After five years of waiting, Mortal Kombat II has finally arrived. As expected, Australian director, Simon McQuoid, packs it with cheesy dialogue, gore, and Fatalities. The sequel picks up right after the first film five years ago. By the time this chapter ends, the fate of Earthrealm is definitive, but the plot hints the carnage isn’t over.
In the first movie, Shang Tsung’s (Chin Han) attempted to proactively murder Earthrealm’s champions, causing destabilization. The sorcerer hoped to weaken Lord Raiden’s (Tadanobu Asano) squad and render Earthrealm vulnerable. Conceive. Believe. Achieve, right? Shang Tsung’s Outworld army would then have an easier job of claiming their 10th consecutive victory in the Mortal Kombat tournament. The endgame? Permission granted by the Elder Gods to raid and pillage Earthrealm.
Thankfully, that plan was foiled. Shang Tsung’s diminutive assassins were killed, forcing him to flee. Sadly, Lord Raiden (Tadanobu Asano) was left a warrior short after Shang Tsung sucked out Kung Lao’s (Max Huang) soul. This opened the door for new allies as the actual tournament begins in this follow-up.
In its nearly two-hour run, nostalgics from the ’90s will find much to chew on regarding Raiden’s rebuild and how it unfolds. Some may find positives while others may find consternation. As yet another polarizing entry in the violent gaming franchise is brought into live-action, let’s dissect the film, its finale, how the future is set up, and if this effort fares better than the original venture from McQuoid.
Mortal Kombat 2 Recap:
The movie commences with a flashback that sets the emotional tone of the story: a tale of heart and family revolving around Princess Kitana (Adeline Rudolph). Shao Kahn (Martyn Ford), the true emperor of Outworld, attacks Edenia with the aim of winning the tournament. It’s quite true to the game lore. The emperor battles the Edenian king, Jerrod, Desmond Chiam, hoping to triumph and enslave Jerrod’s empire.
Before the scrap, Jerrod gives a young princess Kitana a necklace with a lightning charm. He asserts she won’t ever be alone, even if he dies. Not a good sign for the capitulating region. Jerrod puts up a solid fight but Shao Khan cuts his fingers off, impales him with his hammer, and makes everyone bend the knee. This includes Jerrod’s rebellious wife, Queen Sindel (Ana Thu Nguyen), despite her slicing and dicing some of his men. No matter what, Shao Kahn has the numbers.
Admittedly, the emperor misses an opportunity to concede Sindel has some spunk left to her to affirm why he’d want her as his consort like in the game — more on this family feud, among many nebulous points of contention, later on.
Kitana harbors rage, but she accedes to Shao Kahn’s wishes. She becomes his adopted daughter, guarded and trained by a warrior plucked out of poverty, Jade (Tati Gabrielle). Little do they know, the older Kitana has defiant energy and hatred simmering.
As for Team Raiden, well, the Thunder God, himself and Sonya Blade (Jessica McNamee) recruit Johnny after a comic convention. They believe that despite Johnny depreciating as an actor, his past as a karate legend means something. Johnny, unfortunately, is despondent due to his popularity being in the gutter. Depressed and psychologically broken, he thinks he doesn’t have skill anymore. When they open a portal and take him to Raiden’s Sky Temple, it’s easy to assume the pep talks and chats about the “imminent fate of the world” would be enough to lure the ambivalent Johnny over.
Wrong.
Johnny is terrified. Raiden rescinds the offer. Johnny returns to Hollywood to drink away whatever little time he has left before the impending invasion. The Elder Gods don’t renege on who they chose, though. They brew a different plan. Johnny doesn’t get to finish his drink with the bartender, played by the game’s co-creator, Ed Boon, because the deities teleport him — against his will — to the competition.
Johnny, ironically, is one of the first duels to kick off the 5 vs. 5 tournament. He’s transported to the desecrated Edenian town square to fight none other than Kitana. It bears the scars of grief and hurtful memories. The princess keeps her composure, showing off her bladed-fans; a gift from Jade for treating her like a sister over the years. Kitana batters Johnny but doesn’t kill him. One could construe that she shows mercy after tossing him off a hut. He passes out unconscious and probably with a concussion. It seems like Kitana thinks killing this pleb would be beneath her. Given how easily she whooped him, it’s believable.
