best portions. Instead of leaning into that strength, it occasionally tries to land an ironic roundhouse that, although comical, creates a tonal imbalance. Despite what appears to be maximum effort, the comedy never mixes well enough with the onscreen violence. Unable to take itself seriously, neither can the audience, who are presented with a majority of main characters presenting zero reason to care when their slaughter ensues. Fans of the franchise will probably delight the most in one watch, though folks without nostalgia lenses may not see the appeal.
