Mortal Kombat II (2026) 🐉🔥

A Flawed Victory!

Let’s start by showing y’all the trailers shall we?

⚠️ Content Warning

This movie is extremely violent and very much earns its R rating. There is graphic fantasy violence, people getting impaled, bodies getting mutilated, heads getting smashed, acid deaths, exposed rib cages, throat injuries, gore-heavy fatalities, people being sliced apart, and a lot of blood. There is also strong language throughout the movie, dark resurrection magic, revenants, and several horror-like visuals involving the Netherrealm.

🗓️ The Seven-Month Delay

Before we jump into the actual review, we gotta talk about the elephant in the room with this movie… the absolutely bizarre seven-month delay.

Originally, Mortal Kombat II was supposed to release on October 24, 2025 before Warner Bros. suddenly pushed it all the way to May 15, 2026, before finally settling on May 8, 2026.

And honestly?

That delay was WEIRD.

Not just because seven months is a huge delay, but because this happened AFTER marketing had already started. Posters existed. Trailer hype was building. People were already locked into “Okay cool, we’re getting Mortal Kombat in October” mode. Then Warner Bros. suddenly went:

> “Actually… nah.”



😭

Naturally, people online immediately started panicking.

Some people thought:

the movie tested badly,

there were massive reshoots,

Warner Bros. lost confidence,

or the movie was a disaster behind the scenes.


And honestly? I understood the concern because Warner Bros. has a history of making people nervous with these kinds of delays.

But according to reports, the delay was apparently more about box office strategy than the movie being broken. Warner Bros. reportedly wanted a stronger summer release window instead of dropping it into the crowded October season.

Still though…

when you delay a movie seven months THAT close to release, people are obviously gonna assume something went wrong.

Especially because this wasn’t some tiny indie movie. This was:

Shao Kahn,

Johnny Cage,

Kitana,

Mortal Kombat,

a giant R-rated franchise sequel.


So the internet basically went into full conspiracy mode for months.

And honestly?

I do think the delay accidentally hurt some momentum.

The first movie came out in 2021. Now suddenly this sequel arrives in 2026.

That is a LONG gap. Yes its been 5 years since the last MK film, so in no shorter terms “Get Over Here!”.

Five years is enough time for:

hype to cool off,

audiences to move on,

casual viewers to forget details,

and general momentum to fade.


At the same time though…

after actually watching the movie?

I weirdly understand WHY Warner Bros. might’ve wanted more time.

Because this movie is HUGE compared to the first one.

There are:

way more characters,

way more visual effects,

way more realms,

way more action scenes,

way more fantasy elements,

and way more CGI-heavy insanity.


This is not a small-scale movie anymore. This thing goes full fantasy war tournament chaos.

So honestly? If the extra months helped polish the visuals, action, gore effects, and overall presentation…

then I think the delay was probably worth it in the end.

🐉 Non-Spoiler Plot Overview

Mortal Kombat II picks up after the 2021 movie and finally gives us what that first movie awkwardly avoided: an actual Mortal Kombat tournament.

Shao Kahn, ruler of Outworld, wants to conquer realms through the ancient rules of Mortal Kombat, and Earthrealm’s fighters are pulled into a brutal tournament where every fight matters. The fate of worlds is decided not by armies, but by kombat.

Right away, this movie feels different from the 2021 film. It has more realms, more locations, more fantasy, more tournament structure, more game-style insanity, and way less of that boring cave energy from the first movie. Thank God.

The biggest new addition is Johnny Cage (Karl Urban), and honestly, he is one of the best parts of the movie. This version of Johnny is not introduced as some huge movie star still at the top of his career. He’s washed up. Nobody cares about his movies anymore. He’s sitting at convention booths where almost nobody wants his autograph. People talk to him about reboots like he’s a relic from another era. He’s bitter, sarcastic, tired, and emotionally checked out.

But that actually works.

Johnny becomes the audience perspective character. He reacts to all the Mortal Kombat nonsense like a normal person would. He asks questions. He makes jokes. He doesn’t understand half the fantasy terms being thrown around. And honestly, that is something the 2021 movie desperately needed.

This movie also feels like a soft reboot. It is technically continuing the 2021 story, but it quietly drops some of that movie’s worst ideas. I won’t spoil specifics here, but let’s just say if you hated certain creative choices from the first movie, this sequel seems very aware of that.

At the same time, this movie is messy. It is overloaded. It crams a ridiculous amount of characters, fights, mythology, deaths, and fan-service moments into one movie. It feels like the filmmakers were worried they might not get a third film, so they shoved everything they could into this one.