The emperor doesn’t care that she scoffed at the iconic “Finish Him!” line ripped from the game. Uncharacteristically, he just wants to lead on the scoreboard, even if foes are kept alive. One champion down, four to go. Kitana has her own scheme cooking as she secretly conspires with Raiden. She has been Raiden’s eyes and ears for years now, honoring Jerrod’s will. Kitana, as this mole, keeps teleporting from a special chamber using her necklace, although Jade susses out the spy-craft. Jade castigates her, but doesn’t act. Ah, yes. Sibling turmoil.
The contest that occurs simultaneously involves Sonya fighting Sindel. Notably, in a meeting prior where Kitana feigns loyalty to Shao Kahn, Sindel is in her Revenant form — a zombie brought to life by the necromancer, Quan Chi (Damon Herriman). It’s never explained how or why she got killed. Or how many times, for that matter. The emperor’s council suggest quite a few. In any case, Sindel is a puppet there to remind Kitana to stay devoted, or else.
Come the fight, Sindel, brainwashed and bloodthirsty, emits her signature sonic screams, but Sonya overcomes by using her energy blasts. Sonya’s military training sees her also utilizing the spikes in the Pit to impale Sindel. 1-1.
At this point, the franchise’s most reviled character, Cole Young (Lewis Tan), becomes a focal point again. Fans hated his addition in the first movie, and how he, as a new character, took away from more important franchise players.
In that preceding entry, Cole was blessed with an arcana due to him being part of Hanzo Hasashi’s (Hiroyuki Sanada) bloodline. This arcana granted fighters abilities. Once a person without this birthmark killed an owner, they’d get the arcana and, in time, a unique power set. Sonya, for example, attained hers by killing Kano (Josh Lawson). But the new writer, Jeremy Slater, ignores the arcana. At this point, it’s a safe bet the movie would probably erase Cole, too.
Despite a plethora commenters on YouTube videos assuming Cole would be slaughtered in the beginning, akin to Johnny (then played by Chris Conrad) in 1997’s Mortal Kombat Annihilation, Cole has an integral part to play. He lectures Johnny about fighting for humanity and dying for a good cause. Even if Cole doesn’t get to see his wife and daughter again, he’s trying to do the right thing for mankind and inspire his peers.
While the heroes prep, Shao Kahn and Quan Chi convene on their own nefarious side project. The necromancer resurrects Kano but rather than make him a Revenant, it’s simply to chat about the Shinnok amulet the two-timing Kano stole from Raiden’s temple when he tried to be a hero in the first film. Kano gives them the relic in exchange for replacing the eye Sonya dug out when he tried to kill her for Shang Tsung back then. This is the crux of Shao Khan’s bigger, harrowing strategy.
Just as the other heroes are summoned away to the battlefield, Quan Chi and Shang Tsung attack Raiden’s chambers. Their key to success is the resurrected Kung Lao: another Revenant that Quan Chi conjures. The Shaolin Monk slices Raiden’s throat with his hat, allowing Shang Tsung to charge the amulet when Raiden’s divine lightning-blood spills out. As Raiden struggles, the amulet harnesses most of his energy. The villains flee and embed the artefact into Shao Kahn’s chest in a revered ritual. This makes the emperor immortal and unstoppable.
It subsequently gives the film a trap door to remove Cole when he tussles with the emperor. Luckily, Cole isn’t murked like some jobber, as those who know wrestling parlance would say. Instead, the relentless, resilient and ruthless Cole uses the mystical suit the arcana gave him to throw energy bombs at the emperor. He even slits the tyrant’s throat in the bout, proving he is the better warrior.
However, Shao Kahn heals, pummels Cole and squishes his head in with in one fell swoop. The overlord kicks Cole’s corpse into the famous acid pool to end his tenure as a Kombatant. Put some respect on Cole’s name and pour one out for the brave fighter. He goes out like a boss.
In the other sanctioned brawls, a contemplative Liu Kang endures a soul-searing fight against Kung Lao. He doesn’t want to kill the “brother” who Raiden raised alongside him. When Liu Kang’s flames prove ineffective, the hero improvises his tactics. He grabs Kung Lao and pulls him down onto his own hat. Liu Kang splits him up the same way Kung Lao used the hat in the past — as a buzzsaw. A tearful Liu Kang promises to someday save his comrade’s soul.
