It’s rare that you see a sequel that is as much of an apology for its predecessor than Mortal Kombat II. The sequel, which reunites director Simon McQuoid and writer Jeremy Slater, does everything that the first movie, released in 2021 to a lukewarm reception and meager $84M box office, did not. It delivers more of the fan-favorite characters fans of this iconic video game franchise want; it streamlines the story with a focus on brutal otherworldly battles, and, oh yeah, fatalities fatalities FATALITIES! In a year when the game’s eternal rival, Street Fighter, also has an anticipated high-profile movie on the way, Mortal Kombat II has dealt the first blow, and it’s a doozy.
A key part of the Mortal Kombat II apology tour? Poor Lewis Tan as original character Cole Young, introduced as the fateful, upstart hero of destiny in the first movie. Here, he’s barely relegated to supporting status, his starring role tossed into an acid bath like one of Shao Khan’s victims in the Dead Pool. In his place is Karl Urban as one of the game’s most popular, most important characters, Johnny Cage. While Urban is too old to play the hotshot Hollywood actor as Cage is normally depicted, he’s perfect for a grizzled, past his prime former action star who hasn’t had a hit in years. Urban’s performance is like Jean Claude Van Damme mixed with Steven Seagal, hokey and self-important at the same time. Cage has never accomplished anything that truly mattered, and he hates himself for it.
Lucky for Cage, because he’s just been recruited to participate in Mortal Kombat! He joins the other warriors of Earthrealm led by the thunder god, Lord Raiden, played once again by Tadanobu Asano. Jessica McNamee is back as Sonya Blade, with Mehcad Brooks as Jax, and Ludi Lin as the fiery Liu Kang. Oh, and Cole Young is there, too. *shrug* The brutal warlord of Outrealm, Shao Khan (Martyn Ford) is this close to enslaving Earth the same way he has other realms. His adopted daughter, Kitana (Adeline Rudolph), who saw her real father slaughtered in combat with Shao Khan, is as much a prisoner of Shao Khan’s rule as anyone, and works against him from the inside.
Credit to McQuoid and Slater for wrangling together all of these characters’ insane, criss-crossing storylines and making them make sense. You can’t mess around with them too much because fans will revolt if you screw up their personal favorites too much. Each needs their moment to shine, and for the most part, everybody gets to deliver their signature one-liners and devastating signature killing blows.
The way McQuoid handled it is by focusing the story on the main thing fans wanted to see: the titular tournament itself. There’s just enough story there to keep you invested in the fate of Kitana, the heroic rise of Johnny Cage, the scheming of soul-stealing sorcerer Shang Tsung (Chin Han), the return of that unhinged Aussie merc Kano (Josh Lawson), and the Hellish vengeance sought by Scorpion (Hiroyuki Sanada). But mainly, these subplots only exist to set up the next fight, which is exactly what we want.
The action choreography is vastly superior to the previous film, with each battle vastly different depending on who is involved. When the cyborg-armed Jax slugs it out with Kitana’s best friend and mentor Jade (Tati Gabrielle), it’s a much different battle than Cage’s comical scrap with the Tarkatan leader Baraka (CJ Bloomfield), who threatens to literally eat him on the spot. More importantly, McQuoid truly captures the transcendental scope of the games, with deadly duels backlit by swirling vortexes in dazzling temples; others taking place in claustrophobic torture chambers filled with spikes, or in the aforementioned Dead Pool.
Here’s the thing; I’m not a Mortal Kombat guy. I’ve played the games, I know the characters, but my heart belongs to Capcom and Street Fighter. So it hurts me, just a tiny bit, to have to admit that Mortal Kombat II is friggin’ awesome, and the Street Fighter movie better bring the goddamn heat this October because there won’t be enough apologies in the world if it doesn’t measure up!
Mortal Kombat II opens in theaters on May 8th.