Is it flawless?

Absolutely not.

Pun fully intended.

But I had a really fun time. Also, yes, the script is extremely paper thin.

By the way, to me, it makes no sense that the sequel movie decides to bring in Shao Kahn ans sidline Shang Tsung, even though Shang Tsung was the villian in the first film, so that was a decision.

And so I find it funny when you boil it down the protectors of earth, boil down to

Guy with flame fingers

Girl with shock wave rings

Guy with robotic arms

A washed up actor at comic con, hes avaliable

Ohh yep earth realm isn’t good hands, lolo.

Also yes finally they got rid of the stupid Arcana tattoo thing from the 2021 film, this film never brings that back up. Which thabks you, I hated that element.

👥 Character Rundown

Johnny Cage (Karl Urban) is the standout for me. I know some people wanted a more game-accurate Johnny right away, the nonstop cocky celebrity version who acts like he owns every room he walks into. This movie does something different. It makes him a washed-up actor who used to be a martial artist before Hollywood swallowed that part of him. He thinks that fighter side of him is dead, and the movie slowly brings it back out of him.

Karl Urban is great here. He’s a chameleon actor. I’ve seen him in Lord of the Rings, Star Trek, The Boys, and now Mortal Kombat II, and he always brings something different. His Johnny Cage is sarcastic, dry, panicked, bitter, and oddly vulnerable. He does not feel like he’s just doing a video game impression. He’s making this version work for the movie.

Now, do I think he’s the definitive Johnny cage like when I watch him do I think, oh yes, that’s definitely johnny cage, not fully no, he’s very enjoyable. But compared to the original movie, johnny cage, there’s just something missing in this newer interpretation.

Karl urban does a great job with what he’s given.But the problem is, the movie doesn’t have a big moment for Johnny Cage that would make you go woah!

I do like johnny in this movie.There is like one particular scene when everyone is laying out What the tournament is and all the stakes, and johnny’s reaction is basically whoop this was about the dumbest thing I ever heard, im gonna exit stage left.

I wish I was joking, but that’s pretty much his reaction and I found that funny.

Kitana (Adeline Rudolph) is honestly more of the emotional main character than Johnny, which might surprise people because the marketing pushed Johnny hard. But Kitana’s connection to Shao Kahn, her realm, her father, and her role in the tournament gives her the strongest emotional arc.

Shao Kahn (Martyn Ford) looks phenomenal. This is easily the best live-action Shao Kahn we’ve gotten, even though that is not saying much because the only other major live-action Shao Kahn was from Mortal Kombat: Annihilation. Still, they nailed the look here. Martyn Ford is massive in real life, and that helps so much. He doesn’t look like some guy pretending to be a giant warlord. He looks like a giant warlord.

Sonya Blade (Jessica McNamee) is still solid and gets some brutal action. I also like that she does not suddenly forgive Kano. That would have been dumb. She still sees him as a piece of garbage who happens to be temporarily useful.

Kano (Josh Lawson) once again steals scenes. He is disgusting, selfish, vulgar, and hilarious. He is not redeemed, which is good. Kano should not suddenly become a noble hero. He should be the guy who helps only because it benefits him, then insults everyone while doing it.

Liu Kang (Ludi Lin), aka fiery hands guy, gets some of the more emotional material in the movie, especially with Kung Lao. His connection to Raiden also feels stronger this time, almost like Raiden is a father figure to him.

Kung Lao (Max Huang), aka blade hat guy, returns too. His hat looks different from the 2021 movie. In the first movie, the blade edge looked smoother, almost like one clean razor ring. Here, it looks more jagged and tooth-like, which makes it feel nastier and more dangerous.

Raiden (Tadanobu Asano) is much better presented here. His temple, costume, and overall presence feel more like an ancient thunder god. His design is a big upgrade from the 2021 movie.

Scorpion / Hanzo Hasashi (Hiroyuki Sanada) returns, and the movie gives him a really cool entrance back into the story. His scenes have actual mythic weight.

Bi-Han / Noob Saibot (Joe Taslim) also returns, and I respect that they brought Joe Taslim back even though they technically didn’t need to. Noob Saibot looks so different from Sub-Zero that they could have easily hidden a recast, but keeping the same actor matters because Bi-Han becoming Noob Saibot is important Mortal Kombat lore.

Jade (Tati Gabrielle) is here too, and while she could have used more screen time, she does get some important moments with Kitana.

