Mortal Kombat II: More Kombat, More Mortal.

The triumphant return of Riot’s Movie Reviews!!! Okay, not really triumphant per se, more like…Quiet? (wink) I didn’t honestly think my break would take this long, but the chaos of life, work, and health put me off my rhythm more than I was expecting. Looking for the “right” film/opportunity also extended the break further than intended. The Super Mario Galaxy Movie seemed like a good choice to return, with the intersection of animation, video games, and the fact that I’d reviewed the first film all being present. But alas, I still haven’t seen it! Animal Farm was also a great contender, but the prospect of watching the bastardization of a literary classic which I also reviewed seemed too bitter a prospect. Lucky for me, the rest of the world saw that pathetic money grab for what it was, the movie tanked, and Orwell was able to finally stop rolling in his grave. It pains me to say: shame on you Andy Serkis.

Turns out, it’s hard to write movie reviews if you don’t actually make it out to the movies. Who knew? So after all was said and done, I went back to the same roots that made Mario a contender. I hope you will all join me again every week and for anyone that’s missed them, welcome back to Riot’s Reviews!

Riot’s Movie Reviews: Mortal Kombat 2

While I try my best not to shackle the quality of sequels to their predecessors or let it influence my opinion, Mortal Kombat 2 sort of forces the issue, mainly in the fact that the sequel is a big improvement to the original. Maybe I would have felt better about the first film had I seen it in theaters (crazy to think that I was still effectively locked in my apartment at the time), but after re-reading my previous review, I stand by my criticisms. The reason I can’t avoid comparisons for MK2 all together is that the creators very obviously took the fan critiques to heart and made adjustments that were more true to the video games.

Cole Young as Protagonist: I will reiterate, I didn’t necessarily find too much wrong with Lewis Tan’s portrayal. But, as mentioned then, centering the plot of the story around a brand new character felt forced and unnecessary considering the vast catalog of already existing characters. Relegating Cole to obscure side character status felt maybe a step too far, but again we are talking about creators listening to what the fans wanted and delivering a fix, however unceremonious. And while I wouldn’t call him the main character of the story, bringing in a charismatic actor like Karl Urban (Johnny Cage) is certainly not going to hurt anything. Urban’s brash demeanor combined with his comedic timing and ability to land jokes was a great addition, helping to push the limits of a rated R movie past merely physical violence/gore. His performance exemplified leading man material that maybe was missing from what Tan could do.

The Tournament: This is an element that was sorely missing from the original film and was rectified in a fantastic way for the sequel. The video game is a 100% tournament style fighting game, so leaning into this format was always going to be the right way to go. You could clearly see its effect on the sequel with everything from its expansion of characters (even if they weren’t directly involved in the tournament) to their signature combat moves/styles, to the brilliant set and arena designs. Not wasting time on unnecessary plot devices ensured that the creators could heap in all the Easter Eggs they wanted, which speaks straight to the hearts of people who love the games.

The Similarities: Even by my early review standards, I gave the original a 7/10 which is not too shabby. Many of the elements in the original that made the film entertaining could also be found in its sequel. The fight choreography was pretty exceptional again, particularly a battle between Kung Lao (Max Huang) and Liu Kang (Ludi Lin). That single fight alone could have made the whole movie worth it. The kinetic fighting was so entertaining that the special effects (centering around Kung Lao’s signature chakra hat) were just a cherry on top. I would have almost preferred it to have been made into the final conflict because of its quality. Overall, I was extremely impressed with every fight scene, that was simply just the best one.

While being easily exposed as a poor plot device, the resurrection of dead characters gave audiences back the gem of a performance that was Kano. Josh Lawson was and is the perfect choice for this role. Hilarious, crass, and able to hold his own in a fight, Kano was by far the best character from the original and bouncing the role off a character like Karl Urban made for some of the best comedic moments of the film. Returning readers will know that I am a sucker for anything Hiroyuki Sanada is in and while I was slightly disappointed with his decreased involvement in the story, it was enough to keep me satisfied. The creators leaned perhaps a little too hard on Scorpion and Bi Han in the original. Reducing their roles was a necessary correction.

New Additions: Kitana (Adeline Rudolph) as secondary protagonist was a great addition to the story and I was very impressed with the costume/makeup design of Baraka (CJ Bloomfield) and was tickled by Bloomfield’s acting. The humor was reminiscent of Drax in Guardians of the Galaxy. Finally, I was floored by Martyn Ford (Shao Kahn). His physique in unreal on its own, but he handled the action sequences incredibly well and provided an excellent voice to the character. His costume design was on point and I thought overall he was able to bring the right kind of brutality and menacing to one of Mortal Kombat’s most iconic characters.

Riot’s Rating: 8.5/10: Obviously this isn’t Oscar winning stuff, but sometimes an exceptional popcorn movie is all you really want after a long week. The acting, while spotty at times is more than good enough to compliment the visually captivating nature of everything from costume design, to sets, to fight choreography. The creators took the notes given to them and improved on what was already decent foundation. I’ll be very interested to see what they are going to do next.