Mortal Kombat II - Movie Review

I had a pretty decent time with the 2021 Mortal Kombat. Was it dumb? Absolutely. Was it messy? Definitely. But it understood one important thing: people mainly showed up to watch iconic characters beat each other to death in gloriously over-the-top fashion, and on that level, it delivered enough dumb gory fun to work as a solid popcorn movie.

Thankfully, Mortal Kombat II improves on that formula in almost every way.

This sequel finally gives fans what they wanted the first time around: the actual tournament. And honestly, that alone already makes this movie far more entertaining than its predecessor. Instead of spending most of the runtime awkwardly setting things up, the film jumps right into the chaos as Earthrealm’s champions prepare to face off against the forces of Outworld and the looming threat of Shao Kahn.

The biggest improvement here is easily the action. The fight choreography is significantly better this time around, with faster pacing, more creativity, and way more brutal energy. The movie fully embraces the insanity of the games and turns several fights into absolute crowd-pleasers. The fatalities are gloriously disgusting, the gore is excessive in the best possible way, and the sound design makes every punch, stab, bone snap, and spine rip feel satisfyingly brutal. This movie wants the audience to cheer during violence, and honestly, I did.

And then there’s as Johnny Cage.

Perfect casting.

Karl Urban completely understands the assignment here. He steals almost every scene he’s in with this cocky washed-up action star energy that fits Johnny Cage perfectly. He’s funny without becoming unbearable comic relief, and he actually brings a surprising amount of charisma to the movie. The second he shows up, the entire film gets more entertaining.

One thing I also appreciated is how insanely fast-paced the movie is. This thing moves. Sometimes maybe a little too fast, but compared to a lot of modern blockbusters that feel bloated and overlong, I’ll absolutely take a movie that keeps the momentum going. There’s barely time to breathe between fights, betrayals, fatalities, and ridiculous lore reveals.

That said, the movie isn’t flawless.

There are a few moments where the green screen becomes distractingly obvious, especially during some of the larger arena and fantasy environments. Certain shots genuinely look unfinished, and it occasionally takes you out of the movie when characters suddenly look like they’re standing inside a video game cutscene.

There’s also a stretch in the middle where the tournament essentially pauses so the movie can go on this narrative side quest involving exposition and character setup. It hurts the pacing pretty badly because the film had built such strong momentum beforehand. Thankfully it eventually gets back on track, but it’s definitely the weakest section of the movie.

Still, this is exactly the kind of sequel I wanted. It’s louder, gorier, funnier, more action-packed, and far more confident in embracing the ridiculous appeal of . It’s not trying to be prestige cinema. It’s trying to entertain fans with insane fights, iconic characters, and buckets of blood — and for the most part, it succeeds.

If you hated the first movie, this probably won’t completely change your mind. But if you enjoyed it as dumb violent fun like I did, Mortal Kombat II is a major upgrade.

Grade: 8/10

Review by Dylan Goebel

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