I know sequels usually improve upon the first movie in many ways, but Mortal Kombat II beats its predecessor so bad that they left it broken and bleeding and gasping for air from a punctured lung.
With the fighting game infodump that was the first movie out of the way, Mortal Kombat II opens with the eponymous tournament in full swing. The Outworld, led by the maniacal Shao Khan (Martyn Ford), has won the Mortal Kombat tournament 9 times, with a tenth win ensuring Shao Khan's dominion over all realms. With time running out, Raiden (Tadanobu Asano) and his Earthrealm champions prepare for what may be their last chance to save the world.
To complete the team, the gods choose a new Earthrealm champion: the washed-up action star Johnny Cage (Karl Urban), who is overwhelmed by the responsibility. With the fate of their world in the balance, Raiden will need all the help he can get--even if it means asking for help from Shao Khan's adopted daughter, Kitana (Adeline Rudolph)!
It's amazing what time and a bit of TLC could do to a cast like this. Ludi Lin gets to show off both his martial prowess and his comedic timing as Liu Kang this time around. Lewis Tan as Cole Young is more relatable and badass when he's not a Gary Sue. Josh Lawson as Kano is a highlight here as he was in the first movie, a scenery-chewing troglodyte that feels more human than the Earthrealmers around him. Jax (Mehcad Brooks) and Sonya Blade (Jessica McNamee) don't get much to do, but this time you get to feel the friendship between these buddy cops.
And despite what the Johnny Cage-centric promotions have told you, this isn't a Karl Urban vehicle. Which is fine, considering he isn't exactly limber—or getting younger—in real life (though he tries his clunky best in fight scenes when his stunt double isn't on screen). Director Simon McQuoid knew well enough to give us Cage in small doses, spreading the love and the spotlight to the rest of the equally charismatic cast.
Speaking of charisma, I wasn't ready to love Adeline Rudolph as Kitana as much as I did. She's saddled with much of the movie's plot and action scenes yet rises to the occasion every time. And Martyn Ford is perfect casting as Shao Khan, using his real-life immensity (dude is 6 foot 8 and jacked to the gills) to give this Big Bad an otherworldly presence no CGI could replicate.
The fights are plentiful, flashier, and more gruesome this time around, feeling more like the fighting game the previous film pretended to be. But it's a mixed bag—when it's bad, it's ugly (like Sonya Blade and Sindel's sloppy fight in some cramped oubliette), but when it's good, it's jaw-dropping. Case in point: the showdown between Liu Kang and Kung Lao IS Mortal Kombat brought to the big screen, a satisfying showcase of martial Arts with a capital A.
If anything shaves off from Mortal Kombat II's health bar, it's that it's a video game movie in all the worst ways. The story is a mess of plot points about revenants and magical amulets and necromancy that muddy my already murky understanding of the game's lore. And the "tournament" itself is riddled with loopholes that strain my already suspended disbelief that I'm surprised Johnny Cage and co. don't take up Shao Khan's blatant cheating with the tournament committee!
However, the rest of the movie was so much fun that it washed over me like nostalgic memory, remembering the fun times playing this game with my tito on the Sega Genesis as a kid. We've been through plenty of video game renaissances before, so I'm hesitant to call it this early. But Mortal Kombat II is so entertaining that I want Hollywood taking notes—if you're making a dumb fighting game movie about people throwing fireballs and cutting heads with razor-tipped folding fans, make it fun.
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