Mortal Kombat II
Directed by Simon McQuoid
Karl Urban, Lewis Tan, Jessica McNamee, Tadanobu Asano
“Mortal Kombat II is exactly the movie the title promises. Spines come out. Heads come off. Johnny Cage finally shows up. If you wanted prestige cinema you should have read the marquee.”
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The Review
Simon McQuoid is back to deliver the sequel to 2021's Mortal Kombat, which was a perfectly serviceable adaptation that everyone watched on streaming during a confusing year. This one knows what it is. The first film spent most of its runtime building a world. This one assumes you have done the homework, hands you Johnny Cage in the first reel, and gets to the part where people get torn apart by other people in colorful outfits.
Karl Urban as Johnny Cage is the smartest casting choice the franchise has made. He understands the assignment, which is that Cage is a himbo with sunglasses and an ego, and not a serious actor pretending to be one. The fight choreography continues to be the part the production actually cares about, and it shows. The final tournament sequence is the kind of practical effects forward set piece that makes you remember why the games were appealing in the first place.
Where the movie loses points is everywhere else. The dialogue exists. The plot exists. Neither will survive a second viewing. Shang Tsung is back doing his thing. Kitana and Mileena get a setup that the studio is clearly hoping pays off in part three. There will be a part three. The box office numbers were good enough on opening weekend that this universe is going to keep happening whether or not the critics ever embrace it.
What It Nails
- +Karl Urban as Johnny Cage is exactly the casting decision this franchise needed
- +Practical effects and choreography during the tournament sequences are genuinely impressive
- +Embraces its R rating in a way the first film flinched at
- +Pacing improves significantly once the worldbuilding obligations are out of the way
What It Botches
- -Dialogue ranges from functional to actively distracting
- -Subplots are clearly being saved for a third film that may or may not justify them
- -Female characters continue to be written like collectible figures
- -The MacGuffin chase in the middle hour is mostly an excuse to refill the popcorn
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Who It's For
Fans of the games. People who enjoyed the first movie and were honest about why. Anyone who wants to watch Karl Urban beat people up for two hours.
Who Should Skip
Anyone expecting nuance. Parents who did not check the rating. Audiences who need narrative coherence more than they need spine ridge fatalities.
Marketing Roast
The marketing is selling spectacle and Johnny Cage. Both are accurate. The movie is delivering exactly what is on the poster, which is more honest than most franchise output this year.
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