Baraka (CJ Bloomfield) was surprisingly fun. His scenes with Johnny Cage are some of the funniest parts of the movie.

Quan Chi (Damon Herriman) is one of my issues. He’s not intimidating. He mostly just does what Shao Kahn tells him to do. For a creepy sorcerer, he feels more like a pale errand boy.

Sindel (Ana Thu Nguyen) is also underused. She shows up, does a little bit, and that’s about it. For a character like Sindel, that is disappointing.

Cole Young (Lewis Tan) returns as well. I’ll just say this in the non-spoiler section: it is interesting how little the trailers seemed to promote him compared to everyone else. Wonder why.

⚡ New Tournament Rules, Teleportation & Crystal System

One thing I actually really appreciated in Mortal Kombat II is that the movie finally starts feeling more like a mystical fantasy tournament instead of just random fights happening in dark caves.

This movie introduces magical teleportation between arenas, meaning fighters are suddenly thrown into different locations and matchups across multiple realms. It makes the tournament feel unpredictable and much larger in scale. Instead of everyone awkwardly standing around waiting for fights, the tournament itself almost feels alive.

The movie also introduces a crystal system that keeps track of victories and losses between Earthrealm and Outworld. Blue crystals represent Earthrealm fighters, while the opposing side tracks Shao Kahn’s forces. Whenever somebody loses, one of the crystals goes dark, almost like a supernatural scoreboard hanging over the tournament.

Honestly, little additions like this help the movie tremendously because it finally gives Mortal Kombat actual structure and visual stakes. The 2021 movie barely even felt like a tournament half the time, while this sequel constantly reminds you that every fight matters and every loss pushes one side closer to total defeat.

It also all makes this film feel like a soft reboot. Which could be a good thing or bad thing.

⏱️ Pacing / Episode Flow

This movie never slows down.

That is both a compliment and a criticism.

The movie starts with action. Then Johnny Cage shows up, and soon after that, action keeps happening. The tournament structure kicks in, characters get teleported into fights, realms change, people die, villains make moves, heroes regroup, and then the movie throws you into another fight.

It feels like Mortal Kombat story mode on fast-forward.

The issue is that the script structure is flimsy. Not because nothing happens. Too much happens. The movie is so packed that it becomes hard to feel where Act One ends, where Act Two begins, and where Act Three starts. The Netherrealm section is clearly Act Three, but when you’re watching it, it almost sneaks up on you because Act Two was basically nonstop tournament fighting.

The movie does not really breathe.

Sometimes that makes it exciting.

Sometimes that makes it feel rushed.

Theres 3 total characters in this film that are funny, theres

Johnny Cage

Kano

Baraka

Yeah why do we need basically 3 comedians? Idk, but i will say this it does make for a good time, but it can also end up feeling like it can one up another to the point someone is gonns get buried under thr comedy and not stick out as much.

✅ Pros

The biggest positive is that this actually feels like Mortal Kombat.

The 2021 movie did not. I’m sorry, but that movie felt like a generic gritty reboot wearing Mortal Kombat clothes. This sequel has realms, tournament rules, fantasy locations, brutal fights, iconic characters, game-style moves, crazy deaths, and actual Mortal Kombat energy.

The locations are a massive improvement. We are not trapped in a cave for half the movie. We get Outworld, Edenia, Raiden’s temple, the Netherrealm, Baraka’s territory, palace areas, tournament arenas, and the Dead Pool acid room. This movie finally looks like it has a world.

Johnny Cage is great. Karl Urban does an amazing job, and his arc actually works for me. He starts as a washed-up actor who thinks the fighter part of himself is dead, and by the end, he starts becoming Johnny Cage again.

Kano is hilarious. Every time he opens his mouth, something stupid and funny comes out.

Shao Kahn is awesome. He looks intimidating, acts intimidating, and actually feels like a major threat.

The movie also has almost no plot armor, and for Mortal Kombat, that is the right approach. People can die. Important characters can die. Nobody should feel completely safe in this franchise.

The fights are a big step up from the 2021 movie. Some of them are emotional, some are funny, some are brutal, and some are pure fan service in the best way.

Also, nobody forces “fatality” or “flawless victory” into the dialogue like the 2021 movie did. Thank God. I hated how forced that felt before. Here, the references are mostly visual or move-based, and that works better.

This movie is already leaps.Better because there is actually a mortal kombat.In this movie, though thats not really saying much, but its way better then what the 2021 film gave us or didn’t give us.

They finally got rid of that stupid Arcana tattoo thing from the 2021 film, thank you.

