After multiple production delays and at least one release date change, Mortal Kombat II, the sequel to Mortal Kombat, a big- and small-screen adaptation of the long-running videogame franchise, arrives in theaters with “the soft bigotry of low expectations” firmly in mind. Coined twenty years ago to describe the failed George W. Bush administration’s efforts during the Iraq War, it also perfectly describes IP (intellectual property) like Mortal Kombat and its multimedia offshoots (comics, animated TV series, film) of varying, sometimes negligible, quality.
Originally developed by Ed Boon and John Tobias for Midway Games in the early 1990s, Mortal Kombat won over arcade fans through the combination of addictive, button-mashing gameplay, easily digestible, tournament-based lore, and graphic, cartoonish ultra-violence: in-game “Fatalities” that allowed players to finish their defeated opponents in a cruelly hilarious, gory manner. Unsurprisingly, Mortal Kombat won over every new generation that discovered — or rediscovered — Outworld, Earthrealm, and the tournament fighters that populated the videogame as it crossed over into every major console and format.
Up-converting Mortal Kombat from its video arcade origins into cinema (or its nearest equivalent), however, turned out to be a challenge set to the greatest difficulty for the videogame’s rights-holders. An initial attempt ended abruptly after a second, commercially unsuccessful entry in 1997, leaving Mortal Kombat’s diehard fans adrift in disappointment. A new entry became stuck in development hell for two decades. Eventually greenlit in 2019 and released two years later, the reboot achieved modest box-office numbers and streaming success, a significant plus for Warner Bros. during a multi-year global pandemic.
Delivering on the promise of its predecessor (more videogame fights, the bloodier and more brutal, the better), Mortal Kombat II opens with a sure, if not exactly assured, sign of things to come: The last round in a long-running, interdimensional tournament between Edenia and Outworld, the former ruled by a benevolent king, Jerrod (Desmond Chiam), the latter by a tyrannical despot, Shao Kahn (Martyn Ford), winner take both worlds. While the sword-wielding Jerrod wears protective, medieval-inspired armor, Shao Kahn hides his face behind a horned mask. Twice Jerrod’s size, Shao Kahn also wields a massive, Thor-inspired hammer, blunt on one side, a meat tenderizer on the other.
Unsurprisingly, Jerrod loses everything in the fight: his world, Edenia, his queen, Sindel (Ana Thu Nguyen), and his preteen daughter, Kitana (Sophia Xu), to the cruel, ruthless Shao Kahn. Edenia’s new ruler adopts Kitana as his daughter. She grows into a resentful woman (Adeline Rudolph), training daily with her chief guard, Jade (Tati Gabrielle), honing her fighting skills, and waiting for the day and time when she can dethrone her stepfather and, not incidentally, free her people from his tyranny.
So far, so good as far as fantasy-adventure set-ups go. The prologue and subsequent, present-day events turn Kitana into Mortal Kombat II’s lead/protagonist. A parallel arc centers on fan-favorite Johnny Cage (Karl Urban), a has-been action-star several decades past his sell-by date. Held back by casual cynicism and a touch of self-loathing, Cage doesn’t so much fight as talk his way out of — or in one memorable scene, into — one scrape after another. His fighting skills are no match for his verbal, meta-fictional skills, but with another half-dozen, roster-filling characters waiting their turn to fight in the film’s central tournament, it’s of minor consequence.
The 2021 reboot’s central character, Cole Young (Lewis Tan), a franchise newcomer not present in the videogame series, also returns for the sequel, but only in a supporting capacity. Mortal Kombat II primarily belongs to Kitana and Cole, with everyone else, including Sonya Blade (Jessica McNamee), Jax (Mehcad Brooks), and Liu Kang (Ludi Lin), relegated to secondary or supporting roles. Each, though, gets a life-or-death fight of their own, but only Liu Kang, facing off against a revenant version of Kung Lao (Max Huang). The latter wields his trademark razor-rimmed, wide-brimmed hat as a weapon, repeatedly forcing Liu Kang to dodge not only Kung Lao’s expert attack, but his deadly hat too.
Such as it is, the over-busy plot involves the tenth and final tournament between Outworld and Earthrealm, with another winner-take-all scenario, a magic amulet that imparts invincibility and immortality in its bonded wearer, and a lengthy side quest to the Netherworld where the surviving heroes fight a resurrected Bi-Han / Sub-Zero (Joe Taslim) with the aid of an undead Hanzo Hasashi / Scorpion (Hiroyuki Sanada). That underworld fight unfolds just as the tournament reaches its conclusion topside, Earthrealm all but destined to lose and Outworld poised to win and destroy everything that brings meaning to Earthrealm’s population.
Story has always played a backup role in the Mortal Kombat franchise, and Mortal Kombat II is no exception. Unnecessarily convoluted, filled with periodic scenes crammed with exposition and lore, and low on internal logic, Mortal Kombat II succeeds or fails on the quality and quantity of mystically powered fight scenes. Add to that obligatory ultra-violence, gnarly gore, and shedloads of (CGI) blood, and Mortal Kombat II delivers everything franchise fans want from a big-screen adaptation.
Mortal Kombat II opens theatrically in North America on Friday, May 8th, via Warner Bros. Pictures.
