Movie Review: ‘Mortal Kombat 2’

Director: Simon McQuoid

Starring: Karl Urban, Adeline Rudolph, Jessica McNamee, Josh Lawson, Ludi Lin, Mechad Brooks, Tati Gabrielle, Lewis Tan, Damon Herriman, Shin Han, Tadanobu Asano, Hiroyuki Sanada, Martyn Ford, Max Huang

Plot: As the Mortal Kombat tournament begins, Raiden and the champions of Earth scramble to recruit new combatants to fill out their roster. Enter faded Hollywood action star Johnny Cage and Princess Kitana, ward to the villainous conqueror Shao Kahn.

Review: This is certainly a movie fans have been waiting for—not just to support local filmmakers, but because 2021’s Mortal Kombat set the stage for an action-packed sequel. The most common criticism of that first entry was that it never actually reached the tournament. With all the character introductions, backstory, and lore now established, we can finally fill out the roster with some redshirts and jump straight in. Fight!

Except… not quite. Mortal Kombat 2 starts off on the back foot by essentially discarding the previous status quo to focus on new main characters. This is now Kitana (Rudolph) and Johnny Cage’s (Urban) story, with former point-of-view character Lewis Tan (Lewis Tan) reduced to cannon fodder. It sometimes feels as if the screenwriters were embarrassed to deal with the chaos of left in the wake of the original.

On top of the new leads, the story has to accommodate returning fan favorites—Kano, Kung Lao, Sub-Zero, and Scorpion—being brought back from the dead. The result is a series of hurriedly explained lore moments. Some obvious pairings and showdowns simply don’t make the cut; for example, Kano and Sonya only exchange a half-line in the final scene. Much of the story unfolds across just three locations: a temple, a throne room, and a town square.

Some white faced ghoul guy has the power to resurrect the dead, but some come out different, and there’s an amulet the bad guys need, and we have to find ways to explain away missing elements previously established. Poor Lewis Tan gets about five seconds of screen time to address his wife and child before meeting a grisly end. The ‘arcana’ lore that previously carried so much weight can be renamed ‘Bruno’, because we don’t talk about it, replaced with everyone having ‘powers’, and the birthmarks are barely mentioned.

The story is awkward, but it eventually lines up enough to let the characters pummel each other in a series of colorful, bombastic fight sequences—which is, unsurprisingly, where the film truly excels. Fans of the original 1990s trilogy will appreciate seeing familiar locales brought to life: spike pits, acid-filled sewers, colorful portals—plenty of eye candy. The film successfully captures the look and personality of the characters, with fireballs, lightning bolts, and other spectacular effects on full display.

The martial arts sequences are thrilling, showcasing some of the best martial artists in the business with plenty of room to flex their skills. My only minor gripe is the camera work—there are an unusually high number of mid-shots for fight sequences; a few wider shots would have made the action even more impressive.

Josh Lawson continues to stand out, with his Australian “bogan” persona generating plenty of laughs. While some overseas critics may see this as a stereotype, it’s a genuine Aussie archetype—any pub-goer will recognize him. Karl Urban, a pop-culture icon thanks to his many standout nerd roles, is tremendous fun as always. It’s just a shame that Cage and Kitana weren’t introduced in the first film, as it limits their emotional development here.

Overall, Mortal Kombat 2 is solid, fun entertainment. It will likely appeal most to existing fans rather than bringing in new ones. Still, I suspect the “Kombat Kids” (my affectionate nickname for them) will get a real kick out of it.

Rating: SIX out of TEN