❌ Cons

The movie is overstuffed.

There are too many characters for one movie. You can feel the movie trying to juggle returning characters from 2021 while also introducing Johnny Cage, Kitana, Jade, Baraka, Shao Kahn, Quan Chi, Sindel, Noob Saibot, and more mythology. That is a lot.

It ends up feeling like there were almost afraid they will never get around to a third movie. So they tossed everything at the board for this movie.

The script is thin. Fun, yes. Entertaining, yes. But still thin.

Some characters are wasted. Sindel especially feels like she barely matters. Quan Chi also should have been much more intimidating.

Some editing is rough too. There is a scene near the beginning where Kitana is being held back from running to her father, but the cuts keep resetting where everyone is standing. One second someone is holding her, then the next shot they’re not. Then someone else grabs her, and then the next cut they’re just standing apart again. It creates whiplash and makes the scene feel poorly stitched together.

The tournament rules also get a little shaky. Shao Kahn using power to become harder to kill makes sense because he’s a villain, but it also raises questions about what the gods actually allow in these tournaments. There is a point where cheating can make the rules feel meaningless.

I will say just like the first movie.This movie is not really friendly towards newcomers, but it is a little bit better to newcomers than the first movie was.

There are times Kano dominates Johnny Cage in the comedy department, and that should not be a thing because Johnny Cage is supposed to be funny.

Even though johnny cage has his scenes in this movie, he doesnt have a lot of scenes either. Which is kinda ashamed since hes a popular character.

And for my final complaint, most of the acting in this movie is not the best.In fact, I would say it is kind of campy, but not that type of campiness is done on purpose. The type of campiness is done on accident, though.

Surprisingly this film isnt nearly as gory as the 2021 film, yes theres it’s moments, but its used sparingly in this film.

💭 Final Thoughts

Mortal Kombat II is messy, chaotic, overstuffed, and structurally flimsy.

But it is also fun, bloody, energetic, and finally feels like Mortal Kombat.

The 2021 movie felt like it was afraid to actually be Mortal Kombat. This movie is the opposite. It overcorrects hard, but honestly? I would rather watch an overstuffed Mortal Kombat movie that actually embraces the games than a boring cave movie that barely understands the franchise.

It is not perfect.

It is not flawless.

Pun fully intended.

But I had a very enjoyable time.

Also I think we can agree that these two movies do not adapt any of the games they do.Take elements from the games, but make its own story.

But overall I feel this movie had the proper mindset, so a soft reboot but also still have it connected to the 2021 film, i like that.

Also final thought, if they start you know tightning things up and fix its issues? Maybe by the 3rd film we could get a fully amazing MK film thats all I’ll say.

Also I guess I’ll close off with saying, this film is the second best mortal kombat movie in my opinion, but that’s not really saying much, because the the bar has been set.So low and the moral kombat movie adaptation category, and if you know, well you know.

⭐ Rating

7.5/10

🚨 Spoiler Warning

From here on out, I’m going full spoiler mode.

I’m talking deaths, fights, ending, character turns, major moments, everything.

If you haven’t seen Mortal Kombat II yet, turn back now.

🩸 Spoilers

The movie opens by showing us how Shao Kahn took over Kitana’s realm, Edenia. We get Kitana narrating the rules of Mortal Kombat while she walks through the city with her family and the crowd gathers to witness the fight between Shao Kahn and her father.

This opening already does something the 2021 movie failed to do. It actually explains Mortal Kombat in a way newcomers can understand without feeling like a boring exposition dump. Kitana explains that Shao Kahn wants to rule over every realm, but the gods put rules in place. You can’t just take over a realm with the size of your army. You have to win tournaments. Their fates are not settled by armies. They are settled by kombat.

That is a good setup. It establishes ehat Mortal Kombat is to new comers.

Then Kitana’s father challenges Shao Kahn because this is the last tournament Shao Kahn needs to win. Her father is basically the best of the best, and everyone gathers to watch. The fight itself is brutal. Kitana’s father stabs Shao Kahn, but Shao Kahn takes the king’s broken sword and stabs it through both of his hands. Then he yanks it out, slicing off his fingers, and finally drives the end of his hammer through the king’s chest, killing him.

Kitana screams and tries to run to him. Sindel grabs her and tells her to look away, but this is also where the editing gets really messy. One shot has Sindel grabbing Kitana, then the next shot has them standing apart again like nothing happened. Then Kitana tries again, a guard grabs her, and after another cut, the guard is just standing there not grabbing her anymore. It is weirdly bad continuity for such an important emotional scene.

