Who Doesn’t Like A Good, Old-Fashioned Tournament?
*Author’s note: to read the pdf version of this review, click here
When Warner Brothers released their Mortal Kombat film franchise relaunch direct to streaming in 2021, the stakes were pretty low, despite the film’s budget being a cool $55 million. Covid was a thing, and for film goers, Mortal Kombat wasn’t. However, director Simon McQuoid was able to recapture the success of the original Mortal Kombat movie (and erase the stink left behind by its sequel–which, to this day, might still have some of the absolute worst CGI of all time) by simply sticking to the video game franchise’s lore, and by highlighting the struggle between two of the game’s most popular characters: Sub-Zero and Scorpion. I enjoyed the 2021 film, and WB earned some good graces from me for having the guts to still entertain people who were now effectively stuck at home, but that doesn’t mean the first film was without flaws. Truly, it seemed like the biggest complaint was that the movie had nothing to do with the actual MK tournament itself. This wasn’t really an issue to me, as I have always been a huge fan of the video game franchise–especially Sub-Zero and Scorpion–and felt that the film franchise really needed a more concise jumping off point. Eventually though, the tournament would have to take center stage!
I’m happy to report that McQuoid and company didn’t only do the tournament itself justice, but (in my opinion) might have produced the single best live action video game film adaptation yet! Seriously, if you are even remotely a fan of the Mortal Kombat video game franchise, you will find something to love in this movie!
As soon as the opening credits roll on Mortal Kombat II, you know you are going to get that nostalgia fix based purely on their design. And it never lets up! To say this movie is “fan service” is an understatement: you have classic Mortal Kombat stages expertly reproduced, a plethora of characters (many of which we are seeing in live action for the first time), and a stripped down, easy to follow version of the tournament. Add in good enough fight scenes (more on that in the cinematography discussion), and a lot of well placed humor, and you have a surefire recipe for success!
Let’s start with the cinematography. Stephen Windon finally takes a break from the Fast and Furious franchise to take over the reins here, and director McQuoid and writer Jeremy Slater give him three different realms to work with: Earthrealm, Outworld, and Netherrealm. Windon and production designer Yohei Tanada do a good job visually differentiating the realms from one another–especially Neherrealm–so that the audience is able to keep up with where the action is taking place. The film’s CGI is fine–it’s not the most stunning visual movie you will see all year by any means, but it gets the job done! Special kudos go out to costume designer Cappi Ireland here, who absolutely nails each and every character’s look!
While the film does boast good enough visual components, the one aspect that I will say is somewhat lacking is the combat itself. That’s not to say that coordinators Kyle Gardiner, Michael Lehr, and Maley Kim don’t deserve credit for the fight scenes–they most definitely do–it’s just that you are not going to leave Mortal Kombat II thinking that you just witnessed any all-time great fight scenes. What I will say about the fight scenes is that, much like the costumes, the movie does nail each individual character’s unique movesets–including their signature moves and powers–and that is a huge win on its own. I could have done with a few more fatalities myself, but that’s the gore hound in me talking!
Performance wise, Mortal Kombat II for me has two surefire standouts: Karl Urban as Johnny Cage (who is more-or-less the co main character next to Adeline Rudolph’s Kitana) and Josh Lawson as Kano. Both Urban and Lawson display great comedic chops, adding a level of whimsey and fun to what would otherwise be a pretty grim affair. Lawson is an absolute show stealer, dropping line after line with expert level comedic timing, making Kano one of the film’s unsung heroes. This isn’t to say that Cage and Kano are the only two characters that feel fully fleshed out–far from it actually; Slater actually did a great job capturing each and every character’s video game personality. Special kudos go to C.J. Bloomfield’s Baraka–who has easily the best ongoing gag of the entire movie–and the always fantastic Hiroyuki Sanada–who really provides that sense of umph that you want out of a great cameo (and that’s not really a spoiler, as they show Scorpion in the trailer)!
Mortal Kombat II is a full-blown love letter to fans of the video game series, but it’s also a great throwback to cheesy late 80’s and early 90’s action flicks. The movie’s enjoyability does go up significantly depending upon how familiar the viewer is with the lore of the video games, but that doesn’t mean that there isn’t an enjoyable little summer action movie here that deserves a watch, as well as warrants a third entry!