Courtney Howard // Film Critic
MORTAL KOMBAT II
Rated R, 1 hour 56 minutes
Directed by: Simon McQuoid
Starring: Karl Urban, Lewis Tan, Jessica McNamee, Josh Lawson, Ludi Lin, Joe Taslim, Hiroyuki Sanada, Adeline Rudolph, Tati Gabrielle, Martyn Ford, Mehcad Brooks, CJ Bloomfield, Tadanobu Asano, Chin Han, Max Huang
After an acceptable, if not flawed, victory with the reboot of the MORTAL KOMBAT franchise back in 2021, director Simon McQuoid returns 5 years later with a defeated, almost deflated sequel, MORTAL KOMBAT II. This second chapter, centered on a down-on-his-luck actor joining a diverse crew of fighters out to save the Earthrealm from a nasty adversary, attempts to entertain with bigger, bolder, bloodier gameplay. However, with an overabundance of characters and barely enough interest in properly developing more than 3 of them, in addition to a thoroughly contrived narrative that puts its dumb, dense plot above action and spectacle, the kicks and punches fail to land.
McQuoid’s follow-up feature wastes no time rehashing what we saw in his directorial debut. And for as streamlined as the first was, this continuation is rather sloppy. We’re tasked to both remember and forget various details of what we saw prior. We left off seeing MMA fighter Cole Young (Lewis Tan) hit the road in hopes to recruit arrogant action hero Johnny Cage (Karl Urban) to help his crew battle in the upcoming Mortal Kombat tournament against the reigning champions of Outerworld, led by Shang Tsung (Chin Han). But who shows up through a lightning portal instead is ex-military Sonya Blade (Jessica McNamee) and Lord Raiden (Tadanobu Asano), emploring him to help them fight against beefy baddie Shao Kahn (Martyn Ford) and his evil entrants.
As Lord Raiden, Cole, Sonya, fireball-fisted Liu Kang (Ludi Lin) and ultra-buff war vet Jax (Mehcad Brooks) convince the reluctant hero to join their team, Shao Khan is prepping his warriors – adopted daughter Kitana (Adeline Rudolph), her loyal bestie Jade (Tati Gabrielle), a zombie-fied Kung Lao (Max Huang) and resurrected Bi-Han/ Subzero (Joe Taslim) – for combat. Fan service-driven match-ups take place in a variety of ugly CGI’d locations, setting the showdowns in a minimalist spike pit, a desolate temple in the cosmos, and a dungeon with a bubbling moat. Mayhem further ensues as Shao Khan inches closer to re-charging a mystical amulet that would grant him god-like power and the gang must work together to stop this from happening.
It’s not a tall order that a film based on popular videogames at least be fun. Sadly, McQuoid and writer Jeremy Slater find it all too challenging to deliver the goods. There’s too much going on that’s all poorly integrated. There’s the rescue of Kitana’s mom, Queen Sindel (Ana Thu Nguyen) and people from the hands of a disgusting despot ruler; everything surrounding the McGuffin-esque amulet; Johnny’s self-doubts; Lord Raiden’s adversarial relationship with Shang Tsung, as well as a revived clash between Bi-Han/ Sub-Zero and Hanzo Hasashi/ Scorpion (Hiroyuki Sanada); and Kitana and Jade’s falling out. Sonya, Jaxx and Cole all suffer as they’re treated as props.
Rarely does the picture feel rousing outside of one big set piece where Johnny, Jax, Liu and Sonya visit Baraka (CJ Bloomfield) and his clan to arrange an ally ship against their oppressors. This comedically choreographed, character-forward sequence – featuring Johnny’s internal and external stakes at the forefront – contains a buoyant energy, tapping into a humorous wit, conducting a lively energy and engaging with Yôhei Taneda’s practical production design as our hero strategically evades defeat.
Though Johnny’s trajectory is standard hero’s journey we’ve seen dozen of times on screen before and Kitana’s is a no-frills revenge arc fueled by daddy issues, it’s nice to see the filmmakers connect the pair’s struggles in the film’s 3rd act climax. Blessedly, slippery mercenary Kano (Josh Lawson) and his biting, sarcastic charm return to give life to the fairly dead proceedings. Urban, Rudolph, Lawson and Gabrielle all elevate their lackluster material, gifting their performances swagger and an admirable dose of steely pathos.
Kitana and Jade’s joint sisterhood highlighted in the 1st act is dealt short shrift when, later, the dynamic duo become enemies for all of one scene before quickly morphing back into being friends again with no earned motivation for that change. Robotic, hokey dialogue is frequently recited with cardboard delivery by the ensemble, making us wonder why the filmmakers included momentum-halting expository speech dumps at all. Unfortunately, on the whole, the fight choreography isn’t nearly as compelling as the previous iteration where we could sense the driving force of the fisticuffs and we were given rooting interest. Gory, emptily caloric bifurcations and other fatalities are all well and good, but the build up to those severely underwhelms.
All that stuff about the birthmarks that the first film repetitiously dwelled on is gone, replaced by sentiments that heroism isn’t inherited, nor part of destiny, but earned through self-reflection and conquering self-doubt. It’s heartening to hear a father tell his daughter that true strength is stored in the head and heart and then see that put into play. What should all read as subtext is utilized as actual text, making the filmmakers spoon-fed commentary less impactful. Still, while no one expects nuance or subtleties where bloody hyper-violence is the name of the game, these lessons read as more audacious than the gnarly elements themselves.
Grade: 2 out of 5
MORTAL KOMBAT II will play theaters on May 8.