Shao Kahn forces everyone to kneel. Sindel tries to attack him, and he forces her to kneel too. Then Kitana comes forward, and Shao Kahn takes a blue ribbon from her father’s corpse and wraps it around her hair. He basically says her father should not have brought his daughter there, and now she is his daughter.

That opening is dark, brutal, and immediately gives Kitana a reason to hate him.

Then we cut to Johnny Cage at a convention booth, and nobody is coming over for autographs. He is washed up. Not mildly washed up. Full “people only remember you from old movies and maybe want a reboot someday” washed up.

After the convention, Johnny is putting his stuff in his car when Sonya Blade and Raiden approach him. He assumes they are fans. Sonya makes it clear they are not. Johnny thinks the whole Mortal Kombat thing is some kind of movie pitch or fan film idea. Raiden opens a portal to prove they are serious, and Johnny walks through it completely confused.

He arrives at Raiden’s temple, which apparently exists now. That is one of many reasons this movie feels like a soft reboot. The first movie did not really establish Raiden this way, but here he has a full temple and everything feels more fantasy-based.

Johnny meets the returning Earthrealm fighters, including Cole Young. Sonya explains that they need Johnny because they lost one of their champions, Kung Lao, the hat guy from the first movie. Johnny realizes he is basically the understudy, which is a funny idea. He asks what happened to the last guy, and Sonya tells him Shang Tsung killed him. Johnny’s reaction is basically, wait, this is a tournament and people can just die? Sonya reminds him it’s Mortal Kombat. Fight to the death.

Johnny opens the door and says to send him back. He says he was told this was a tournament, not a tournament with Squid Game rules.

That got me. We’re clearly in 2025 timeline.

There’s also a moment where everyone is giving the big heroic speech about how they were chosen and must protect Earthrealm. The music swells, the camera lingers on Johnny, and it looks like this is the classic moment where the new guy decides to join.

Instead, he says, “Fuck that,” and walks away.

That is honestly one of the funniest moments in the movie.

Before he leaves, Sonya tries to reach him. She says she knows he used to be a martial artist and won medals before he became an actor. Johnny says that part of him is dead and that the part of him she wants has been dead for a long time. Sonya tells him maybe that part of him is trying to make its way back up.

That line is basically Johnny’s whole arc.

Raiden warns Johnny that the gods can find him again if he tries to hide. Johnny says he’s not going into hiding right away. First, he’s going to go to every bar possible, drink every alcohol, and then go into hiding.

Johnny goes to a bar and drinks. A fan recognizes him and says he used to love one of his movies, Mental Oxygen. Johnny appreciates it at first, but then the fan says they should reboot it. Johnny bitterly says nobody wants that anymore. People want fast, quippy action movies with Keanu Reeves shooting hundreds of people for revenge.

That joke definitely places the movie in a modern setting.

Then Johnny asks the bartender for one more drink, and the bartender is played by Ed Boon. That was a fun cameo.

Suddenly, Johnny gets teleported away and ends up in Outworld, specifically in the city area of what used to be Kitana’s home realm, now ruled by Shao Kahn. He gets thrown into a fight with Kitana. He does not know she is secretly helping Earthrealm yet.

Johnny tries to run away and says he does not feel comfortable fighting a woman. Kitana says, “Don’t worry, you won’t,” and then starts beating him up. He runs, climbs onto a roof, and she jumps after him and kicks him through the roof onto the floor. Shao Kahn tells her to finish him, but she doesn’t. Johnny just wobbles and collapses like a defeated game character. That was a clever reference to the games.

Meanwhile Sonya fights Sindel in the spike pit area. Sindel’s scream powers honestly look kind of rough. Not awful, but not great either. Sonya gets knocked around at first, but then she uses her powers to blow Sindel’s chest open, revealing her rib cage, and then kicks Sindel’s head into a spike, killing her.

Sindel dies in the movie she was introduced in. And yes, she is about as useful here as she was in Mortal Kombat: Annihilation. Maybe even less useful.

Before Johnny’s fight with Kitana, we also see Quan Chi resurrecting Kung Lao as a revenant. Then shadowy figures bring Kano’s dead body to him too. Kano wakes up, and Quan Chi basically says he didn’t become a revenant because he barely has a soul to corrupt. Kano laughs and says something like, “Good thing for loopholes.”

That is peak Kano.

