Leading up to Mortal Kombat (2021), I didn’t know what to expect in terms of yet another big-screen version of one of my favorite arcade games. Having carefully studied the previously released adaptations, I already knew what I DIDN’T like, but I was pleasantly surprised by what director Simon McQuoid brought during his time to shine with the franchise. And having successfully survived Mortal Monday, that says a lot, as I’ve been with the franchise from its bare-bones beginnings.
McQuoid’s reboot was successful — although I wanted a little more than what he provided — and with the MK sequel announcement, I was hesitant, to say the least. Many of the MK adaptations simply lacked character development, getting the Johnny Cage character completely wrong (I’m definitely looking your way, Mortal Kombat Legends: Cage Match!), while showcasing plenty of action (which is mandatory).
So, how, exactly, do you make an ego-centric character simply sympathetic?
Mortal Kombat II turns him into a washed-up, burned out and overall jaded celebrity actor (portrayed by Karl Urban, in an excellent casting call), whose future relies more on comic con autograph signings than appearing in blockbuster films. He’s sarcastic, dismissive and currently a failure at life, but the funny thing is that the future of humanity on Earthrealm relies on his upcoming performance (along with a handful of others), as he’s a five-time black belt winner and a former world champion. Truly, the Elder Gods must have a warped sense of humor.
“I’m not some great warrior. I’m not some champion, OK? I”m an actor.”
Shao Kahn rounds up the usual suspects to defend Outworld, even reanimating the corpses of former fighters. There are winners and losers on both sides as the tournament progresses, but I was mainly focused on Johnny Cage, and he proves to be the biggest difference maker for me in the film. Although egotistical, the character’s fourth wall-breaking dialogue is funny at times, but the movie’s overall writing needs more polish, kinda like Cage, himself.
He’s introduced with six or seven or eight f-bombs (not a fan, as I’ve said for many years, for filmmakers to go blue just to show how “hard” they are with their adaptations, which only age quickly and need to be greatly edited for television broadcasts), followed by many more later in the film — it’s gotta earn its hard R rating, somehow. With only a few lines of dialogue, Johnny Cage speaks to franchise films, reboots, fame’s fade, fandom and… Keanu Reeves! That much I enjoyed.
“You think the world is crying out for a Johnny Cage comeback?”
Behind the scenes as Karl Urban takes notes from Mortal Kombat II director Simon McQuoid (Photo Courtesy: New Line Cinema).
Mortal Kombat II looks great and the action is fine, but Urban’s fighting movements are a little slow at times (the actor reportedly did 30 percent of his own stunts). Johnny (along with others) has too many reactionary poses during the fights, as well.
Simply bringing yet another fighting tournament to the big screen for an hour and a half would have been another paper-thin storyline, which is why Cole Young was added to the first film, to pad the overall runtime. This time around, he’s barely in it (thankfully) and a survival adventure is added to MKII, which felt akin to Special Forces and Shaolin Monks at times… and I preferred it.
Sadly, too many of the characters from the first film returned (technically, you could classify this as a Zombie movie, as Necromancer Quan Chi breathed new life into previously killed-off characters for one more big fight), while excluding too many great legacy characters. Was Kano the liveliest character of the bunch, after returning from death? I really wasn’t sure. But there’s always the possibility of releasing another sequel to introduce more characters while wrapping up the trilogy.
The Tarkatan wasteland made me yearn for a Mad Max release I would have wanted but will never get, and it’s all downhill after Johnny finally turns heroic. Mortal Kombat II feels less like a b-movie — which easily describes Mortal Kombat: Annihilation — and more like an action-adventure film.
MKII is an improvement over McQuoid’s first film, as both reboots attempt to bring more eyes (and purchases) to the latest console release, and I blame Johnny Cage’s ridiculousness/Urban’s strong performance as the main reason I enjoyed the film so much. The washed-up character ultimately becomes the hero I didn’t know I needed and My Guilty Pleasure.
“Come with us, Mr. Cage and discover the man you were meant to be.”