‘Mortal Kombat II’ – Review Thread

Johnny Cage joins other fighters in the ultimate, no-holds-barred battle to defeat the dark rule of Shao Kahn, a powerful tyrant who threatens the very existence of the Earthrealm and its defenders.

Director: Simon McQuoid

Cast: Karl Urban, Hiroyuki Sanada, Adeline Rudolph, Lewis Tan, Jessica McNamee, Tadanobu Asano, Max Huang, Chin Han, Martyn Ford, Tati Gabrielle, Mehcad Brooks, Josh Lawson, Johannes Taslim, Desmond Chiam

Rotten Tomatoes: 75%

Metacritic: 50 / 100

Some Reviews (updating):

IGN – Max Scoville – 8 / 10

It might not be Oscar-caliber cinema, and hardcore fans of the game with encyclopedic knowledge of the game may have a bone to pick, but it’s big and loud and gruesome and not afraid to have fun. The bar for video game movie sequels isn’t very high, but this one not only clears the bar, it twirls it around like a bo staff.

SlashFilm – Bill Bria – 8 / 10

There is a "peanut butter and chocolate" scenario going on with "Mortal Kombat II." It's simultaneously a video game adaptation and a martial-arts film, an ode to past-their-prime action stars and a gritty fairy tale of a warrior princess, a no-nonsense action movie and a frivolous romp. It's easily one of the biggest surprises of this year. While it doesn't yet settle the debate about where video game movies will go from here, it proves the subgenre is evolving. Video game movies, especially "Mortal Kombat" movies, don't have to be radical reinventions, nor do they need to be relegated to fan service slop. They can be more.

Consequence – Liz Shannon Miller – 'B'

This movie is the right kind of stupid. The reason Mortal Kombat II is able to focus on a martial arts tournament is that the previous movie was entirely setup for this moment, establishing the bulk of the characters as well as director Simon McQuoid’s ultra-bloody approach. That movie’s loss is this movie’s gain, especially as the sequel also makes some notable upgrades, including dispatching a weak link or two from the first movie, introducing a few new players, and reviving anyone who died before who feels worth saving.

AV Club – Jacob Oller – 'D+'

It’s all simply an excuse to pit the fighters against one another in different combinations and justify a third film where those who died in ridiculously gory ways can be snagged from hell (Netherrealm) to cash another paycheck. This, at least in spirit, is classic Mortal Kombat, a series founded on economical recycling. Perhaps, then, the hackneyed story and repetitive one-liners (not to mention repetitive characters, like the return of Kano, Scorpion, and more) should be taken as faithful rather than annoyingly uninspired. But joyless fidelity only really ever makes people wish they were experiencing the source material instead, whether that means reading a comic or playing a game.

GamesRadar – Jordan Farley – 3 / 5

Where there is to go next remains to be seen, as Mortal Kombat 2 delivers on pretty much everything you could reasonably expect from a Mortal Kombat movie, for better and worse. In the golden age of video game adaptations, MK2 is nothing special, ultimately. And the peculiar overreliance on pop culture references means it already feels a bit outdated. But as far as Friday-night fodder goes, it hits the mark.

The Hollywood Reporter – Frank Scheck

It doesn’t help that the whole thing comes off as low-rent, with underwhelming CGI effects and creature costuming and make-up that pales in comparison to a typical NYC Village Halloween Parade. When the chief villains look like rejects from Star Trek, and I mean the old TV series, you’ve got a problem. But probably not enough of a problem to prevent an inevitable third installment in this cinematic video game franchise that, to its credit, determinedly caters to its devoted fans, who don’t seem to mind that the word “combat” isn’t really spelled with a k.

San Francisco Chronicle – Bob Strauss – 3 / 4

The result is overall a more lavish and satisfying affair than the previous, COVID-restricted picture. More often than not, stunt coordinator Kyle Gardiner’s (“Ballerina”) choreography recaptures the acrobatic speed of late 20th-century Hong Kong cinema, albeit with CG-assists and severed fingers. As video game adaptations go, this one is decent enough for audiences with no attachment to the source material. Fans may have their quibbles about favorite characters getting shortchanged or killed off, but it’s a safe guess that there’s enough lore and gore here to slake their thirst as well.

MovieWeb – Julian Roman – 3 / 5

Mortal Kombat II is a marked improvement over the first film for all the right reasons. It doubles down on what made the games popular and brings in a known commodity with Urban to shoulder the acting burden. McQuoid does not disappoint in his second stab at the franchise, providing red meat to loyal legions without any attempt to stray from the fantastic source material.

Dread Central – Matt Konopka – 2.5 / 5

Despite some well-choreographed and entertaining fight scenes, MK II’s premise distracts from the tournament fans came for every chance it gets. What should be cheer-worthy gore feels too much like video game violence itself. And the film constantly gets in its own way by negating impactful deaths with hand wavey mechanics to bring back anyone at any time. But there’s still plenty to enjoy here, from fan favorite characters—I love you, Baraka (CJ Bloomfield)—and set pieces that will make players of the games feel at home. If you liked the previous entry, you’ll no doubt find plenty to pump your fist for here, even if it’s far from a flawless victory. At the very least, I can confidently say that MK II is still a good Johnny Cage kick above Mortal Kombat: Annihilation…a realm no MK film wants to be in.