Kano also immediately starts complaining about missing his eye. He wants Quan Chi to give him a new one. He makes fun of Quan Chi’s makeup and eyeliner-looking face, saying something like if he’s going to get more eyeliner, don’t worry, he already has enough on his face. Quan Chi creates an eye and just tosses it on the ground. Kano puts it in, and now he can shoot a laser from his eye again.

Kano also calls Quan Chi Pennywise at one point. Later he calls him Voldemort’s nutsack. More on that later.

Johnny loses his fight, and Sonya wins hers, so both sides lose one fighter crystal. The crystals are basically the tournament scoreboard. Blue marks Earthrealm, red marks the villains. When someone loses, one crystal goes out.

Johnny gets teleported back to Raiden’s temple and wakes up confused. Raiden tells him he lost and that Kitana spared his life. Then revenant Kung Lao walks in. At first, it looks like he is alive again, but then he says Shao Kahn revived him and showed him the way. He still has a tournament glow around him, showing he is still part of the tournament, but he says that’s not why he’s there.

Then he summons his hat toward Raiden and slits Raiden’s throat.

Raiden doesn’t fully die, but he is near death. He ends up floating and lying there like Zordon in that stupid Power Rangers movie with Ivan Ooze. Shang Tsung and Quan Chi attack, and they steal Raiden’s powers into an amulet. Then Shao Kahn absorbs the amulet’s power and becomes basically immortal. He can be injured, but he heals from everything.

This creates one of my issues. I don’t mind villains cheating. Shao Kahn is evil. He should not be sitting there saying, “No, no, no, the rule book says I can’t do this.” That would be boring. But there is a point where this does make you wonder what the gods even allow. If you can become immortal during a tournament, then what counts as winning? Cole Young later gets a fatal hit on Shao Kahn, but Shao Kahn only survives because he is immortal. So technically, without the immortality, Cole would have won that fight. That does make the rules feel a little shaky.

Speaking of Cole Young, he gets teleported to the Dead Pool acid room. Shao Kahn comes down to face him. Cole does slice Shao Kahn’s throat, but Shao Kahn heals. Then Shao Kahn smashes Cole in the face with his hammer while Cole is on the ground and dumps his body into the acid.

Bye Cole Young.

Honestly, I was not sad. I did not like Cole. He was one of the reasons I hated the first movie. He felt like a generic Hollywood-created protagonist who took focus away from actual Mortal Kombat characters. His death here really does feel like the franchise saying, “Okay, we heard you.”

Jax fights Jade and wins, but he lets her live because Kitana spared Johnny earlier. Jade asks why, and Jax says her friend let one of his team live, so now they’re even. That was a good Jax moment.

Liu Kang fights revenant Kung Lao in this gorgeous spirit realm temple area in the sky. This is one of the best fights in the movie. It has emotional weight because Liu Kang wants his brother back. Kung Lao is corrupted, but Liu Kang still believes there is a way to save him.

The fight ends brutally. Kung Lao throws his hat down onto the floor and spins it like a saw blade. It looks like Liu Kang might let himself fall back into it, but at the last second he grabs Kung Lao’s hands and pulls him into his own spinning hat blade. Kung Lao gets annihilated by his own weapon. Liu Kang says he will find a way to bring him back and save him, but not today.

That was honestly one of the stronger emotional moments.

After this, the heroes regroup at Raiden’s temple. Raiden is badly injured and keeps asking for Liu Kang because Liu Kang is basically like a son to him. Kitana has also been secretly coming to Earthrealm to give Raiden intel about what Shao Kahn is doing. She uses a necklace that Raiden gave to her father and that was passed down to her.

Johnny’s reaction when he finds out Kitana is a good guy is hilarious. He basically says, “Wait, I got kicked by a good guy?” Yeah, that’s tough, man.

Kitana goes back to her realm, but Jade and two guards are waiting for her. Jade arrests her because she has to do her duty. It’s hard for Jade because she and Kitana are like sisters, but Kitana made her choice.

The heroes then need to get to the amulet. Someone suggests going through Baraka’s territory because nobody really watches it closely. Johnny asks, “What are Tarkatans?” and everyone looks at him. He goes, “What?”

That right there is what the first movie needed. A character who asks the obvious newcomer questions.

They go to Baraka’s place. Some Tarkatan kids tell Baraka that people teleported there. Baraka comes out, and Liu Kang asks him to join them against Shao Kahn. Baraka says Shao Kahn has an army and asks if they have one. Liu Kang says no. Baraka walks away and says they are wasting his time.

Then Johnny tries to negotiate.

This is one of the funniest sections of the movie.