Concerning Jax (Mehcad Brooks), his robotic arms are enough to overpower Jade and her bo staff. Despite sensing underlying power in her weapon, Jax slams her around but opts to display mercy. Not administering a killing blow is payment after Kitana revealed she did indeed spare Johnny. It helps that Jax has a crush on Jade. Additionally, it makes up for the movie scrubbing Liu Kang and Kitana’s romance totally.
With the tally at 2-2, the heroes are dismayed. Raiden is barely alive and Cole is dead. Kitana sneaks over again to inform of Shao Kahn levelling up. They need to destroy the amulet to tip the scales. Cue the deus ex machina of Kitana providing a back door. She admits the heroes can slither over to Outworld, access a part of her castle via Tarkatan territory, and destroy the relic. It’d make the emperor mortal for the tiebreaker.
When the heroes arrive, the Tarkatan leader, Baraka, doesn’t want to provide the path to the access door. Liu Kang offers to fight to force his hand but Baraka refuses. Johnny, fortuitously, insults Baraka with his Hollywood negotiation tactics. Johnny thinks he can manipulate Baraka’s ego and get him to be hostile towards Liu Kang. In the film’s most comedic arc, Baraka opts to fight Johnny instead. It’s action-laced, too, compounded by Baraka shooting his bony protrusions at Johnny.
The actor finally embraces his heroic nature and topples Baraka via his signature nut punch. But rather than some squeamish finish or a gruesome retaliation, Baraka and his clan are left in awe. They submit and become a hilarious “Cult of Cage.” Come nightfall, Baraka helps the heroes enter the castle, but he departs rapidly. It homages the source material where the sympathetic Tarkatans were a lower-class of runts, deteriorating with a malady and not allowed near the royals.
The heroes’ regal smash-and-grab job leads to catastrophe. The villains detect the intrusion, resulting in the emperor pulverizing Jax, Liu Kang and Sonya. Tragically, Shao Kahn impales Jax and kills him with his hammer. It’s an unofficial kill, but it does skew the till further. In the traumatic melee, one other Revenant assists. Quan Chi has revived Bi-Han (Joe Taslim), but not as the Lin Kuei enforcer, Sub-Zero. Bi-Han is now Noob Saibot, a teleporting wraith who has a sickle and a shadow clone, Smoke. Bi-Han takes the amulet to the Netherrealm (MK’s version Hell) to hide it.
Once the emperor wins his last bout, it’ll be game over for Earthrealm. He can exact whatever toll he desires. As time ticks away, the heroes adapt via a shocking wildcard. Kano kills the emperor’s guards and assists Johnny in the castle. Kano wants to help the heroes because if Outworld subjugates Earth, he won’t be able to enjoy his vices.
Raiden uses the last of his power to send Johnny and Kano to Netherrealm. They seek the deceased Hanzo as a guide. While Hanzo just wants an afterlife of peace after Bi-Han murdered his family in the first film centuries ago, he’s incensed to hear his arch-nemesis is back. Hanzo turns into Scorpion, dissolving the fake paradise he imagined to find tranquility. He wants Bi-Han’s head, which would allow the heroes to obtain and destroy the amulet.
Back in the tournament, the remaining fighters press on. They have no choice. Jade has sold out Kitana, ending with the princess being chained in the square. Liu Kang perseveres and fights the emperor. Admittedly, Liu Kang has always been the best fighter in the game. But these movies haven’t hinged on him the perennial chosen one. It makes Liu Kang’s fate a foregone conclusion. The emperor smashes Liu Kang and Sonya (yeah, somehow a team-up is allowed) around and ends up impaling Liu Kang.
But Liu Kang doesn’t experience pain or fear. He transcends into what gamers would perceive as his Fire Lord form and dissipates. In this moment of enlightenment, Liu Kang realizes winning the tournament was never his purpose — he’s meant to save Kung Lao’s soul.
The emperor has won. He and Kitana are left standing. Well, she’s bound, exasperated and kneeling, but you get the drift. Game over, right? Another sickening reign looms.
Nope.
The Netherealm sub-plot sets up a new final fight with some twists Shao Kahn didn’t see coming. Or did he? You can’t tell because he never takes his mask off!
