Well, it's finally here. The second Mortal Kombat of the Cole Young saga has been released. And just like the video game of the same name, it's a major improvement over the first installment.

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// General Review

One thing I appreciate about this movie is that it doesn't even wind up; there's a brief introduction and the tournament just starts. The movie expects you to either be already deep in the lore, or already caught up with what's going on (it is a sequel, after all). And the first scene before the introductions is a pretty deep cut of MK lore that's only recently been portrayed in the modern games.

As for the surface-level visual details, they are pitch-perfect. All of the characters and locations are practically ripped from the source, and there are some locations from the first two games that make surprise appearances.

My only real complaints have to do with dialog and pacing issues, but even those are very few and far between. There is so much that this movie does right, right down to bringing Kano back. Just like before, he's one of the best parts of the movie. As is Karl Urban's Johnny Cage.

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// Spoiler Talk

I can't really talk about what I loved without spilling all of the beans. So, let's get into the bean spillage, and start with something I've expressed on here before.

- Cole Young -

I don't know how else to say it: The movie did what needed to be done. His intro was brief, his presence takes a complete backseat, and after he's swiftly killed off, he's only brought up once more before being completely forgotten about. And they didn't just kill him out of nowhere; they telegraphed it perfectly. Once you saw who he was up against, you knew there was no way he was leaving that match alive.

As I said last time, it's a waste of a good actor. Lewis Tan should have been cast as someone else, and Cole should have just not been. But, what's done is done.

RIP, Cole.

- The Amulet -

Of course, like always when it comes to Mortal Kombat, Shinnok's Amulet comes into play. And lo and behold, Kano stole it sometime before the first movie. Not only is it the thing that brings him back into the story, but it factors into almost everything else that happens.

Truth be told, I do have conflicted feelings about that. It's not enough to ruin the movie, but it is enough to lessen the overwhelming power factor that Shao Kahn is supposed to have. And that's never a good thing.

- Johnny Cage vs Baraka -

This whole thing had a very Will Riker and the Klingons campy quality to it, and that's exactly why I love it so much. I was worried when I heard a rumor that they made Baraka look weak; finally seeing the movie, I can see what they were saying and I disagree with that assessment entirely.

Now that Baraka is part of the campaign, I hope he and Kano get screen time together in the next sequel.

- Kano's Face Turn -

Speaking of, I always love when Kano leans into the agent of chaos aspect of his character, especially when it comes to a good face turn. It's honestly something I've always wanted to see in MK media, ever since his MK3/UMK3/MKT ending. After that, he's always been portrayed on the malevolent side, regardless of any other factors. Dude is a chaotic pirate; yes, he's a murderous bastard, but that doesn't mean he wouldn't flip the script just to shake things up.

- Fire God Liu Kang -

They set this up pretty hastily and out of nowhere, but looking back at the first movie... little breadcrumbs start to emerge. Liu Kang seems less like a monk in the training program, and more like a god masquerading as a monk, kinda like he does in MK1. Will definitely be interesting to see how this goes down the line.

- Liu Kang vs Kung Lao -

Best live-action Mortal Kombat fight put to screen, hands down. If you know, you know.

- Kitana Kahn -

One location that this movie was begging for was the Koliseum. The final fight between Shao Kahn and Kitana does have a large crowd, but not in the kind of grandiose way that's needed for a final fight against Shao Kahn.

Also, watching this play out feels just like reading the story blurbs in the MK2 Fighter's Kompanion 30 years ago. It was awesome when Kitana won in MK11, and it was awesome seeing it on the big screen.

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All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed this movie, and I can't wait until I get the opportunity to watch it another 50 times. Hopefully we'll get a sequel sooner rather than later, but given that we had to wait 5 years for this sequel, I'm not holding my breath. If this ends up being the bookend of this specific film franchise, I'd say it went out on a high note and good luck to whoever has the unenviable task of rebooting it in 20 year's time.

[ https://hisvirusness.com/mk2-movie-review ]