Mortal Kombat II
After a more successful than not second bite at the apple of making a Mortal Kombat film, something that had already been done somewhat successfully once, Simon McQuoid and the Atomic Monster team are back to take a second bite at the apple of making a Mortal Kombat sequel, something that previously only been a miserable failure and quite possibly one of the worst films ever made. So low bar. And mostly successfully cleared! Taking lessons learned from his first attempt at a “grounded, R-rated Mortal Kombat film” McQuoid and company have ditched most what didn’t work the first time around, along with some of what did, and ended up making something not too different from Paul W.S. Anderson’s first attempt at the franchise thirty-some odd years ago.
Despite victory during the previous Mortal Kombat tournament, Earthrealm is under assault once again, this time directly from the evil emperor of Outworld, Shao Kahn (Ford) himself. Needing to bulk up Earthrealm’s forces for the coming confrontation, Lord Raiden (Asano) has pulled in a new audience surrogate to have the depths of the game’s lore explained to, this time in the form of has-been action star (and original game native) Johnny Cage (Urban). Joining the survivors of the previous film, Cage and company must mount a defense against a seemingly unstoppable foe and destroy the source of Shao Khan’s powers if they are to have any hope of saving their world.
Cheeky, cheesy and much more focused on over-the-top (to the point of silliness) violence than a ‘grounded take’ on the venerable gaming franchise, Mortal Kombat II is still a large improvement over the first film. That can almost entirely be marked down to the sidelining of original character Cole (Tan) – who worked neither in conception nor execution – and replacing him with literal movie star charisma. A more straightforward admittance by a filmmaker that their previous decision was a mistake (particularly from a film successful enough to gin up a sequel) is hard to find. And it mostly works! Urban immediately takes over every scene he is in, embodying a mixture of dynamic competence and Hollywood lethargy that is hard to combine, as both action star and comedic foil. If anything he risks upsetting what is still an ensemble, as any scene without him noticeably flags. Only Josh Lawson’s Kano (one of several dead characters making a miraculous return) can really keep up with him.
McQuoid has also shifted dramatically tone wise focusing more on silliness and a light tone, albeit trying as hard as possible (and probably too hard) to maintain an R-rating, with more of a Deadpool vibe than the previous film’s seriousness. All it lacks is a character speaking directly to camera. This is most fully summed up in the return of another piece of the game’s original setting which the first film somehow incredibly avoided – the actual tournament itself. Characters are shifted, often without warning, to familiar recreations of classic arenas for one-on-one battles which are frequently the high points of the film even when some of the effects become dodgy.
A side effect of this, and the larger cast, is a heavy emphasis on exposition, particularly in the first act as Johnny is brought up to speed on what he is being brought in to. Even Urban has difficulty doing anything with this, no matter how much he swears through it, and it continues to bog down much of the film which wants some level of emotional catharsis but has little time to build to it having ejected so much of the previous film. It also creates strange tonal clashes particularly when it reaches most forcefully back to the arrival of the first film with the return of Hiroyuki Sanada’s Scorpion, trapped in a true hell where he must continue fighting his mortal adversary because the audience requires him to.
All of that could easily work against Mortal Kombat II, but instead it bounces along aided by a strangely affable tone and a willingness to dive into its own silliness in a way everyone was afraid to the first time. It still has its problems, it might not even be the best version of a Mortal Kombat film, but it is a real improvement over the previous film. Maybe they’ll get a third try this time.
5.5 out of 10
Starring Karl Urban, Adeline Rudolph, Jessica McNamee, Josh Lawson, Ludi Lin,Mehcad Books, Tati Gabrielle, Lewis Tan, Tadanobu Asano and Hiroyuki Sanada. Directed by Simon McQuoid.