The first Mortal Kombat movie was fine, it did the job, it gave us some classic characters from the games, but there was something missing from it. That something that was missing is in Mortal Kombat II and then some. Maybe its the addition of Johnny Cage? Or is it something else entirely? But most of the people behind the first film and the cast are returning for this second film that brings the full-fledged tournament front and center to the story. The rule of Shao Kahn is battled against by the champions of Earthrealm, who are threatened by him to take over their realm with a wave of violence and servitude.
It’s an incredibly simple story. But after the first film muddied up the waters a bit with a protagonist that people didn’t *really* care about, it’s a welcome change. This time around, the film centers on Johnny Cage (played by Karl Urban) and Kitana (Adeline Rudolph). The other characters have big moments and appearances, but those two are the center of this story. Kitana is the step-daughter of Shao Kahn (Martyn Ford), who rules with an iron fist. The tournament starts off with the champions of Earthrealm looking for Johnny Cage, who is a failed actor, down on his luck, and doesn’t know his true worth. Sonya Blade (Jessica McNamee), Jax (Mehcad Brooks), Liu Kang (Ludi Lin), Cole Young (Lewis Tan) and Lord Raiden (Tadanobu Asano) are getting their team ready.
Kitana leads Shao Kahn’s team of warriors, which includes Kung Lao (played by Max Huang), Jade (played by Tati Gabriel), and Kahn himself. He’s in search of a medallion that will give him immortality, which brings them to the necromancer Quan Chi. He reanimates Kano (played by Josh Lawson), who has the medallion.
That’s the gist of Mortal Kombat II. It gets into the actual tournament and this movie FEELS like the games. There are fatalities, sweeping camera shots into the arenas, and even a bit of a nod to playing the game as a kid and getting up against the final boss and thinking that they’re cheating. The performances here are highlighted by Rudolph and Urban. I wasn’t sold on Karl Urban as Johnny Cage going into the movie, but he embodies the character perfectly. It’s not a young version of Cage; this is him after his movie career and he’s down on his luck. For anyone who’s felt like they’re an imposter or not fitting into their surroundings, this role will resonate.
Kitana on the other hand is the backbone of the film because of her trials and tribulations involving her place on Shao Kahn’s team and how he took over her realm and family. The two roles add an emotional wrinkle to the story that was missing in the first film. There’s some awesome editing in the latter third of the film that crosses between their stories quickly and really hammers home their emotional journeys.
Now, I know what you’re thinking, “Hunter, it’s Mortal Kombat II, who gives a FLYING FATALITY about the emotional journey!”
Well, that emotional backbone of the film lends itself to the fatalities when they DO happen. And there are plenty of fatalities to go around.
The fight between Kung Lao and Liu Kang is worth the price of admission by itself. Kano and Johnny Cage’s banter back and forth is also a highlight of the film. It really feels like the filmmakers and writers hit a stride with this and kept that up the entire movie.
Mortal Kombat II is just a straight-up satisfying movie. Whether you’re a superfan of the games or just someone wanting to see some massive action on screen, it’ll satisfy. The plot is simple, but that simplistic style is a weapon in this movie. It means we get more of a focus on the characters rather than some convoluted story that we have to juggle in addition to all the characters. Instead, we get a movie that is about the characters we know and love AND gives us the action from the games that we expect. A movie based on Mortal Kombat is supposed to be silly; it’s supposed to have moments of levity, but there’s much more than that here.
Mortal Kombat II is a hell of a movie. It hits the notes that a video game adaptation should, while giving us some satisfying character work from Karl Urban and Adeline Rudolph. And remember folks, we are all…
JOHNNY FU**ING CAGE.
Mortal Kombat II releases in theaters on May 8th.
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