Mortal Kombat II (2026)

I said it five years ago when I reviewed the original film, this ain't Shakespeare. I'll stand by that comment in regard to this second film in the rebooted series. “Mortal Kombat 2” should not be confused with any serious filmmaking but belongs in that category of films that is exclusively designed to delight people in a theater while consuming sugary snacks, large quantities of popcorn, and soda cups the size of small vehicles. It is stupid, loud, and incredibly violent, which is exactly what you expected from it and so it doesn't disappoint.

If there were a comparison to be made between the two films it’s the script which it would be easy for me to point to. Mortal Kombat 2021 has a clearer story and a little bit more character development. However do we really go to these films for character and script? Probably not, so the fact that this movie gets to all of the combat sequences very quickly and is relentless in presenting them, that fills the goal of most theater goers who are lining up for this. The only questions remaining is  whether the fan service is satisfactory, the action sequences are laudatory, and the actors are having fun making the movie. I can certainly say that that last part sure seems to be true. For all the solemnity that  is supposed to occur in the Realms who are battling for control, there is still plenty of levity in the ridiculousness of the fights and especially in the special effects.

I remembered almost nothing about the film from 5 years ago.  In fact I wasn't even sure if I'd seen it until I went back and looked and saw that I had posted a review. One of the reasons I had my doubts is that I did not participate in the Lamcast discussion for that movie, instead my friend Howard Casner hosted the episode. I must have been out of town. I waited to rewatch that film until after I'd seen “Mortal Kombat 2”, and frankly it didn't make any difference in my appreciation of the film. Both  films are plenty ridiculous and made up of tropes that gamers probably love and the rest of us miss. That's it. I had a good time and enjoyed my time in the theater.

The biggest addition to the film is the inclusion of a character named Johnny Cage, apparently a key figure in the original video game. The character did not appear in the previous film. The last shot of the original film suggested that Johnny Cage was going to be the key figure in the sequel and that is in fact what happened. Because I don't know anything about the characters, casting was not something that I was thinking about, but when the trailers came out and Karl Urban was starring as the Cage character, it was all right with me.

Urban’s character is presented as a slightly washed up action star from the 90s, probably a meta comment about the audience for these films. Cheesy action films starring martial artists were a dime a dozen before the new millennia, and Karl Urban looks like he could have been in any of those movies. His delivery of the lines in this film seem to have his tongue firmly placed in his cheek, and a twinkle in his eye and the slight bending down of his head indicates that he's in on the joke. Which all seems great given the tone that the movie is trying to provoke. Although the blood and body count is greater in this film, it feels a lot less solemn than the first entry, and that's largely because of Johnny Cage's character. Fans of the series and the video game will probably be greatly satisfied with Karl Urban and the way he treats the material.

The violence quotient is high, although I don't think there is quite as much blood being splattered on the combatants as there was in the first film. That's not to say that there isn't a lot of gruesomeness and bloody pulp to go around, it just seems to be placed a little bit more discreetly. We still get bodies Buzz sawed in half by frisbee hats, and heads crushed and splattered by giant hammers, and plenty of spikes, swords, Fists and other objects penetrating the bodies of the combatants. I'm still waiting for the one visual that I remember seeing in the arcade game where the victor grabs the neck of the defeated competitor and pulls their spine out of their body. Maybe they're saving that for part three.

This movie is too violent for the 14-year-old boys that it's targeted at, which means it'll probably be a big success with that demographic. Everybody wants to be a little bit older when they're going to a movie as a kid. I know “3D” gets a negative rap, but I think this was a movie that I would have enjoyed in that format, given all the body parts flying off and weapons being flung back and forth. As far as I know the movie was not shot in 3D, and I don't think that there were any screenings in which it was offered in that format, but if you find one, put on those glasses and get ready to duck because blood, knives, Spears and body parts will be coming your way.