'Mortal Kombat 2' tries to expand the universe based on the legendary video game. Karl Urban is sadder here than in 'The Boys', and the fights are darker than in 1995. But fans, it seems, liked it.

Earthrealm is under threat. The warlike villain from Outworld, Shao Kahn, is gathering a new team to participate in the Mortal Kombat tournament and challenges Raiden's remaining fighters. The latter, however, has an incomplete team: one member is missing. The choice then falls on B-movie action star Johnny Cage, who is not thrilled about participating in saving Earth, as he initially doesn't believe what's happening and later outright refuses because he's afraid of letting the new team down.

However, certain higher powers (Elder Gods?) did not choose Cage by chance, and after some time he automatically ends up on the battlefield against his will. Meanwhile, a conspiracy is brewing in Shao Kahn's clan. Knowing that the Outworld fighters are plotting another dirty trick, his adopted daughter Kitana plans to overthrow the tyrant stepfather and wants to enlist Earth's forces for this. A classic of the genre: the bad guys aren't so bad, the good guys aren't so good, and everyone ends up in the same sandbox.

The continuation of the reboot of the cult video game adaptation was again directed by Simon McQuoid, for whom this is only his second feature film. So it's safe to say that he is still taking his first cautious steps in the corridor of fantasy fighting games and immediately landed on material where gross mistakes could easily bury a career that hasn't even really started yet. But fortunately, the author treated the universe of the famous game (which includes two full-length films, several series, animation, and even a children's cartoon) with the reverence of a student, paying respect to the lore and all the main characters.

The same cannot be said for the plot that frames the already popular battle heroes. And if in the first part the emphasis was on the quantity and quality of fights, only lightly touching on the details of who is kicking whom and why, in the sequel the story tried to acquire some depth. It tried, it attempted, it even started—but never finished. However, this is easily explained by the fact that another part awaits us ahead. Whether it's the final one or not is unknown. But this attempt noticeably impacted the film's pace: it slowed down a bit, spending screen time on pompous speeches.

Nevertheless, in the second part of 'Mortal Kombat' (no one calls the tournament 'Deadly Battle' anymore—that's a faux pas), there have been no significant changes compared to the 2021 film. If I include personal impressions, the first part seemed even better: angrier and more energetic.

In 'MK-2', the main focus is on the general introduction and a more detailed acquaintance with the universe of Earthrealm and Outworld, as well as a detailed introduction to new characters, including Kitana (Adeline Rudolph) with fans and a very beautiful face (which is why she almost never wears the canonical mask). And the main cherry on top is the aged Johnny Cage played by Karl Urban, whose image will endlessly remind you of Butcher from . Plus, he'll joke just as much, but not as well as in the series (Kano, it seems, has outdone him).

Nikita Margaev

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Open material

Also added is that very tournament with scorekeeping that fans had been waiting for so long, but this did not contribute to originality. Everyone fights in more or less the same locations, only they have become significantly darker than in the first part, and it reminded me, by the way, of the original 1995 film—the same gloom and crampedness. But the choreography back then was even better. The current 'battle' unfortunately cannot boast of this. The bulky armor on some characters noticeably restricts movement, creating a sense of operetta. The large sets only reinforce this impression.

However, video game fans will most likely be delighted: almost all characters are accounted for, and each one, easily recognizable even by their fighting stance, appears on screen for a couple of minutes. Some scenes even directly copy the opening screens from the game, which brings an additional sense of satisfaction, like meeting an old acquaintance: there's not much to talk about, but it's enough to feel the warmth.

The motivation of some characters and the relationships of specific ones (for example, the story of Liu Kang and Kung Lao) raise questions, and the feeling that everything that happens can be replayed with a different character in case of failure does not leave throughout the entire viewing. In short, there is an opinion that the second part is just a filler before something grand. But 'MK' is still not 'The Avengers', so these hopes are cautious.