Mortal Kombat II review (2026)

Mortal Kombat II does exactly what a film based on a popular property should do — focus on pleasing the franchise fans.

Thanks to that approach, Mortal Kombat II is an anomaly for live action video games. It delivers exactly what those who would be excited about a Mortal Kombat game would expect. Maybe it’s not flawless, but it’s an immensely satisfying experience making for one of the more crowd-pleasing action films of the year.

Director Simon McQuoid returns for Mortal Kombat II seemingly emboldened with getting another crack at staging dramatically brutal action scenes and focusing more on franchise fan-favorite characters making for an improvement over the surprisingly solid first film.

Lord Raiden (Asano Tadanobu, the Thor franchise) rallies Liu Kang (Ludi Lin, Power Rangers), Jax (Mechad Brooks, Supergirl), Sonya Blade (Jessica McNamee, The Meg) and Cole (Lewis Tan) for the latest tournament, which once again puts Earthrealm in danger of being conquered by the feared warlord Shao Khan (the towering 6’8″ Martyn Ford who looks every bit the part). With the death of Kung Lao (Max Huang), Raiden needs another combatant.

Mortal Kombat II pays off the post credit tease from the first game with the arrival of fan favorite Johnny Cage (Karl Urban). The wait was worth it as screenwriter Jeremy Slater (Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire) gets exactly how to best utilize the character right from his intro scene in a cheesy 90s movie before showing his present fading glory as a regular on the pop culture con circuit.

Cage wants little to do with Raiden’s recruiting pitch and definitely has no interest in fighting in a tournament to the death. Urban’s line delivery and overall bravado is superb as he brings a Jack Burton swagger to the role. Slater takes advantage of the numerous characters in the Warner Bros. Pictures family with references to Harry Potter and meta-references to The Lord of the Rings trilogy, which Urban also joined in the second installment.

Slater benefits from not having to explain the entire concept of the fight to the death tournament making use of the video game lore to tell this story. This allows him to spotlight another new addition to Mortal Kombat II — Kitana (Adeline Rudolph). Kitana’s father was killed by Shao Khan, who decided to take her and her mother, Sindel (Ana Thu Nguyen) as his own family. While training with Khan’s appointed bodyguard Jade (Tati Gabrielle), Kitana dreams of ending his rule once and for all.

For now, she’s got to play along as a loyal daughter while secretly giving intel to Raiden. If Raiden’s five champions fall in battle, Earth will fall under Shao Khan’s rule. To save Earth, they have to defeat Shao Khan and his minions. Hardly in favor of a fair competition, Shao Khan plots to tilt the odds in his favor with the aid of his sorcerers Shang Tsung (Chin Han, The Dark Knight) and Quan Chi (Damon Herriman).

Series veterans Sub-Zero (Joe Taslim, The Raid: Redemption), Hanzo Hasashi aka Scorpion (Hiroyuki Sanada, The Wolverine) and Kano (Josh Lawson, Superstore) return as well. Kano fits in more naturally to the story as he can bring crass humor without coming off as a Cage stand-in this time. One of the film’s best sequences involves Cage encountering Baraka (CJ Bloomfield) with its spot-on blend of action and humor.

Slater does a solid job of adding in some story in between the fights. Mortal Kombat II isn’t the kind of film that needs extended dialogue-heavy scenes, but it’s nice that the film can still be engaging when the blood isn’t sprayed all over. When it’s time for the blood spraying, dismemberments and any other creative ways to kill characters, the film definitely provides some appropriately over the top carnage.

McQuoid takes the fight sequences to another level leaning in more to the game approach with wider angles and physics. Weapon shots don’t immediately end a fight, and the numerous blood spewing moments don’t lead to characters bleeding out. The battleground settings also seem geared towards the game aesthetics.

Costumer Cappi Ireland does a sensational job translating the Mortal Kombat II game designs to live action, but the lighting particularly during the Sub-Zero and Scorpion clash would benefit from brighter hues.

The film is peppered with fun nods to the source material that feel less like Easter Eggs and more like staples of the game brought to live action in a mostly organic manner.

Mortal Kombat II proves this incarnation of the live-action series has true franchise potential. With the tease of a third film, it’s hardly time to think about finishing it anytime soon.

Rating: 9.5 out of 10

Photo Credit: New Line Cinema

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