Time: 116 Minutes
Age Rating: R16 – Graphic violence & offensive language
Cast:
Karl Urban as Johnny Cage
Adeline Rudolph as Kitana
Jessica McNamee as Sonya Blade
Josh Lawson as Kano
Martyn Ford as Shao Kahn
Ludi Lin as Liu Kan
Mehcad Brooks as Jax
Tati Gabrielle as Jade
Lewis Tan as Cole Young
Max Huang as Kung Lao
Damon Herriman as Quan Chi
Chin Han as Shang Tsung
Tadanobu Asano as Lord Raiden
Joe Taslim as Bi-Han / Noob Saibot
Hiroyuki Sanada as Hanzo Hasashi / Scorpion
Director: Simon McQuoid

While the 2021 Mortal Kombat movie was very flawed and made some questionable choices, I still enjoyed it. I thought it was at least on the level of the 1995 movie, which I also thought was just okay and had its own problems despite being fun. I was optimistic for the sequel, and I ended up liking it much more.

Like the previous movie, the screenplay for Mortal Kombat II is pretty rough. However, this film does have some differences that made the sequel work so much better. The plot is simplified, to the point that it’s perhaps a bit too basic. They probably could’ve allowed for some more character moments at least, and there is almost no character development here. Still, this approach works fine for the movie. The exposition is tight and they manage to pull off worldbuilding without dragging. The pacing is quick across its 2 hour runtime with barely a moment to breathe, and it’s never really boring. The first movie was all about the main characters preparing for Mortal Kombat, II is actually about Mortal Kombat. The stakes are felt far more in this movie, it puts more heavy emphasis on the action and the fights hold more dramatic weight. At the same time, the sequel is more willing to lean into the silliness and cheesiness, from the one liners to the over the top action and gore. Not all the jokes work, the pop culture ones were hit or miss, but the movie moves pretty fast so they are easy to look past. Finally, there’s plenty of fanservice for fans of the games, beyond the familiar characters and iconic lines, there are also visuals and moves that gamers will recognise.

Whereas the last movie centered an original character Cole Young (as played by Lewis Tan) as its protagonist, the sequel wisely shifts the main focus to a couple of characters who are from the game series. First of all is Karl Urban as Johnny Cage, whose version of the character is a washed up action star who doesn’t believe in himself and doesn’t want to have anything to do with the central tournament, who is distinctly different from his far more arrogant and egotistical video game counterpart. Despite the differences, I still liked him; I thought he brought some energy and delivered the one liners and humour well. The other protagonist is Kitana played by Adeline Rudolph. She was one of the highlights among the cast, and her character really was the heart of the movie. The returning cast are pretty good, Josh Lawson as Kano is again an absolute scene stealer and I’m glad they brought him back for the sequel. There are also some good additions to the roster of characters alongside Kitana, including CJ Bloomfield’s Baraka. Also noteworthy is Martyn Ford as the menacing and villainous Shao Kahn, whose presence, performance, and presentation is pretty much Shao Khan ripped straight from the games.

Simon McQuoid returns to direct after helming the last Mortal Kombat, and his work is a little better here. Of course, the fight scenes are the star of the movie and it is a notable improvement here. The action has a lot of creativity and the choreography is really good. Also helping is that the backdrops and locations of the fights are far more eventful and exciting. We get to see a variety of settings, even if a number of them use obvious green screens. The score composed by Benjamin Wallfisch was also quite good and elevated the action scenes.

Mortal Kombat II is an enjoyably silly action movie with entertaining fight scenes, and is considerably better than its predecessor. If you got any enjoyment from the 2021 movie, you’ll probably quite enjoy this one too, and I’m on board for the upcoming third movie.