Mortal Kombat 2 Ending Explained:
Scorpion, Johnny and Kano become a trifecta of saviors amid hellish ash, fire and brimstone. Hanzo takes on Noob Saibot, while Kano and Johnny try to defeat Smoke. Scorpion mutilates Smoke but Bi-Han’s Noob form maintains a hold on the relic. Jade enters the fray after agreeing earlier to protect the amulet while Shang Tsung went off to finish a dying Raiden.
It’s bleak. The aroma of defeat lingers. Sonya tosses up a Hail Mary of her own. She destroys Kitana’s chains with her energy shots, allowing the princess to renounce the emperor and reset the title decider. The problem is, Kitana can’t kill Shao Kahn.
Jade turns out to be a double-agent, however. (The power of Friendship, huh?)… After destroying her staff’s wooden shell and revealing its true energy, she tries to fry the gem in the amulet. Kano joins in with his laser-eye, while Scorpion uses his “toasty” flames. Johnny cites that being human has powered him up, allowing him to unleash his iconic Shadow Kick. They succeed in destroying the amulet and Bi-Han. This makes the emperor mortal.
Kitana takes advantage and cuts him up. She knocks his helmet off and shows his dragon-like head before slicing his brains apart with her fans. It’s very much a Flawless Victory.
The Edenians bow to Kitana, their familiar, yet new, queen. Raiden regains his power and scares Shang Tsung off at the temple. The denouement reveals Johnny narrating the entire war to Baraka’s people, fulfilling a promise he made to return and train them. He takes creative liberties, even joking how he saved Sonya. She is pleasantly annoyed hearing this in the curtain-closing scene, perhaps hinting at a romance down the line.
Raiden arrives to praise Johnny. But they still have business to conduct. Raiden needs his champions for a new mission now that Earthrealm and Edenia are presumably safe.
Is There A Mortal Kombat 2 Mid-Credits or Post-Credits Scene?
Unfortunately, Mortal Kombat 2 does not have a mid-credits stinger. Nor is there a post-credits scene or after-credits scene. Fans do get to soak in the franchise’s theme song: the updated “Techno Syndrome” which brings back Olivier Adams.
He was part of the Belgian electronic/industrial duo, The Immortals, who performed the iconic MK music at inception, from the commercial to the game’s soundtrack to the old franchise movies in 1995 and 1997.
The visuals are pretty cool, with Boon calling out fighters and the graphics illustrating their affiliated weapons, Fatalities or plot beats. It’s proof how important animators and VFX artists are to the industry. This sequence doesn’t advance the narrative, but it does the cinematic and gaming industry a major service in terms of appreciation.
Will There Be a Mortal Kombat 3?
Slater has confirmed he is working on Mortal Kombat 3. The MK2 ending directly teases what’s going to happen. Raiden says his mission is to do his dead champions justice. His legion — Baraka, Sonya, Johnny, a fully-reformed Kano, Kitana, Jade and a captured Quan Chi — must recover their souls.
This speech is vague, but rife with possibility. Because the movie landed a heroic soul like Hanzo in Hell, the pack may have to traverse the Netherrealm with Scorpion as a guide again. Slater can shake things up, as well, with more retcons. The new story can have them visit other realms such as Chaosrealm and Orderrealm to find souls that may be stored. It’d showcase the wider breadth of diversity this series has to offer.
With respect to Orderrealm (aka Seido), the MK1 creative team cut out its main protagonist, Rain, the purple water-controlling ninja. Co-producer, Todd Garner, has said they would still like to employ Rain, so fingers crossed we get to see some amazing water-influenced brawls. Chaosrealm, conversely, would allow the heroes to fight villains like Havik, a cleric who became a major despot in the latest iteration of the game. Perpetual anarchy occurs there amid a constant stench of death. AKA, the movies’ M.O.
Having Scorpion around to usher in these expeditions would allow Bi-Han to return. This could further pry open the door for Bi-Han’s younger, altruistic brother, Kuai Liang, to take the Sub-Zero mantle up and try to redeem his brother’s soul. This filmverse hasn’t shed much light on why Bi-Han and the Lin Kuei wiped out Hanzo and the Shirai Ryu. In the lore, Quan Chi manipulated this rivalry so he could get control of Scorpion and Bi-Han. The third film can always follow this direction, show Bi-Han he was wrong, and allow Kuai Liang to stop the feud.
