Mortal Kombat II (2026) Review
- Julio Ramirez
- 6 days ago
- 8 min read
THE FOLLOWING REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS OF THE DISCUSSED FILM. READERS DISCRETION IS ADVISED.
When the reboot of Mortal Kombat released during the COVID-19 pandemic, it was one of the most fun times I had as theaters reopened so you get your ass I’d tune in for a sequel that exceeds expectations.
PLOT
The 2026 sequel continues immediately following the events of the first film where the titular tournament officially begins. Thunder God Lord Raiden and special forces agent Sonya Blade recruit washed up action star Johnny Cage to be an official Earthrealm participant against Shao Kahn’s Outworld participants. Although he does not have an arcana power like the allies of Liu Kang, Jackson Briggs or Cole Young, he’s still sent to Edenia to face Princess Kitana who spares him in combat due to being a spy for Raiden, whereas Sonya impales the head of her corrupted mother Sindel (Ana Thu Nguyen). The necromancer Quan Chi would resurrect Sonya’s rival Kano to retrieve the ancient amulet of Death God Shinnok and in exchange gives him a new eye. As for Shang Tsung, he revives Kung Lao to be a revenant, sending him to wound Raiden to steal enough power that would power the amulet. When that happens, the tournament continues. Liu Kang would end up killing his corrupted cousin in the Blue Portal Stage, while Jax spares Kitana’s bodyguard Jade as she did to Johnny and Shao uses the amulet to be immortal and kill Cole via mallot. When regrouping, the champions of Earth realize they need to sneak into Shao’s castle and destroy the amulet. After Johnny bests the Tarkatan leader Baraka that leaves a good impression on the latter, they’re able to gain passage where they go mostly unnoticed. Inside however does the emperor fatally stab Jax and summons a reincarnated Bi-Han aka Noob Saibot to protect the amulet in the Netherrealm. When Sonya & Liu Kang get sent to face Shao in the tournament’s final round, Kano saves Johnny from execution and is willing to save Earthrealm from Outworld for the sake of living freely. Raiden sends the two with what’s left of his power to the Netherrealm to destroy the amulet. They get the assist of Cole’s ancestor, Hanzo Hazashi/Scorpion, especially when telling him the involvement of Bi-Han. Jade would report Kitana’s betrayal to Shao who would have her chained to the public square to see him declare his victory over Earthrealm. Liu Kang retreats when wounded, vowing return stronger. Shao knocks Sonya unconscious, but she frees Kitana from her chains and the princess challenges him as a champion of earth. Jade too would switch sides and would enter the Netherrealm to help the others destroy the amulet and defeat Noob. Simultaneously, Johnny unlocks green aura during the fight. Raiden restores to full power when the amulet is destroyed and he pushes Shang Tsung off cliffside when he tries to kill him. With no more of an advantage, Kitana is able to kill Shao by slicing his head in pieces with her razor fans, avenging Edwina as he took it by killing her father Jerrod (Desmond Chiam). As the new emperor, the film ends with her and Raiden’s team including Baraka & Kano tending to use Quan Chi to revive the other fallen champions.
THOUGHTS
When Simon McQuoid & James Wan did the first one, all that mattered was that the gory violence of the games made the cut and they succeed again in this fun sequel. What would matter next is to have a plot that makes enough sense to follow along. Apart from Benjamin Wallfisch returning to compose another exciting score, writer Jeremy Slater retconning the arcana here was for the better because that was meant for new fans. Having said that, everything that worked before is just as good. All the special effects done for the fatalities are as graphic as I wanted, but the biggest step up was the production design because I was stunned with how the Tarkatan temple and the landscape of Edenia appeared before the Netherrealm climax. The authenticity to the set pieces like so definitely help make the fights as immersive as when playing the games. I mean it’s pretty impressive to see moments like Liu Kang using Kung Lao’s razor hat against him or Baraka launching darts from his body. Apart from cooler effects, some are gonna wonder what does this do differently from its predecessor. The first one made it about believing in yourself and trusting your resources, whereas this sequel leans into the fact of how important it is to overcome your own inner struggle if you want to do good, otherwise you won’t able to persevere the way you have in mind. Shifting gears as in swapping leads was a bold thing to do after introducing an original character of Lewis Tan’s Cole Young. Since his arc was basically complete because he chose to express elite selflessness by leaving his family behind to enter the tournament. Despite brutally dying, it wasn’t in vein since his allies, new & recurring, saved the world with impromptu teamwork. Karl Urban was an excellent fan cast come true as Johnny Cage because he is as cocky as you’d expect going into the invitation and the longer he stays, the more selfless he becomes. The fact he’s the one to impress Baraka by a crotch shot is straight up hilarious to me. And if sunglasses is all you need to be confident to get through enough fights that’ll gain your aura, then anything is possible. Plus I find it great irony Cage was making Middle Earth references given Urban played Eomer in Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy. Moving on, Jessica McNamee is still cool as Sonya because she’s just as headstrong willing to trust Cage who ain’t as qualified and Mehcad Brooks was still dope as Jax because he still balanced Pride with ferocity. Sadly, it wasn’t enough for the latter to make it to the end. What I liked much more about Raiden here apart from having a much accurate costume from the games is that Tadanibu Asano is actually more patient as he doesn’t belittle Cage the way he did with Cole. Having