When Mortal Kombat came out in 1995 I was only 3 years old, yet the film played a big part in my youth. That VHS was played so much that I fell asleep to the sounds of Techno Syndrome often. Fast forward to 2021, we got a new Mortal Kombat (Mortal Kombat: Annihilation never existed) and had a similar experience with the film. It was flawed but the action was fantastic and great adaptions of beloved characters. However certain things were missing from the film, like the idea of Mortal Kombat being a tournament and Johnny Cage. Mortal Kombat 2 proves to be the perfect example of the filmmakers and studio listening to the fans.

We got the opportunity to see an advanced screening of Mortal Kombat 2 and it made me feel like I was in the arcade on a school night. The first film focused on the generic protagonist of Cole Young (played by Lewis Tan), who was a new character created for the film. This kind of pissed me off, Mortal Kombat has a lot of great characters that could have been the main focal point. The announcement that Karl Urban was going to star as Johnny Cage and be the lead gave me hope that Mortal Kombat 2 would be better.

At moments Mortal Kombat 2 feels like an apology for the flaws of the first film. There is one scene in specific that takes a character from the first film and basically said “yeah we know we missed the point here.” The extra attention to detail with the tournament and lore is another thing that caught my attention and felt like an apology. The filmmakers recreated famous levels from the early videos and it made my nerdy heart cry of joy.

Mortal Kombat 2 is not a movie you watch for the story. The story is thin, Earthrealm has chosen Johnny Cage as one of their champions. However, the aging action star refuses to believe any of it is real. Although Johnny’s journey is not the only story, Mortal Kombat 2 does a fantastic job introducing Kitanna (played by Adeline Rudolph), who quickly becomes the heart of the film.

One of the highlights of the first film was the entertaining adaptation of Kano by Josh Lawson. Kano stole every scene and despite the events of the film, he is back and even better. His time on screen with Karl Urban, instant gave me hope of a spin off. Lawson and Urban made Mortal Kombat 2 a campy action comedy that the franchise should be.

Kitanna and Johnny Cage were not the only changes that provided great fan service. The use of Baraka was hilarious and badass, Martyn Ford is imposing as the villainous Shao Khan and Tati Gabrielle was great casting as Jade. On top of these additions, returning characters continue to improve, especially Lui Kang and Lord Raiden.

Mortal Kombat 2 is not a masterpiece, it won’t win any Academy Awards, it knows exactly what it is. The nearly 2 hour film is filled with nonstop action and comedy. As a fan of the Mortal Kombat series, I was extremely pleased and found myself cheering when a character did their signature move. If you loved playing the video games as a kid or playing them on the new generation of consoles, you’ll love this movie. However for those unfamiliar with the franchise, this could come off campy and cheesy. For me it was a bloody good time.