“Mortal Kombat II” is a movie that will be most enjoyed by fans of the series, if the audience reaction at my showing is any indication. For non-fans or those new to the Mortal Kombat franchise, there are some interesting characters and engaging, if sometimes gruesome, fight scenes. The film has a sense of humor which lightens the tension and can be quite funny.

Full disclosure: I have seen the 1995 picture “Mortal Kombat,” although some years ago. Other than that, I have not played the video games. Nor have I seen the preceding 2021 film, “Mortal Kombat.” So I am practically a tabula rasa when it comes to this franchise.

The story begins with a prequel of sorts. Outworld is engaged in a contest to absorb Edenia. Other fighters for Edenia have been defeated. A final battle between King Jerrod (Desmond Chiam) and Outworld leader Shao Kahn (Martyn Ford) is fought. Jerrod loses and is killed. Jerrod’s young daughter Princess Kitana (Sophia Xu) witnesses this spectacle. All fall under the rule of Outworld now.

The action cuts to the future where an older Kitana (Adeline Rudolph) and her guard/fight instructor Jade (Tati Gabrielle) are practicing their moves. Kitana regards Jade as a sister, although Jade has been tasked by Shao Kahn to keep an eye on Kitana.

Kitana is prepared to be a warrior in the upcoming battle between Earth and Outworld. Each team will have five fighters who compete. The winner rules the other realm.

There is a great sequence showing a clip from a Johnny Cage (Karl Urban) movie. He single-handedly defeats multiple thugs in a dazzling display of fight skill.

Cut to modern-day where Johnny Cage sits at a booth by himself, ignored by attendees at a fan convention. His days of glory appear to be over. He goes to his car to load his gear. A blue and white light display heralds the arrival of Sonya Blade (Jessica McNamee) and Lord Raiden (Tadanobu Asano). Lord Raiden is leading the crew who will battle to defend the Earth against Outworld.

They appeal to Cage that he is needed to fight in this supreme conflict that will decide the fate of the Earth. Cage is intrigued enough to go through the dimensional portal to the fortress of Lord Raiden. There he witnesses a fight between Jax Briggs (Mehcad Brooks), Liu Kang (Ludi Lin), and Cole Young aka Scorpion (Lewis Tan). Each of them have magical elements that enhance their fighting ability.

Cage states that he has no powers. Lord Raiden turns philosophical and tries to convince him to help. But it is no-go for Cage.

In a twist, Kitana actually is allied with the forces of the Earth. She secretly crosses the dimensional barrier to talk with Lord Raiden and his allies. Shao Kahn seems to be unaware of this. But Jade catches Kitana and warns her about her infidelity to Outworld.
What follows are several battles complicated by Shao Kahn’s acquisition of an amulet that makes him immortal. The Earth team has to interact with the Tarkatans, creatures with outside needle teeth and retractable arm blades. Who will win?

I am generally not a fan of fantasy. One reason is the need to learn sometimes egregiously exaggerated names of people and places. Another reason is that the lore is not compelling enough to keep my interest.

In the case of this movie, I admit that I find the whole idea that no one but a chosen few know that the Earth is endangered by an alien race to be ludicrous. This may work in a video game where no exposition is needed, but in a medium that requires some believability, the picture fails on that score.

The film also does not do much to explicate what Outworld is like. You see the art direction of the castle and a city’s streets, which looks like dark, gothic, medieval architecture. But then you see Kitana and Jade fighting in a forest. There is no cohesive attempt to elucidate the structure or geography of this realm.

I wasn’t impressed by the scenes in Lord Raiden’s fortress. It looked like a cheap model. It was too stark for no reason. The film made no effort as well to explain how Lord Raiden became the go-to person for fighting Outworld.

I also disliked the amulet giving immortality to Shao Kahn. This is an ultimate deus ex machina. It is akin to the inability of anyone to kill Michael Myers, Freddie Krueger, and take-your-pick Friday the 13th killer. I consider it an ultimate cheat.

But what about the fight scenes? These are universally well-choreographed. When magic or special weapons are involved, this enhances the action. The visual effects are top-notch. I also enjoyed the creative and sometimes gruesome manner in which some of the characters were dispatched. It almost added an element of horror to the picture.

This is essentially all that this film is about: a showcase for fights. All of the other exposition, such as the tired pop psychology of Lord Raiden when he tries to convince Cage to fight, is poorly written. I also grew weary of Cage’s wishy-washy attitude and the extended screen time devoted to these scenes.

On the other hand, the introduction of the Tarkatans added a necessary dose of humor and great make-up effects to the movie. The fight between Cage and the head of the Tarkatans is hilariously staged. The outcome where Cage becomes a legend to the creatures is delightful.

I will say that I enjoyed Karl Urban when he was being humorous. Otherwise the dialogue gives him nothing to work with at all. Josh Lawson as Kano is perfect and a stand-out of plain-spoken, crass thoughts and humor. His reference to necromancer Quan Chi (Damon Herriman) as looking like “Voldemort’s nut-sack” cracked me up.

So, since I cannot judge how true this is to the lore of the Mortal Kombat universe, I have to judge the film for what it appeared to me to be. I did laugh and was engaged by the fights. I didn’t care for the lore or the lack of effort in explaining it in a clearer manner. A few characters caught my interest, but all were disposable cogs when a death was needed. There is no end-credit scene, but a final scene sets up a third installment.

This is a good popcorn movie if you don’t think too much and can endure the time between the action scenes.

Two and a half out of five stars

From New Line Cinema comes the latest high-stakes installment in the blockbuster video game franchise in all its brutal glory, Mortal Kombat II. This time, the fan favorite champions—now joined by Johnny Cage himself—are pitted against one another in the ultimate, no-holds barred, gory battle to defeat the dark rule of Shao Kahn that threatens the very existence of the Earthrealm and its defenders.

Cast: Karl Urban, Adeline Rudolph, Jessica McNamee, Josh Lawson, Ludi Lin, Mehcad Brooks, Tati Gabrielle, Lewis Tan, Damon Herriman, with Chin Han, Tadanobu Asano, Joe Taslim, and Hiroyuki Sanada
Directed by: Simon McQuoid
Screenplay by: Jeremy Slater
Based on the videogame created by Ed Boon and John Tobias