‘Mortal Kombat II’ Review: Same Fight, Different Characters

Simon McQuoid’s Mortal Kombat (2021) released to a bit of a mixed reception. Some fans cheered the film’s embrace of the video game franchise’s bloody violence. Others felt let down by the film’s lack of an actual tournament. The filmmaker returns for Mortal Kombat II…and another battle that is going to have divided audiences picking sides. Like the previous entry? Great, this one pumps up the fun and bloody fatalities. Didn’t enjoy the last outing? Sorry, the sequel is once again as all over the place as the smoky Noob Saibot.

Based on the video game franchise created by Ed Boon and John Tobia, MK II picks up right where we last left our heroes, on the precipice of a tournament that will decide the fate of Earth. Cole (Lewis Tan) and the gang attempt to recruit washed up action-movie star, Johnny Cage (Karl Urban). He isn’t so keen on the idea, but the gods don’t give him much of a choice. An assassination attempt on Lord Raiden (Tadanobu Asano) leaves the lightning god incapacitated, and his power stored in an ancient amulet. Master of the Outer Realm, Shao Kahn (Martyn Ford) plans to use the amulet to make himself immortal, all but guaranteeing victory. Without the guidance of Raiden, fighters Cole, Johnny, Liu Kang (Ludi Lin), Sonya (Jessica McNamee), and Jax (Mehcad Brooks) must find a way to destroy the amulet or face certain defeat, all while competing in the tournament.

Meanwhile, Shao Kahn’s adopted daughter, Kitana (Adeline Rudolph), works with the fighters to bring down her evil stepfather.

If that sounds like a lot, well, that’s because it is! I’m exhausted just writing out the cliff notes version.

(“The Exorcist” TV series) takes over script duties from Greg Russo and Dave Callaham for this round. Nevertheless, the story issues remain the same. What worked so well with (1995)—one of my personal favorite video game adaptations—was that it kept a simple focus on the tournament itself. does finally deliver on the tournament fans want, and the fights themselves can be bloody exhilarating, but it packs in so many subplots that the tournament once again becomes secondary. Perhaps the filmmakers didn’t want to run too close to Paul W.S. Anderson’s ’90s film. I don’t know. What I do know is that this sequel hates to stay in any one moment for too long. Scenes often rush through expository dialogue on their way to the next mission on the docket for the team to accomplish.