Mortal Kombat II is the follow-up to the 2021 reboot. The first movie ended up making my list of the year’s 10 worst films, so my expectations were already pretty low going into it. You can imagine my surprise at giving this sequel a mild recommendation.
The movie picks up with some of the characters from the first film, such as Sonya Blade, Liu Kang, and Lord Raiden (Jessica McNamee, Ludi Lin and Tadanobu Asano) as they prepare for a new Mortal Kombat tournament and they’re in need of a new partner in order to fight off the forces of evil, namely the emperor known as Shao Kahn (Martyn Ford).
The trio tries to recruit Johnny Cage (Karl Urban), a cocky, washed-up martial arts actor. Cage doesn’t believe a word until he gets to their mystical powers and soon he’s off to join their team.
The movie introduces other new characters that fans of the video game will know and love, such as Kitana (Adeline Rudolph), who is Shao’s daughter after he murdered her father. There’s also a new character named Jax (Mehcad Brooks). Their defining attributes, like the others, involve their powers and not so much their personalities.
Cage is able to get into a fight sequence with a creature named Baraka (CJ Bloomfield), a mutant who lives on a nomadic planet. Of course, the only real reason to bring in these new characters is the overblown fight sequences, which might be considered an improvement over the first. The sequence between Cage and Baraka is probably a highlight.
Like the original film, Mortal Kombat II is heavy on action and special effects and light on plot, character development, or even logic. The movie doesn’t make much of an attempt to string together a story that is compelling or unpredictable, but rather it just exists as two hours of fan service.
In this case, that’s not a bad thing, as I found myself satisfied and content. This film has enough style and energy to keep me interested.
Mortal Kombat II is far from a flawless victory, but fans will find it a goofy, intense, in-your-face diversion until Mortal Kombat III is unleashed.
Grade: B
(Rated R for strong bloody violence and gore, and language.)
Reviewer’s Note: I saw this movie at the Historic Strand in Jesup.
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