July 7th: Mortal Kombat II
Mortal Kombat II
Released: 2026
Directed by: Simon McQuoid
Starring: Karl Urban, Adeline Rudolph, Jessica McNamee, Josh Lawson
I will admit, I didn’t expect much from this film. When I saw the first one, I appreciated that it faithfully recreated the brutal fatalities from the modern Mortal Kombat games. I was less impressed that the story revolved around Cole Young, a character who wasn’t in the games. Combined with a performance that never quite clicked for me, it took away from what could have been a really fun movie. Mortal Kombat II addresses that immediately by shifting its focus to Johnny Cage instead. But is that enough to make for a better film?
Johnny Cage, played by Karl Urban, is a washed-up action movie star. The heroes of Earthrealm need one more champion, and the gods choose him. He gets a crash course in the Mortal Kombat tournament, the realms, the gods, and everything that comes with them. Reluctantly, he joins Earth’s champions. Honestly, though, the plot is pretty simple: good guys fight bad guys. If the bad guys win, it’s really bad for Earth.
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This movie has some great one-on-one fights. What stands out is that many of them feel slower because they’re built around actual hand-to-hand choreography instead of relying almost entirely on CGI-enhanced action. That gives the fights a more grounded feel, even if they don’t always seem as fast. The Kung Lao vs. Liu Kang fight is especially well done, as is the Baraka vs. Johnny Cage fight.
While no one is going to win any acting awards for this movie — and some performances are quite poor — a couple of actors seem to be having a lot of fun. First, carrying over from the first film, Josh Lawson is great as Kano. He’s very funny, constantly tweaking the nose of the seriousness surrounding so many of the other characters. He steals nearly every scene he’s in. Karl Urban is also having a blast as Johnny Cage. After appearing in so many big-budget genre films, he gets to play a character who openly pokes fun at those kinds of movies and embraces just how ridiculous they can be. Urban clearly understands the assignment, and his tone is infectious.
Small Observations:
- Having Hiroyuki Sanada and Joe Taslim return as Scorpion and Sub-Zero (kind of) is important for the franchise but it also is why you need a mechanism to not have to kill so many iconic characters. You just have to be careful, otherwise, the stories will have no consequences to them.
- Cole Young does appear in this movie. Then he’s quickly no longer in the movie. Talk about finding a way to get rid of a previous mistake.
- One aspect that didn’t quite work for me involves Kitana and her mother. The film establishes Kitana’s motivation through the loss of her father to Shao Kahn, so it makes sense that she would publicly serve him while secretly working against him. What I found less convincing was her mother’s apparent loyalty. If there is an in-universe explanation — whether it’s death, resurrection, magic, or something else — the movie never makes it clear enough for me. It left me wondering why one character was resisting while the other seemed to have completely surrendered.
- MCU actors: 5
Overall Rank: B
It’s a solid adaptation with some great fight scenes. While it improves on several weaknesses from the first film, it still misses on some of the performances and story beats. At least the cast seems to be having fun, and that enthusiasm carries over to the audience. You might want to give it a shot.
