MORTAL KOMBAT II knows exactly what it is, and thank heavens for that. This fourth movie in the MORTAL KOMBAT film series drops the act and leans much harder into what made the games a phenomenon in the first place: lots of fighting, lots of gooey fatalities, and absolutely zero interest in pretending any of this needs to be deep. Directed by returning filmmaker Simon McQuoid, the sequel follows the Earthrealm crew as they square off against Shao Kahn’s forces, with Johnny Cage finally entering the mix.

That’s the smart move. This movie is not trying to be serious. It is not trying to hand us richly layered characters or a grand meditation on destiny. It is trying to entertain you with dumb, funny, gory nonsense, and on that level, it absolutely works. If you love the games, this plucky little haiku to the franchise is probably going to hit better than any MORTAL KOMBAT movie yet. This entry in the franchise is bloodier, funnier, and more openly committed to fan-service spectacle than any of its predecessors.

Karl Urban is the tentpole here. As Johnny Cage, he lands somewhere between his Dr. McCoy energy and his Billy Butcher swagger, which turns out to be a pretty fun place to live. Kano, played again by Josh Lawson, adds comic relief and keeps the movie from taking itself too seriously. The main ensemble also includes Adeline Rudolph as Kitana, Jessica McNamee as Sonya Blade, Ludi Lin as Liu Kang, Mehcad Brooks as Jax, Lewis Tan as Cole Young, Chin Han as Shang Tsung, Tadanobu Asano as Raiden, and Hiroyuki Sanada as Scorpion.

Do you need to have seen the 2021 reboot from the same director? Not really. It helps a little, but this one is much more interested in momentum than homework. I do not know if this will be a hit, but I do know fans of the games are going to eat this up. It is a popcorn flick in the truest sense: messy, loud, ridiculous, and fully aware that subtlety was never the selling point. It’s also like a flight from Salt Lake City to Las Vegas: by the time you take off the pilot is telling you he’s going to land. MK2 is just a smidge under two hours. OPPENHEIMER it is not.

Bottom line: MORTAL KOMBAT II is dumb, plucky, gory fun. That is not an insult. That is the sales pitch. It is not aiming for prestige, and it is not pretending otherwise. Solid B.

Make sure to tune in to the KVNU For the People Movie Show today at 5PM to hear my review. You can listen live by clicking here, or you can check back for the podcast link. To listen to past shows, make sure to check out the KVNU For the People Movie Show archive.

Check out the trailer for MORTAL KOMBAT II below.