Johnny starts hyping up Liu Kang as Earth’s greatest fighter, says he’s Johnny Cage the actor, and basically tries to make Baraka feel like he should fight alongside them because they are the best. But Johnny’s mouth gets away from him, and he ends up insulting Baraka and his people, basically calling them cowards.

Baraka stops and says Johnny pissed him off. He agrees to a duel.

Johnny thinks this worked. He tells the group he’s in showbiz and knows how to negotiate.

Then Baraka points at Johnny and says he’ll fight him.

Johnny points at himself like, “Me?”

The group immediately huddles up like, this man is going to die. Jax says oh no, he is definitely going to die. Johnny agrees. He hard agrees. He is going to die.

Johnny then asks Baraka for one moment and tries to figure out what to do. Baraka starts attacking him. Johnny asks for a weapon, but nobody gives him one. He runs into the tents and hides behind curtains. There are kids there, and Johnny tries to get them to be quiet. Baraka walks in, and the kids immediately point toward Johnny.

That got me.

Eventually Johnny gets knocked down, his sunglasses fall out, and Sonya tells him to act like an actor. Johnny gets up, puts on the glasses, the Mortal Kombat theme kicks in, and he says, “It’s showtime.”

The theater clapped.

Johnny starts dodging Baraka’s attacks. It is unrealistic, sure, but remember, Johnny actually was trained in martial arts before he became an actor. Then he does the iconic Johnny Cage split and punches Baraka right in the balls.

The audience clapped. I clapped.

Baraka laughs and says that was the best fight ever. He tells Johnny he has to teach him his ways. Johnny says he will definitely do that one day, but first they need a favor.

Baraka sneaks them into the palace underground. He says he did his part and can’t go any farther. Then he gives Johnny this very morbid Tarkatan blessing about making enemies suffer and eating them with their teeth. Johnny tries to match the energy and says random macho stuff. Then he quotes Star Wars and says, “You did well, my apprentice.”

That line was dumb, but I laughed.

Inside the palace, the group splits up like they’re in a Scooby-Doo movie. Luckily, Sonya and Johnny stay together.

Liu Kang finds the amulet locked in a cage. He tries to open it. It won’t budge. He kicks it. Still nothing. Then Shao Kahn walks in and says something like, what’s this, one of Earthrealm’s protectors came here to die? He attacks Liu Kang. Liu Kang burns him, but Shao Kahn heals from the fire because of Raiden’s power.

Jax comes in and tries to break the cage open. Shao Kahn attacks him and even pulls off one of his arms. Sonya joins the fight. Johnny tries to sneak around toward the amulet. Jax jumps back in to protect Sonya, and Shao Kahn pushes him toward a pillar and drives the end of his hammer through his upper chest near the throat, killing him.

That death actually surprised me. I wasn’t expecting Jax to die.

Noob Saibot appears, grabs the amulet, and takes it to the Netherrealm. That’s how Kano later knows where it went.

Kano helps Johnny because he hates Outworld. Not because he cares about Earth. Not because he’s good now. He explains he hates Outworld because it’s all dust, rocks, and sand, and he misses booze, staying up late, and having sex. He starts listing one-somes, two-somes, three-somes, and four-somes.

That is such a Kano reason to help save the world.

He also lines up three guards in a row and lasers them all down with one eye blast. He tells them to stand in a row first like he’s setting up a bowling shot. That was hilariously evil.

Kano tells Raiden he knows the amulet is in the Netherrealm. Johnny asks what the Netherrealm is, and Raiden explains it is basically a domain of hell. Raiden warns Johnny he may not have enough energy to bring him back if he sends him there. Johnny says it will be worth it. Raiden says Johnny has changed, and Johnny says that’s called perspective.

That was a nice moment.

Raiden says they’ll need a guide, so they go to Hanzo Hasashi. Scorpion is peacefully living in a Japanese-style garden with cherry blossoms, trees, fruit, and gravel. Kano sees how nice it is and says if this is hell, sign him up to die.

Scorpion doesn’t want to help at first. Johnny tells him Bi-Han is alive. How Johnny knows that, I don’t know. Maybe Raiden told him to say it because he knew Scorpion would listen.

The moment Scorpion hears Bi-Han’s name, he has flashbacks to Bi-Han killing his family in the first movie. Then the beautiful garden transforms into the Netherrealm. The fruit Kano was eating turns moldy. Hanzo becomes Scorpion again, pulls out his weapon, and they go to find Bi-Han.

