Holy crap, Mortal Kombat 2 did the thing! So, I enjoyed Mortal Kombat, when it was released during Covid to HBO max. H3 is not a big MK fan, so he was not as into the reboot as I was. At the time of its release, I thought it was a fun time. When we went to rewatch it so H3 could remind himself of the lore, I found the flaws more apparent. Fortunately for me, MK2 addresses most of those issues. 

• Directed by: Simon McQuoid
• Written by: Jeremy Slater. Ed Boon. John Tobias
• Starring: Adeline Rudolph. Karl Urban. Martyn Ford

Let’s start with the story.  MK1 leaves off with Sonya Blade, Jax, Liu Kang, and Cole preparing for the tournament. MK2picks up with Shao Kahn and Kitana, introducing her side of the lore and bringing us into the tournament from that side. Shao Kahn brings with him a bunch of new and returning characters, including Jade, Kitana’s bodyguard, and a necromancer who resurrects Kano and Kung Lao. Kano turns out ok, but Kung Lao is a little zombified.

On Team Raiden, our existing good guys are bolstered by…Johnny Cage. That’s it. Just him. And, he’s the best version of Johnny Cage: old, broken down, ignored at conventions Johnny Cage.  He’s played by Karl Urban, which is one of the best casting decisions ever.  We get the basic tournament explanation, but they speed-run it because that was the first movie. Johnny’s story is about his self-confidence.  He’s not the only one with a character arc though, and that means that this movie actually has a theme. 

Theme

I know, I was as surprised as you are. MK2 could be about potential or recognizing your potential. It’s not an uncommon theme, but they treat it decently. Johnny has to uncover the potential that he’s buried, which he does in a truly fantastic, in-character way. Other characters go through similar arcs as well. Kitana fully embraces who she is meant to be, as does Liu Kang.  Liu Kang’s story beats are minor, more told through his fights than strong narrative beats, but thought was put into how his character would be portrayed.  We’ll talk more about him later.  

Jade, a minor character, gets a full arc as she struggles with who she could be and who she wants to be, the easy path versus her true potential. She gets the clearest visual representation of the theme.  It’s actually blindingly on the nose, but also, a nice character moment in a franchise known for spine removal. 

Was There Spine Removal?

Two movies in and no one’s spine has been removed.  I’m starting to get irritated on that point.  We did get some nice head splattering, and a nice partial decapitation, but if I’m being honest, Mortal Kombat the Game was known for its spine-ripping glory.

We do get some fantastic narrative-driven fights. There are three fights in particular that really propel the story forward in terms of the narrative. Not just in how the fight is resolved, but how the overall choreography tells the story. 

Kitana vs Shao Kahn is one of these fights. In fact, I’ll include Shao Kahn’s entire third-act fight and all his opponents. It’s an inevitable outcome—the movie is leading to this, so none of this is a surprise. The script solves some narrative dilemmas in an interesting way, and the fight comes down to sheer willpower, as it should. It’s not the best fight, but it’s satisfying.

Shao Kahn vs Cole is another narrative success. It fixes some major issues from the first movie and sets the tone for what happens in the rest of this one. It’s fast and fun. I laughed and clapped. If you’ve seen Mortal Kombat 2, you may be judging me for this. I don’t care. 

The Fight.

Liu Kang vs Kung Lao is worth the ticket alone. It’s beautiful and character-driven. Liu Kang is trying to save the soul of his revenant brother without killing him again. The actors are skilled enough to pull off the fight in a believable manner, and it feels like something out of the game. The setting is breathtaking, and I didn’t want it to end. Also, Kung Lao’s hat felt more menacing this time around. Which is impressive, since… spinning hat. 

Johnny Cage gets some fun fights, but they play comedic. It works, but nothing hits the high notes of these other three. He does brighten the movie, especially when he pairs up with Kano. Kano is so great in this movie, and he and Johnny get the best dialogue. Kano also gets roped into the potential theme with his realization that ultimate evil doesn’t have air conditioning, thus limiting his potential for said ultimate evil. 

Fan Service

Ultimately Mortal Kombat 2 leans in to the fan service in a much better way than the first movie. It goes so far as to correct the biggest misstep of the first film. Video game movies are hard to adapt to start with. player interaction is such a key part of the experience . Mortal Kombat 2 has a lot that feels like the game while still being. mostly coherent narrative.

Final Thoughts

In the end, this is the kind of movie where you know how it’s going to end, but maybe not how it’s going to get there. It feels like a video game movie in that the narrative is broken up by tournament fight sequences. It’s also a twisty narrative, full of betrayal and complex backstories, all very video-gamey. I totally enjoyed it, and will probably watch the next one, just maybe…more spines, please?

Mortal Kombat 2 is in theaters now.