him get injured midway does excuse why he can’t get involved way better than just saying he’s not allowed because he eventually will should the franchise progress. Ludi Lin also brought a smart approach as Liu Kang since what’s different from his courageousness since he was willing to defeat his possessed cousin with minimal hesitation, he chose to be strategical when retreating because he knew he couldn’t risk dying yet. That wasn’t the case however when it came to Kitana because although she was mostly cautious when being a spy, Adeline Rudolph portrays the princess as one who is vulnerable yet unyielding to the enemy that has controlled her life for so long. She knew she needed to wait out her revenge and boy was it worth it. Apart from Raiden’s team, she would’ve not gotten so far had she not convinced her closest friend to jump ship with her. Tati Gabrielle was solid in her given time as Jade because she’s got her own fierceness but also had a hard time understanding she was in the wrong side. Once she saw how the emperor treated his daughter as an expendable; that wasn’t enough for her to do the right thing. I was totally down to see Baraka onscreen given how unpredictable he is, but I never expected him to be a bigger highlight than anticipated. CJ Bloomfield really made the best of his time as the infamous tarkatan because although monstrous outside, he’s got his nobility that validates why Cage impresses him so easily. Josh Lawson’s return as Kano return was a whole other surprise because rather than stick to the source material where he’s just plain evil that he only cares about his own gain, he instead prefers having free will when being evil and he knows he can still have that as long as Earth remains unbound to Outworld. So seeing him team up with Jade, Scorpion & Cage is a sight I never thought to have been possible until now. However, I am with Sonya that he shouldn’t be trusted forever because once he has enough momentum, he’ll betray them sooner than later. What was expected however was Max Huang portraying the revenant Kung Lao as blindsided as possible because he’s more vicious without a clear conscience compared to when alive, hence Liu’s struggle to face him knowing he’s not really himself. I definitely thought it was clever to see Chin Han show off the true schemer Shang Tsung since he was hesitant to give the amulet Shao and was pretty close to kill Raiden whether or not he was supposed to at that point. Should he return as well, I won’t be surprised to see how far he’ll continue to be calculating. Seeing Quan Chi went exactly the way I thought because Damon Herriman shows him to have his own level of arrogance to bring to the table since it is he who can bring back the deceased and manipulate their souls, whereas Kano’s loophole was being too corrupt to control. With such an advantage, some will wonder if he’ll have a trick up his sleeve should we see him again. Next, I believe the true scene stealer is Shao Kahn himself. Not only did Martyn Ford match the physique and rocked in his costume, but he backs up the grit of a conqueror. He’s strong enough to fight his own battles since he didn’t need the amulet to kill Jerrod, but still getting access to it later on was smart enough on his end to wipe out the risk of defeat until being outsmarted by someone he looked down on. Had he given any compassion to Kitana for what he did to her family, he likely would’ve made her & Kade all the more conflicted to decide what side to be on. Last but not least, Mortal Kombat does not work without one rivalry that defines its existence. The second Sub Zero Kuei Liang may have not appeared yet, but it won’t stop Joe Taslim continuing to make Noob just as sadistic as when alive. How does he top it? Multiplying himself to double the mayhem. Hiroyuki Sanada still embodies Scorpion for having this mixed balance of being vengeful yet still honorable since it is vengeance that drives him to keep fighting. Since it is possible for him to get out of the Netherrealm, I’m sure the door will be open again should the stakes get higher. This movie is hella fun, but there were still some moments that confused me upon rewatching. For starters, Jade shouldn’t be surprised Kitana uses her ribbon as a weapon when she taught her everything can be a weapon. And this is before she gives her the bladed fans for crying out loud. And how did Shang Tsung even know from his spies Kano took the amulet from the temple? That’s so much of a stretch when he could’ve just said Quan Chi told him because he took Kano’s body and brought it to Edenia anyway. Of all the things to retcon however, why is Sonya the one recruiting Cage instead of Cole who said he was gonna go to Hollywood? I know you want to establish he won’t be the main character anymore, but it didn’t have to involve retconning a cliffhanger. It’s even dumb Quan chi didn’t even bother checking Kano’s pocket first and he wouldn’t need to revive him, which could’ve prevented Team Earthrealm out of an advantage. And if he was too corrupt to control, he should’ve just killed him again rather than give him a new eye. Kitana also shouldn’t be surprised Jade would follow her if she is tasked to be her bodyguard. It’s already problematic neither of Raiden’s temples have any true power. Shao messes up choosing to have Kitana chained to town square when he could’ve just executed her before the others broke into the castle. Hell, he also should’ve had Noob take the amulet rather than give the protagonists a chance to take it. And I don’t even he should’ve been given a point to facing Sonya when she didn’t even yield nor die. Playing at a close call for Kitana’s revenge is fine, but it feels a little dishonest of a climax if you ask me. Other than that however, Mortal Kombat II is a much better video game adaptation for being what the fans want in terms of action packed madness that matches its source material. If the previous film impressed you, then it’s a no brainer you’ll dig this too.
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