Interestingly, Shao Kahn’s minions are still on the loose. Shang Tsung is alive somewhere, as is the Revenant Sindel. They can enlist monsters and murderers, including Kintaro and Sheeva, who should want to avenge the Shokan prince, Goro, being killed in the first flick. If Shang Tsung employs his shape-shifting, expect a lot more trouble. Motaro and his centaurs, the Red Dragon mercenaries, and the Black Dragons (who hate former member, Kano), are other possibilities.
There are a slew of relics exist from the game to use, too. The first film teased the presence of Argus and Delia in a picture, which opens the window to the fire elemental known as Blaze. He was the antagonist of Mortal Kombat Armageddon and is the perfect tool for Shang Tsung and Quan Chi to enlist to claim the realms. This would nod to MK: Deadly Alliance and MK: Deception when they partnered and led to Onaga, the Dragon King, being unleashed.
Onaga is a truly mortifying force to be reckoned with — a beastly behemoth who once ruled Outworld. Onaga loves claiming extra dominion, making this mummy and his army an organic fit. The One Being is a next potential weapon. He created reality and the Elder Gods, but the games confirmed he wouldn’t mind devouring what he made. He has used Shao Kahn and Onaga as vessels, so a resurrection is easy to drw up. The primordial Titans are a separate set of horrific beings who can be exploited.
There are also the Kamidogu daggers, which essentially combine to form the One Kamidogu. The One Being’s existence was split among these daggers, turning them into avatars of genocide. Once united, the full blade can reshape reality, akin to Thanos’ Infinity Gauntlet in the MCU. With Shinnok yet to be seen and the usually-spiteful Elder Gods around allowing rules to be broken, there is a rich, long rolodex of enemies who could push Team Raiden’s backs against the wall using these pawns.
In terms of heroes, there is Sonya and Jax’s military teammate, Stryker; Shaolin descendants such as Kung Jin; the blind swordsman Kenshi; the Wind God Fujin; and Nightwolf (the Matoka warrior seen in Sonya’s research in 2021), among the many. Traipsing around various dimensions would surely see them stack up more allies.
A couple of love arcs wouldn’t hurt either during these excursions. Jax and Jade have chemistry, while Kitana and Liu Kang did shoot each other some looks before his sacrifice.
Some unpredictability can exist, too. Raiden’s partnership doesn’t mean everyone has to stick to one side, per Kano and Jade. There’s no telling if Sonya will push Kano to the dark side again due to their trust issues. Or if Shang Tsung, Sindel and Quan Chai can get along. Or if other villains want to stay in servitude to Shao Kahn’s fallen regime. We can see a few reneging on past pacts.
Outworld can even have its own story while all this drama occurs. The Osh-Tekk warrior Kotal Kahn is a former ruler from the wastelands who consistently wants his throne back in a tale of class and elitism. Li Mei pledges loyalty to this realm, too. This could give Sindel her own redemption story, once she can break Quan Chi’s curse in Kitana’s absence and defend her kingdom. It would be wise not to ignore the perils still attached to Earthrealm and Outworld.
Tied to the main mission, while many assume Raiden is talking about physical resurrection, it’s worth remembering what transpired in his stints as Dark Raiden in Deception, MKX and MK11. He tried to tinker with time to save his friends and stop the wars, only to become corrupted. This spurred the time goddess, Kronika, to enter the picture to restitch continuity and instill order. She was quite vicious, using lackeys like Geras to protect her Hourglass and the Sands of Time. Her mantra of elevate and eradicate whoever tampers with history remains quite intimidating.
If Team Raiden toys with the temporal boundaries, it could be disastrous and cause infighting. As a bonus, this time-meddling arc in the games led to Liu Kang becoming the Fire God and rebuilding a new universe. So, if WB wants a revamp button or door to the Multiverse, it’s right here. With all these routes to embark on, Warner Bros. may have to do what the MCU did and what they’re actually doing with DC: mold spinoffs, prequels, solo stories and TV shows to build a cohesive, connected universe.
