Having just watched Mortal Kombat II, I can honestly say that this movie is made for the fans! It has a lot of fan service which is great, but if you’re not familiar with the games or the basic story then you might feel lost and think the movie is hokey. But one of the best things about this sequel is it knows its audience and was made specifically for the fans of the game. Mortal Kombat has always been my favorite fighting game. I’m a fan, but I’m also a critic so expect some harsh honesty about this movie. However, let me just say, yes, I enjoyed it, I will certainly watch it again, and if you’re a fan of the game then you should definitely see the movie. Stories based off video games don’t have the greatest track record and a lot of them try to reinvent the story and as well as look of the game. Those are certainly some interesting artistic choices, but when we get right down to it especially as nerds, we want the fan service and we want to watch a story based off a game that makes us feel like we’re playing the game all over again…this movie just like the first one certainly does that.
The sequel picks right back up after the first one that came out in 2021 and whereas the story in the first movie was about finding Earth’s mightiest warriors to fight in Mortal Kombat, the sequel delves into the actual tournament itself as well as giving a little bit of its backstory. The stakes are higher in the sequel because only Earth Realm remains free from the dominion of Shao Kahn. The film opens with him taking control of Kitana’s home world, which also sets up her story nicely along with the character of Jade. You don’t necessarily need to know the lore of Mortal Kombat or any of the story modes from the previous games, but it helps because like I said, this movie is definitely for the fans. However, for anybody who’s been playing the game the last 30 years, the story has constantly reinvented itself around the idea of the Mortal Kombat tournament and just like DC or Marvel comics, Mortal Kombat also has parallel universes and time travel. But this particular story is very much grounded in the original lore of the video game, so the story is not too hard to follow. Now what really makes this movie good is you get an interesting story along with a lot of great action. The fight scenes are amazing, and the filmmakers did a great job actually capturing the fight choreography from the games right down to the fatalities of each character. Every character has a unique and gruesome type of fatality. But this film and the previous one unlike the original ’90s versions really does capture the fight choreography from the game making it feel like you’re actually playing … I love that. More than once I found myself saying, “I’ve done that move.” Mortal Kombat is very much an action movie, the story is not going to have the same emotional weight as something like the Last of Us and this movie perfectly captures the action. In some ways it feels like an old school ’80s or ’90s action movie that gamers my age grew up with. I think the movie knows exactly what kind of film it’s supposed to be and that’s what makes it work. It’s not perfect and of course I have some minor criticisms. I warned you!
For me when you do a movie based on a video game, you got to get the casting right or the movie isn’t going to work at all. The casting in this film and the first one is almost perfect, a lot better than the ’90s versions. Actually using a phenomenal Asian cast for Asian characters in the game was a big step in the right direction. One of my biggest complaints from the ’90s movies which I still have a lot of nostalgia for is casting Christopher Lambert as Lord Raiden…casting a French guy to play an Asian character is just wrong. Tadanobu Asano is perfect as Raiden. Adeline Rudolph nails it as Kitana. But probably the best casting is Karl Urban as Johnny Cage. He nailed it just as he did playing Dr. McCoy in the Star Trek movies and while Johnny Cage may not be the best character to play with in the game, he certainly the most fun. However, my biggest criticism and it has nothing to do with the actress talk Tati Gabrielle, but she is completely miscast as Jade. Where as they certainly got the right look of every other character, this one I’m a little upset about because I love Jade and to get it so completely wrong except for her staff is just annoying. But again Tati is a great actress and she was phenomenal in season 2 of The Last of Us.
To make this film believable you have to have a cast that truly embodies the characters not only with their performance but with the look and let’s not forget that the original Mortal Kombat game, actually scanned real performers and made them digital versions of the characters, which was something new at the time so when I look at the cast I want to imagine that I’m playing them in the game. Despite the film being for the most part an action movie, I do think they could have spent a little bit more time exploring the lore especially if there’s going to be future stories and there’s plenty of story to work with considering one of the characters is a necromancer who can bring people back from the dead.
As a gamer, I want to feel like I’m playing the game when I’m watching a story based on a video game. For the most part they did that right Because I immediately got home and wanted to start playing Mortal Kombat. Now even if the story feels a little all over the place and sometimes hard to follow especially if you’re not familiar with Mortal Kombat, the action which is the main focal point will certainly entertain you and when you go to a theater to see a movie like this it’s all about the entertainment. So in the end, I was entertained and I applaud the filmmakers for capturing the feel of the video game not only the classic versions but the newer versions and getting the cast right for the most part. Mortal Kombat II is a worthy sequel that elevates the story and the action that we get from playing the game. It very much feels like an old school action movie from my childhood that I still love to watch today and as a nerd…as a mortal Kombat fan, that’s all I need. I’m sure I’m not alone. And lastly, this movie is ‘nerd approved!”
