'Mortal Kombat II' review: Karl Urban's Johnny Cage steals the show

Courtesy of Warner Bros.

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The video game adaptation pipeline is alive and well and, supposedly, there was enough goodwill from 2021’s forgettable “Mortal Kombat” to warrant a sequel, but that’s mainly because they needed one. The biggest issue with Simon McQuoid’s bloodthirsty but ultimately tired rehash of the popular video game series was that it existed almost entirely as a setup for this installment. “Mortal Kombat II” finally makes good on that promise, and while some of that investment pays off, I’m still not convinced the juice was worth the squeeze.

If 2021’s “Mortal Kombat” functioned as an expensive proof of concept, essentially a “look at all the characters you love in live action” pitch, then “Mortal Kombat II” is the glue the studio hopes will hold this wobbly franchise together. It’s a more engaging film this time around, but that improvement is far from consistent. A lot of that goodwill rests squarely on Karl Urban’s Johnny Cage, who ends up being the movie’s most valuable asset and, at times, its only real spark of life.

Whenever he’s off screen, the film noticeably sags, leaving you stuck with a hackneyed story about Earth on the brink of destruction and a collection of returning characters you’d be forgiven for barely remembering. Sonya Blade (Jessica McNamee), Jax Briggs (Mechad Brooks), and Cole Young (Lewis Tan) are all given material, but very little of it sticks, with Tan especially sidelined despite once being positioned as the franchise lead. The movie tries to juggle a large roster, but it rarely gives any of them enough definition to matter. Even moments that should land with impact feel oddly disposable. When Hiroyuki Sanada shows up late in the game reprising his role as Scorpion, I did a split take thinking he was reprising his character from “Shogun”, which says more about how thinly the film reconnects us with him than anything else.

To the film’s credit, it doesn’t waste much time getting us into the action. After all, the last film already spent two hours hashing out the rules of this universe and teasing the grand tournament. “Mortal Kombat II” at least understands that people showed up to finally see that payoff, and it delivers it quickly. That efficiency is refreshing, even if the film can’t help but scatter breadcrumbs for future installments, making it feel just as preoccupied with franchise-building as it is with telling a complete story.

Like the first film, we get an extended prologue detailing a previous Mortal Kombat tournament. This time, it centers on Emperor Shao Kahn (Martyn Ford) brutally killing King Jerrod (Desmond Chiam) and taking over Edenia in front of his family. It’s a functional piece of setup that establishes the stakes, even if it lacks a sense of urgency or emotional weight. It does its job, nothing more.

From there, the film shifts to Johnny Cage, introduced in a pitch-perfect bit of self-aware comedy as the star of a hilariously overblown, straight-to-VHS-style action movie. Karl Urban fully commits to the bit, bringing a mix of arrogance and insecurity that instantly makes Cage more compelling than anyone else on screen. When Raiden (Tadanobu Asano) shows up to recruit him, the movie wisely avoids over-explaining and just lets Urban’s performance carry the character.

That gamble pays off. Cage injects the movie with personality and momentum every time he appears, and his chemistry with Kano (Josh Lawson) is easily the film’s most entertaining dynamic. Both actors understand exactly what kind of movie this should be, leaning into the absurdity without completely undercutting the stakes.

Unfortunately, Jeremy Slater’s screenplay struggles to keep up with them. The story feels scatterbrained, bouncing between characters and plot threads without ever building real momentum. Princess Kitana (Adeline Rudolph) and Jade (Tati Gabrielle) are introduced with the promise of importance, but like much of the ensemble, they’re underserved by a script that prioritizes moving pieces into place over giving them meaningful arcs. Instead of a cohesive narrative, the film often plays like a collection of loosely connected moments designed to set up the next fight. It knows what audiences want to see, but it doesn’t always know how to get there in a satisfying way.

That said, when the film does lock in, it delivers. It fully embraces its R-rating, throwing around bloody dismemberments like a badge of honor and recapturing flashes of what made the games so appealing in the first place. There’s a standout sequence midway through where Cage squares off against Baraka (CJ Bloomfield), brought to life through impressive prosthetics, that feels like the movie firing on all cylinders. It’s focused, inventive, and unapologetically brutal.

Moments like that highlight what works here, but they also underline what’s missing elsewhere. The environments lack personality, failing to capture the vibrant, larger-than-life energy fans expect. The stakes are constantly spelled out, yet rarely felt. And the characters, outside of a select few, never evolve beyond their function within the plot.

Still, there’s an understanding, at least in bursts, of what people show up for. The film is at its best when it lets the drama take a backseat and leans into relentless violence and spectacle. That eagerness is admirable and often fun, even if it comes at the cost of narrative cohesion.

Ultimately, “Mortal Kombat II” is a step up from its predecessor, but not a decisive one. It finally delivers on the long-promised tournament and benefits immensely from Karl Urban’s performance, yet it still feels like a franchise figuring itself out as it goes. There’s enjoyment to be found here, particularly for fans willing to embrace the chaos, but it never quite comes together as something greater than the sum of its parts.

Grade: C+ 

MORTAL KOMBAT II is now playing in theaters.