Every video game adaption can be taken in with a big grain of salt on the big screen. It’s hard enough to make a movie, let alone adapt a satisfactory version of an extremely popular IP with rich lore and beloved characters. I’m one to accept the necessity of change amid medium transfers. Games are games for a reason and movie adaptions are always going to come with some challenges and necessary alterations. So when I critique Mortal Kombat 2 it’s important to understand that no part of me will cry foul for it not looking and feeling like I’m watching someone play the game version. I did that a lot in my youth as I wasn’t allowed to have the game. I don’t need to relive it in adulthood.
If I wanted to see the full story of the game, I can fire up the game itself or watch all of the game’s story in a mega cutscene compilation on YouTube. No, the problems with Mortal Kombat 2 have nothing to do with my own personal fan fiction. There a myriad of problems with this latest attempt far beyond the need to watch the exact game replica at the theater. Slightly improved from the abysmal predecessor, Mortal Kombat 2 attempts to ramp up the camp and action at the expense of a coherent story. Garish visuals, shoddy editing, overstuffed character inclusions, an unnecessary 2 hour long runtime and baffling pacing make Mortal Kombat 2 a hard watch most of the time.
It’s Bad, But Not The Worst
Simply put, Mortal Kombat 2 is pretty bad, but it’s also somehow not the worst Mortal Kombat movie out there. That belongs to Annihilation, which is a pretty low bar to clear seeing as it’s one of the worst movies ever made. There’s much more dumb fun baked into this latest attempt, and I’m sure plenty of people will forgive its many flaws for Kung Lao’s cool looking hat trick. For all my harsh criticisms, I’d be lying if I said there weren’t times where I threw my hands up and enjoyed the ride. The biggest problem? Those moments were too few and far between to be worth the time spent slogging through to the next fight.
It’s only real success is placing Karl Urban front and center and (spoiler alert but not really) bringing back Kano (Josh Lawson). Both men are hilarious and ooze with charm and snark, fully committed to the campy bits and seem to really understand the assignment of a video game movie. Though he looks awful during the fight scenes even with doubles, Urban knows exactly who Johnny Cage is and brings him to life perfectly. There’s a great extended bit with a fight between him and Baraka (CJ Bloomfield) that becomes a running gag, and it is easily the best looking and well staged fight scene in the film.
Lots of Fights but No Story or Stakes
Mortal Kombat 2 can’t seem to find the balance between camp and story, with only a select few actors and story arcs delivering knowing performances and the rest taking themselves way too serious. It’s a fatal flaw from Simon McQuoid’s direction and Jeremy Slater’s messy script, who both seem to have taken the wrong lessons from their first attempt, making Mortal Kombat 2 a baffling movie going experience. Yes, it gives fans an actual tournament this time, but removes all the stakes with a silly mcGuffin amulet side quest ripped from MK9 but only at a 10% cliff notes ratio. Outside of Urban’s delightful performance, everyone and everything else is just going through the motions. Most characters are left waiting in the lobby until the music kicks in and a new fight begins.
The thing is, none of this matters to most people watching Mortal Kombat 2. You wanted more fights? Well, this sequel gives you one every 10 minutes. Do you care that it looks visually atrocious? Probably not, because at the very least McQuoid knows how to jingle the keys. Do fans care about the lack of story or extremely underdeveloped characters? Why would you when you get to watch Shao Kahn (Martyn Ford) swing that big old hammer and bash someone’s head in? No, these things don’t need to make sense if they make you giddy for game violence splattered across the big screen.
Final Thoughts
The film leaves us at an impasse: valid critiques rendered pointless due to Mortal Kombat 2’s dumb fun approach, making it impervious to criticism. Whether that’s wrong or right doesn’t really matter. While I found this sequel to be frustrating, awful to look at and left the theater wondering if this really is the best we’re ever gonna get, most moviegoers will dig the hell out of Mortal Kombat 2. And that’s just fine. Love what you love. Bad movies can be a whole lot of fun, and if it gives you what you wanted then punch in that code for a fatality. I won’t stop you. Personally, I think we deserve better, but I’m fine if we never get another one.
I’ll give Mortal Kombat 2 this: it did give me my one big wish with the brutal, early death of *redacted* and I found that to be toasty, so I can’t be too mad.