In the Netherrealm, Noob Saibot attacks. He uses his shadow clone, so the shadow fights Johnny and Kano while Bi-Han fights Scorpion. Noob has the amulet, so they need to get it out of his hand.

At one point, Noob grabs Johnny and hangs him off the side of a cliff while Johnny has the amulet. Johnny falls and tumbles down rocks, and the CGI looks rough here. He face-plants onto the ground but survives. Don’t ask me how. He’s unconscious for a bit.

Scorpion fights Bi-Han, and the shadow clone eventually returns into Bi-Han. Scorpion throws his chains into Bi-Han and pulls the shadow out of him, saying “Get over here.” Then he slices the shadow in half from the head down. That shot is epic, but it was spoiled in the trailer.

Jade shows up in the Netherrealm too. Before that, she had a scene where Shang Tsung was sitting on the throne and wanted to go help Bi-Han. Jade says to send her instead. Shang Tsung questions her loyalty because of Kitana, and Jade says Kitana made her choice. Before Jade leaves, she smashes Shao Kahn’s symbol off her staff, showing she is done serving him. That was actually a nice visual moment.

In the Netherrealm, Jade fires a beam at Noob. Kano shoots his laser. Scorpion breathes fire. Noob blocks all of it. Johnny wakes up and says, “You want to know what power is?” Then he finally unlocks his green energy Shadow Kick and launches himself at Bi-Han, kicking him off the cliff. The amulet gets destroyed, and Bi-Han falls into lava.

With the amulet destroyed, Shao Kahn loses Raiden’s power and becomes mortal again.

Back in the final battle, Sonya has been knocked down, and Kitana is chained up outside in the courtyard while the entire town watches. This is the final battle. If Shao Kahn wins, he rules Earthrealm.

Sonya uses her powers to free Kitana. Kitana grabs her blades and declares herself an Earthrealm protector. One of the blue crystals lights back up. Apparently you can just pledge yourself to Earthrealm mid-tournament and become a contestant. I did not know you could do that, but okay. Mortal Kombat logic.

Kitana fights Shao Kahn. Now that he is mortal, he can bleed. She stabs him in the throat, and this time he does not heal. She gets on top of him and says the world needs to see his face for what he really is. She removes his mask and calls him mortal. Then she takes her fan blades, shoves them into both sides of his head, and uses her power to open them inside his skull. The blades spin and slice his head into pieces like pancakes.

That is definitely an R-rated Mortal Kombat movie.

The people start bowing to Kitana, and she tells them they do not kneel. They are strong. She becomes their queen, and Edenia is freed.

Raiden’s power returns to him just in time because Shang Tsung is walking up with a knife, ready to kill him. Raiden wakes up, and Shang Tsung says, “You’re supposed to be dead.” Raiden says, “And you’re supposed to be running.”

Then he blasts him with lightning, and Shang Tsung teleports away.

The movie then ends with Johnny sitting at a desert camp telling Baraka and his family the story of how he saved the day. Except he is absolutely lying through his teeth. He claims he saved Raiden, defeated the villain single-handedly, and basically rewrites the entire movie as The Legend of Johnny Cage.

Raiden and Sonya walk up, and Sonya gives him this look like, really, my dude? That’s what you told them?

Johnny says he was just telling these folks how they saved the day and maybe he took a few liberties. Baraka, who believes Johnny’s fake version, praises Sonya Blade, queen to Johnny freaking Cage, who saved Johnny from a pit of spikes. Sonya gives Johnny that frustrated look, and Johnny says, okay, maybe he took three liberties.

Then the movie hints that the dead characters are not going to stay dead. Sonya says the plan is to use Quan Chi to resurrect their friends, then kill Kano afterward. Kano nervously nods and agrees because, honestly, fair.

Then Kano shows up with Quan Chi in handcuffs and says they were looking for him. He says, “He may look like Voldemort’s nutsack, but he is useful.”

That line destroyed me.

Then the group walks off together in slow motion like an old cheesy 80s action movie, heading off to bring back their friends, while the iconic Mortal Kombat theme plays over the credits.

And that’s the movie.

It is messy.

It is ridiculous.

It is packed way too full.

But it is also bloody, fun, stupid, funny, and way more Mortal Kombat than the 2021 movie ever was.

Also, the end credits plays the iconic mortal kombat! Theme, here it is in case some y’all don’t know.

By the way, speaking of video game adaptations. The next video game adaptation, i’m excited for comes out later this year in september, titled Resident Evil. It’s supposed to be a reboot movie. And i’m actually looking forward to it, here’s the trailer.