MORTAL KOMBAT II IS A 2026 martial arts action adventure film directed by Simon McQuoid, from a screenplay by Jeremy Slater, based on the videogame created by Ed Boon and John Tobias. The film is a direct follow-up to the 2001 film Mortal Kombat, also directed by McQuaid. The film is produced by Todd Garner, James Wan, Toby Emmerich, E. Bennett Walsh and McQuoid, and executive produced by Michael Clear, Judson Scott, Slater and Lawrence Kasanoff.
The fan favorite champions -- now joined by Johnny Cage himself -- are pitted against one another in the ultimate battle to defeat the dark rule of Shao Kahn that threatens the very existence of the Earthrealm and its defenders.
The cast includes Karl Urban, Adeline Rudolph, Jessica McNamee, Josh Lawson, Ludi Lin, Mehcad Brooks, Tati Gabrielle, Lewis Tan, Damon Herriman, Chin Han, Tadanobu Asano, Joe Taslim, and Hiroyuki Sanada.
MORTAL KOMBAT II made its debut in theaters May 18h, courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures.
The Mortal Kombat videogames were a huge part of my childhood. It makes me laugh when I tell people how the good old days were getting dropped off at the mall for an entire day as a kid, but its true. I can picture it now walking around the entire mall more times than I can count, and always making sure to walk through the food court and get the mandarin chicken samples from the Chinese food place. So good, to this day I have yet to duplicate the heavenly taste of that chicken. But the place to be was always off to the side of the food court, and that was the arcade. And in that arcade everyone was drawn to a number of the classics including NBA Jam, Cruis’n USA, NFL Blitz, Tekken, and of course the game that turned boys into men, Mortal Kombat. Putting a whoopin’ on someone that you capped off with a glorious finishing move was just satisfying on another level. Life was good.
In 2021 fans were treated to a film reboot with MORTAL KOMBAT, and now 5 years later we have the follow-up film, MORTAL KOMBAT II. I’m not going to lie just like with the last film I was pumped and ready as soon as it was officially announced to be in production. I just can’t get enough of these films that bring on the nostalgia for me. Admittedly I didn’t love the move to release the last film in theaters and on HBO Max the same day, it just felt like a disservice to the franchise in my opinion. But any MK fan worth their salt made it a point to see the movie in theaters regardless, and I was glad I did because the nostalgia train came into the station in a big way.
Thankfully MORTAL KOMBAT II released exclusively in theaters, and yet again I was there on opening night and I am pleased to say it was worth the wait. My first takeaway right out of the gate is how much funnier this movie was thanks to the focus on Johnny Cage who seems to just bring out the laughs everywhere he goes. In MORTAL KOMBAT II the participants have trained long and and hard and are now on the brink of the tournament with the fate of Earth Realm hanging in the balance. Cage on the other hand is drinking away his sorrows after yet another “fan con” highlighting the fact that his best days are behind him. Although it takes some convincing, when he meets Sonya Blade and is told he has been chosen for the tournament, Cage finds a renewed sense of worth. and something to live for.
MORTAL KOMBAT II doesn’t waste any time as the fighters are basically thrust right into the tournament, which was great because we are treated to a ton of awesome fight sequences throughout the film. The games eventually became known for the environments as players were blasted through walls etc, and they really focus on this in the film. I also thought MORTAL KOMBAT II looked absolutely fantastic throughout with some really cool backdrops and cinematography.
Aside from Johnny Cage one of my favorite characters in MORTAL KOMBAT II is Kano, who was also in the first film. Kano with his loud mouth and no filter personality is absolutely hilarious each and every time he is on screen. Kano had me laughing my ass off throughout the film, and honestly for me MORTAL KOMBAT II is as much about the violence as it is about the humor. I also really liked Baraka in this film, and the dynamic between him and Johnny Cage was fantastic.
The two share some great scenes together, and after doing some research it dawned on me that it seems like the goal with their relationship was to play homage to the “friendship” style fatalities introduced in the 2nd game. Basically instead of ripping your opponent limb to limb after beating them, your character would do some sort of silly friendship gesture. It makes sense with Cage and Baraka who both have a sort of quirky style to their characters.
The film is loaded with great characters, even though they barely scratch the surface in terms of who was available in the games. As a kid I was always drawn to Sub-Zero and Scorpion just because they seemed so badass with their masks and cool outfits. Plus both had some really awesome finishing moves, especially Scorpion who would remove his mask to reveal a skull and set his opponent on fire. The films made sure to really focus on the backstory of the rivalry between Sub-Zero and Scorpion which was great in my opinion. In MORTAL KOMBAT II Sub-Zero looks about as cool as he has ever looked, and he is joined by a friend by the name of Bi-Han, better known by franchise fans as Noob Saibot.
As far as prominent characters go, the Emperor of the Outworld Shao Kahn is an absolute badass in this movie, and rightfully so. I always loved doing the story mode in MORTAL KOMBAT working my way towards a battle with Shao Kahn, and man he was such a pain in the ass to fight. He is absolutely massive in this movie, and it should come as no surprise that it often took 2 or 3 fighters to stand a chance against him.
I have to touch on the overall nostalgia that MORTAL KOMBAT II brings to the table because it was a massive draw for me. Now you simply can’t please everyone especially when it comes to a franchise that has been around for this long, but I thought what they included in the film was great. A few iconic levels included in the film are The Dead Pool which is notable for uppercutting your opponents into a pool of deadly acid. The film also included The Pit, which to be honest reminded me more of the level from the first game.
It was just so cool to recognize these levels right away and just be able to bathe in the nostalgia. Pretty damn cool in my opinion. Now aside from the levels the film does include several iconic fighter moves and fatalities, and one of the best fight scenes in the film is Liu Kang vs Kung Lao. If you played the games you became very familiar with these characters, and you get a heavy dose of Kung Lao’s deadly hat. One of my favorite finishing moves was Kung Lao cutting his opponent in half with his hat.
Bottom line, as a hardcore fan of this franchise MORTAL KOMBAT II delivered for me no question about that. As a fan it gave me a ton to get excited about, and even more than that it left me wanting more. The film looks fantastic from top to bottom, and by no means did they cheap out when it came to giving this movie the authentic feel it deserved. Plus for a movie based on a videogame franchise, the cast is actually pretty damn stacked and to be honest I thought everyone was great. I do think that fans of the games will enjoy MORTAL KOMBAT II the most for obvious reasons, but this is a fun action thriller film that keeps the excitement from start to finish.
THE VERDICT
Packed with the R-rated humor and gratuitous violence the franchise is known for, MORTAL KOMBAT II builds on the original film and gives fans exactly what they were hoping for. I genuinely enjoyed this movie, and as I talked about it was the nostalgia for me that really did it. I hope fans step up to make sure the film is a success in theaters, because I for one can’t wait for the next one. MORTAL KOMBAT II does not have a post-credit scene, but it is absolutely worth sticking around for the nostalgic closing sequence.
TED TAKES RATING - 7.4/10
MORTAL KOMBAT II is now playing only in theaters. Check out the latest trailer below.