ScreenCrush – Matt Singer – 3 / 10

Mortal Kombat games may not be Tolstoy, but at least when you’re playing one you get invested in who wins and who loses. In Mortal Kombat II I truly did not care who lived or died for a single second — mostly because the film made it very clear that death is basically meaningless in this story. Anyone bashed or sliced or maimed can (and do!) get brought back, whether or not there’s a magic amulet handy. Maybe our parents were wrong about video games. That still leaves the possibility, though, that the video-game movies were the real problem. But I would hope even a Mortal Kombat fan — and I played so many hours of Mortal Kombat in my teenage years — could at least acknowledge the absurdity of a film version putting lines like “Strength is not a closed fist” into the mouths of one of its heroes. Strength is not a closed fist in Mortal Kombat? The game where Sub-Zero’s Fatality is literally punching a guy’s head off with a closed fist? That seems pretty strong to me!

Next Best Picture – Josh Parham – 6 / 10

It’s heartening that some lessons have been learned, making “Mortal Kombat II” a far more enjoyable film. The ensemble can’t be saved by its less talented members, but the newcomers are well-suited to this world, and others find ways to make a more meaningful impact. The story still isn’t the most captivating and has another bit of frustrating sequel bait that muddies some arcs towards the finale, but it has a clearer sense of focus, at least putting the exciting sequences to the forefront. The filmmaking still has a bit of a stiltedness to it, but it leans further into an energizing tone that is far more engrossing. Though the gore could have been pushed even further, and it likely isn’t due to so many protagonists that can’t really be maimed too severely. Still, for those who admire such cheesy spectacle, there’s a good time to be had here, especially coming off the disappointment of the previous film. If another one comes, there’s room for improvement all the same.

Vulture – Alison Wilmore – 3 / 10

While Urban hurls himself into the role of Johnny with the commitment of someone for whom the phrase “sequel to a reboot of a fighting-game adaptation” signals only the latest opportunity to shine, the film, which was written by Jeremy Slater and directed by a returning Simon McQuoid, offers so little to work off of that even he gives off the faintest whiff of exasperation.

Rolling Stone – Elijah Pareño

The first Mortal Kombat followed MMA fighter Young, whose fighting spirit goes back to his ancestors, on his path tobackground to becoming a champion. The reboot, however, struggled to make viewers sympathize with a character who isn’t even part of the video game franchise, creating a disconnect between him and the rest of the cast. Unlike in the sequel, where Cage and Kitana are given proper arcs that show why you should care about them, especially in terms of their lore. Historically speaking, video game-to-film adaptations have had a bad reputation among fans. Take Uwe Boll’s infamous attempts at recreating franchises like Alone in the Dark, House of the Dead, and BloodRayne, or even the hammy DOOM starring Dwayne Johnson, or the needlessly long Resident Evil franchise with Milla Jovovich. Mortal Kombat II avoids that curse right away with badass fight scenes. It’s got kickflips, blood, and an action star who lives up to the name of the tournament. What more could you ask for? 

IndieWire – Alison Foreman – 'C-'

As a franchise, “Mortal Kombat” has spent years crossing over with other fictional worlds, recruiting everyone from Jason Voorhees to RoboCop in fights facing its champions. McQuoid throws in a batch of contemporary references, too, nodding at “The Lord of the Rings,” Keanu Reeves, and, believe it or not, “Big Trouble in Little China.” But none of that intertextual awareness matters if the heart of the next movie chapter feels this artistically inert. With whispers of another film already looming at Warner Bros., McQuoid’s best defense might be tapping out — before he’s tasked with delivering an even more insufferable cinematic fatality.

Looper – Alistair Ryder – 6 / 10

The question remains whether a "Mortal Kombat" movie could ever be expected to be better than this, considering the limitations of the source material. That this sequel translates the simple beat-em-up thrills of the video game into something narratively functional is about as triumphant as it could possibly get for this franchise.

DiscussingFilm – James Preston Poole – 2 / 5

Those who have put significant time into the Mortal Kombat games know their unique pleasures. A dense mythology, a cast of colorful characters, out-of-this-world visuals, and brutal fighting styles are a massive part of the series. Mortal Kombat II merely gestures toward the existence of these things rather than attempting to translate them in any significant way. Not only do fans of the games deserve far better, but so do moviegoers who, at the bare minimum, want a turn-your-brain-off kind of action movie.

Screen Rant – Alex Harrison – 4 / 10

The humor is more successful, with Urban's quippy movie star building on what 2021's Mortal Kombat did well with Kano (Josh Lawson), but these laughs often come at the film's expense. McQuoid would have been better off leaning further into the silly fun of playing a game like this, rather than the self-serious, save-the-world tone of the first film, since that seems to be what he's better equipped to execute well. But Mortal Kombat II only follows that instinct so far. I can only hope that, if Mortal Kombat III happens, someone will finally figure out how to adapt this franchise for the big screen. More importantly, though, I hope that by then the studio won't feel like they can get by on this level of execution. The bar on video game adaptations won't be set so low forever.