Is Mortal Kombat 2 a Good Movie? Mortal Kombat II Review:
The first flick was released simultaneously in cinemas and on HBO Max during the COVID pandemic. It was quite accessible for new fans who didn’t experience the arcade era of Mortal Kombat 1, 2 and 3 (including Ultimate) back in the day. They mostly got acquainted in the PlayStation, PC and modern console era thereafter. Alas, that film was flawed. It got critically-panned but made enough money to warrant this sequel. Timing may well have helped, as people were just willing to consume anything in theaters or on streaming.
But MK2 didn’t learn from what came before. It’s style supplanted over substance. Respectfully, it’s not a good movie. Fun, maybe, but it regurgitates a chain of errors as the first flick. It has clunky dialogue, repetitive, wooden lines, and weak performances. It’s disappointing to see Slater didn’t improve the feeble foundation that Greg Russo, Dave Callaham and Oren Uziel cooked up the first time around with their story.
The actors do exude passion but they don’t have much to work with in terms of script. It’s reflected on the screen. It feels like this film just wants to have spectacles and sick burns for Gen-Z to chop up for Reels and TikToks. However, there are too many plot holes and imbecilic mysteries to ignore. Sure, the movie doesn’t have to take itself seriously, but creative uniformity and sensible writing are a must.
Jade, for example, switching sides after remanding Kitana for the emperor is weird. She already knew her friend was a spy and seemed repentant when Jax spared her life. That should have been motivation to turn face — i.e. before detaining Kitana. Atoning without seeing Kitana suffer in the square feels random, when the canvas was already provided to let her see Jax die. That would have been a natural reason to betray her emperor.
Kitana also never remembers to find any opportunity to rescue Sindel. The fact Sindel’s initial death isn’t seen is so odd, considering how much of a catalyst it was in the lore for Kitana to hate Shao Kahn. Sindel just appears when Shao Kahn needs to remind people he can have Revanants made. In the lore, Sindel and Kitana had several key exchanges that even revealed the real Sindel came to love the dark power Shao Kahn offered. This built up the game of thrones in Edenia, confirming why Kitana stuck to Jerrod more. Here, it’s hard to absorb Kitana’s story in full when she ignores her mother and dotes on her father without a proper basis.
The other head-scratchers include Shinnok being conspicuously absent again, how could Kano have powers after being human again, why didn’t the emperor chide Kitana’s mercy or bash Jade for failure, how could Sonya tag-team with Liu Kang in the final, and why doesn’t Shao Kahn kill other people the way he did Cole when he has them (cough Sonya!!!) on the ground and dead to rights. It’s never even explained how evil Kung Lao’s hat could almost kill a god, yet Liu Kang punches and kicks it away like nothing.
There is an abundance of inexplicable plot conveniences, especially retrospectively. One has to wonder why Raiden left such a valuable treasure out in the open in the first film. Or why Liu Kang didn’t secure it after warning Kano to put it back initially. To have this item now become so scary is, well, quaint. Raiden’s crew didn’t even realize it went missing. This needed much better padding in the script.
In another laughable meta moment, Quan Chi is asked by Kitana and Jade why resurrect Kano if they could have just searched his corpse’s pockets for the relic. The credits do list a script supervisor, so, at this point, you can’t blame a thorough audience member for becoming frustrated.
Other errors are repeated from Slater’s predecessors, such as Raiden’s new temple strangely losing its shield and allowing villains to enter at will. Kitana’s fans were also in Raiden’s old temple in 2021, but that Easter egg turns into nothing. Somehow, Jade randomly gifts her the fans rather than a simple explanation of finding them while rummaging through Raiden’s temple for the amulet. That would have proven Jade’s initial allegiance was to her emperor and created a mystery as to where she’d end up. To top it off, Jade’s power staff is never properly detailed. It just… is.
The silliness is incessant, right down to the climax. It’s obvious in Sonya not bothering to deploy her blasts as soon as the final fight starts. This would have freed Kitana for a 3 vs. 1 against Shao Kahn. Raiden not finishing Shang Tsung is never distilled either, nor is the idea of a hero going to Hell. The fact that Bi-Han’s body is in Hell when Scorpion never took it down with him, or that the ninjas all suddenly speak English add to the list.
A core tenet that needs to be clarified moving forward is also… how the heck does one get resurrected? Quan Chi says Kano barely has a soul to corrupt, so he returns as an un-Revenant. Therefore, do heroes having fearless, wholesome souls mean they can only return as a Revenant? And can Cole come back in the wake of being dissolved in acid? Ugh.
