Mortal Kombat II
It’s hard for people now to realize just how crazy the release of the first “Mortal Kombat” video game was in the early 1990s. Violence in video games was not exactly a regular occurance. Certainly, characters died, but the violence in “Mortal Kombat”- and especially, the brutal “fatalities” that would allow the blood to flow further- was on another level. Now, it is commonplace, and we have a ratings system for video games the same way we do for movies. That made the PG-13 version of “Mortal Kombat” in theatres in 1995 all the more jarring.
Five years ago, we got a new movie adaptation of “Mortal Kombat,” and you can hear my thoughts on that in the Quick Take below. The films that Simon McQuoid have made try to bring some narrative anchors to this world, but let’s face it- all you want to see are your favorite characters fighting and brutally killing them. Some of the iconic music would be great, as well. I enjoyed the fighting, but beyond that, there wasn’t much else that made the 2021 film much of an upgrade from the ’90s film. The same can be said for its sequel.
If there’s is one thing that is next level about “Mortal Kombat II,” it is the performance by Karl Urban as Johnny Cage. He absolutely digs into the role of a washed up martial arts action star who has been relegated to doing signings as conventions for probably decades. One day, he finds himself approached by Jax Briggs (Mehcad Brooks) and Sonya Blade (Jessica McNamee). The Gods have selected Cage to fight on behalf of the Earth realm in Mortal Kombat. Trained by Lord Raiden (Tadanobu Asano), they will fight alongside Liu Kang (Ludi Lin) against the combatants led by Shao Khan (Martyn Ford), a tyrant who has his daughter, Kitana (Adeline Rudolph), as his top fighter. But is there more to Kitana than we think?
Jeremy Slater’s screenplay doesn’t have any depth to it, nor should we expect any. Yes, we get some perfunctory melodrama in some of the character arcs, but this is not a film you’ll want a lot of emotion from. This is about spectacle. The visual effects, makeup effects and costumes are all solid, especially when the film brings in Baraka (CJ Bloomfield) as Johnny and co. try to enlist help against Shao Khan. We also get the returns of Kano (Josh Lawson), Scorpion (Hiroyuki Sanada) and Sub-Zero (Joe Taslim). This is about giving audiences carnage and violence and something to enjoy that hopefully makes enough money for a third installment. As spectacle, I enjoyed it. I might watch a third one, but more likely, I’ll never watch this one again.
