Sequels look good to investors on paper. But in reality, they’re risky.
In an era dominated by a desire for box office returns, major studios have turned to the predictability of franchises to guarantee returns. Because sequels have built–in audience potential, most major studios consider them a less risky investment than greenlighting original IP.
But audiences are getting tired. In some cases, sequels feel rushed, lacking the careful development of the original. Other times, sequels feel like cash grabs instead of building into something better than their originals. And sometimes, creators spin off their sequels so far that they lose touch with the magic of the original story.
Ultimately, most sequels today get it wrong. But not Mortal Kombat II.
With a colorful cast of heroes and entertaining action, this sequel knows exactly what it’s doing. By embracing the fun, silliness, and epic action that the first film tried to reject, Mortal Kombat II becomes a film that can truly resonate with fans.
Based on the original arcade game of the same title, the very first Mortal Kombat film from 1994 follows a group of warriors chosen by cosmic forces to fight in a martial arts tournament against Outworld, an evil realm vying to conquer Earth. The film’s protagonist is Johnny Cage (Karl Urban), a Hollywood action star summoned to fight alongside Earth’s other chosen warriors including Liu Kang (Ludi Lin), Sonya Blade (Jessica McNamee), and Jax Briggs (Mehcad Brooks). Together, they train under the god Raiden (Tadanobu Asano) to defeat the evil Shang Tsung (Chin Han) and Shao Kahn (Martyn Ford) and prevent Earth from being enslaved by Outworld.
In 2021, New Line Cinema, Atomic Monster, and Broken Road Productions released a Mortal Kombat reboot. However, fans were surprised by two decisions made to seemingly distance the film from the original film, and the games themselves. The first was replacing the main character Johnny Cage with Cole Young (Lewis Tan), a new protagonist created exclusively for the 2021 reboot. The reboot also adopted a much more gritty, serious tone than the original’s oftentimes silly action scenes. And in doing so, the film felt predictable and even cringeworthy in many moments, trying too hard to be something it clearly should not have been.
Mortal Kombat II doesn’t fall into that same trap—and it’s all thanks to the inclusion of Johnny Cage. Karl Urban’s Cage is framed as an “audience–perspective” comic relief to the gory action on–screen. He’s introduced as a faded Hollywood actor struggling to stay relevant. We first meet Cage in a scene straight out of one of his (obviously) corny ’90s action flicks as he karate–chops goons while donning his signature sports jacket and glasses. In a meta–way, the scene directly acknowledges the goofy nature of the Hollywood action film genre—connecting us with Mortal Kombat’s roots. Soon, Cage finds himself pulled into the fight for Earth as he is forced to restore touch with his lost sense of purpose. Urban does not disappoint in his portrayal of the beloved character; he perfectly delivers his jokes and his character directly acknowledges the absurdity of the entire “Mortal Kombat” tournament idea, giving the audience room to simply enjoy the action on screen as pure entertainment cinema.
But Cage is not the only protagonist we follow. The sequel completely abandons the narrative arc of its former protagonist, reducing Cole Young to a plot device (even going so far as to write him out in one of the goriest scenes of the film)—and instead introduces Kitana (Adeline Rudolph), a classic character from the original games. Kitana fights for Outworld, after her father was defeated by the brutal warlord Shao Kahn (Martyn Ford) when she was a child. Vowing to avenge her father, Kitana plays both sides. Though her revenge arc adds a layer of depth to the plot, it does not distract from Mortal Kombat II’s use of humor and spectacle to offset the first film’s mistake of trying to be too deep where it couldn’t. Instead, her story pulls us deeper into the emotional conflict between Earth and Outworld.
On a larger scale, the movie keeps its plot simple, progressing so fast that it gives audiences very little time or room to grieve after each death. Staying true to the video game, killings on the big screen are gory and insensitive—as brutal and bloody as possible. And while this does undermine the agency of many characters who die at the mercy of Shao Kahn’s hammer, reducing their deaths to mere spectacles, it works for what the sequel sets out to achieve: nostalgia.
Many audience members grew up on the games, and as such, are coming into the film already familiar with Mortal Kombat’s extensive lore. They want to see how filmmakers will pay homage to their favorite video game characters through today’s advanced VFX and action of epic scale. They want to see their childhood, on the big screen, done right. And this movie does not disappoint.