We get it; the studio expects you to suspend disbelief and embroil yourself in whatever’s thrown at you. Some would say arguing against all this is overthinking and nitpicking. But these errors directly impact the continuity flow of the movie. Not to mention, breaking logic makes the characters look sloppy.
That’s not to say MK2 doesn’t have endearing plot points. Kitana’s uprising is a welcomed focal point in a testosterone-driven franchise. Johnny being a sentimental goofball that reminds us being human holds weight works as well.
Unfortunately, these moments don’t get much time to breathe. It’s, admittedly, an issue when franchises rush into ensembles. MK2 does have the ambition to sculpt character portraits, but it’s uncertain if the creative team was still jittery on over-focusing on single characters like they did Cole. Or if they did really think the multifaceted Avengers-like approach would be better due to these beloved personalities and the stock diehard fans place in them. Banking on a crew’s rapport is a major gamble.
It ends up being a double-edged sword, sacrificing form and function. A case of nice idea, dude, but bad execution. A smaller cast or splitting the tournament into two films might have been the better approach. It certainly would have augured well for Shao Kahn’s depiction. He looks menacing, but feels so generic, galvanized by how he isn’t unmasked until the end. MK games added such depth in the latter years when it removed his mask, dissected his heritage and why he thirsted for power. He was part-dragon, which tied into the entire ethos and physical manifestation of the franchise and logo. His literal DNA made him more pivotal.
Shaping the emperor patiently in this manner would have humanized him into someone more than a typical conqueror, so that when Kitana maims him, you’d feel it cathartically. Seriously, you don’t even get to see the emperor’s face much before he’s mutilated. It’s such a bad choice, as if WB is saving budget on CGI. The opposite should have been done, making his capital punishment more visceral. Seeing this behemoth cower in his true, inherent identity, watching his innate horns and scales, and, more so, his red dragon eyes, would have doubled down on what Kitana says: he isn’t a god, he’s a foul, condescending creature. All that potential is squandered.
Before you think this is too harsh a criticism, let’s look at other rare pros over the bounty of cons. The score is soulful and fitting, which returning-composer Benjamin Wallfisch nailed the first time around. The move sets are dope, bringing in an array of combos and specials from the games: from Sonya’s leg toss to Liu Kang’s dragon kicks to Shao Kahn’s shoulder charge, etc. There could have been some more inventive Fatalities, though. A lot feels rinse and repeat, especially with the emperor and his hammer. But we’ll take small mercies. That’s honestly not the feeling you want when leaving such a beloved tentpole. You want to exit theaters in awe, craving more and expecting a high bar to have been set even higher.
Hopefully, creative upgrading occurs for the threequel, especially as main characters still feel peripheral and perfunctory. Shang Tsung remains underdeveloped. Scorpion is way too much of a prop (hey, they could pass his mantle to Kuai Liang like Liu Kang did in his rebooted timeline), and Liu Kang is still in need of finessing to have his prime form be feasible. Until these course-corrections occur, the overarching narrative will keep feeling imbalanced rather than finessed and resonating. With resurrections coming, inquisitive minds are curious as to how the franchise aims to make you think the stakes are always high. Death being impermanent feels like such an antithesis to the title, to the point the games didn’t even overdo it on Revenants. Fingers crossed, I guess?
Ultimately, this film may well make bank at the box office the way popcorn franchises like Transformers, Fast & Furious, John Wick or whatever Jason Statham stars in, do. No nuance necessary. But until coherence is supplemented and fans aren’t expected to be dumbed-down and quickly forget dialogue and plot beats, all this MK franchise is, is a means for Warner Bros. to milk the IP after purchasing it from Midway Games in 2009. Let’s be real — Easter eggs, gaming nods, and fan service aren’t able to save a fragile, fickle and faulty narrative all the time. In the end, the games asked us to test our might, but damn, these movies sure do ask us to test our intelligence along the rollicking way.
It sucks because fans didn’t receive the 2023 MK1 game reboot well and called out WB/Netherrealm Studios for all the micro-transactions and over-monetization. Like I said, MK is on a slippery slope; one WB hopes this movie will offset and get viewers to spend on.
Comic Book Club Live Info:
Share this:
Discover more from Comic Book Club
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.