Mortal Kombat II…sigh…
As you’ve heard me say waaay too often this year, there was not a lot to choose from this weekend. Not psyched for a live-action sheep mystery. No interest at all in a Billie Eilish concert flick. And I don’t even want to know what this is all about.
So, the default winner for this Mother’s Day weekend (Love you, mom! Love you Mrs Average Dude!) is Mortal Kombat II. MKII is the second installment of the reboot, which started back in 2021. Do I even need to rehash my distain over long wait times between sequels? Still waiting on Fast and Furious X pt 2…and ONLY for the over-the-top performance by Jason Mamoa. If the whole rest of the cast drove off into the sunset, that’d be okay-fine with me. But I digress.
Mentally prepared
To remind ourselves about the whole plot and tenor of Mortal Kombat, Mrs Average Dude and I watched the first installment on Friday. It was what you might have expected. Short on story, long on martial arts mayhem. Kicks and blocks and chi super-powers. I didn’t remember one single thing from this movie. Not even that I saw it. After the credits rolled, I might classify it as a mildly entertaining popcorn pusher that probably came out in early August (Yep, I just looked it up. August 18, 1995).
The Urban Effect
I will come right out and say it…after (re)watching the first, I did not have high expectations for Mortal Kombat II. In fact, I probably have skipped it altogether if not for the addition of one Karl Urban.
Urban’s star has never been higher and I can’t remember a single thing he has been in that I didn’t enjoy very much. He nailed Bones McCoy in the Star Trek reboot of 2009. He turned Judge Dredd into a cult classic. His comic take on Skurge in Thor Ragnarök I have mixed feelings on, but only because I respect the original story from the comics as a kid. Do you remember his small but perfect role in the Lord of the Rings franchise? And don’t get me started on Billy Butcher. Karl Urban brings it, every time.
So, on his addition alone I opted in for Mortal Kombat II. And I think that decision by New Line Cinema saved MKII from being a sad, rehash of the tepid first movie that probably would have bombed.
Talk about Yin and Yang
Let’s face it…if you saw the first, you know the story. It hasn’t changed. Nothing new has been added (literally) other than Johnny Cage (Urban). And while the story didn’t revolve around him nearly as much as it could have (and probably should have), he was in it just enough to bring some much needed comedy, empathy and audience engagement. Without that critical element, the only folks who would have enjoyed Mortal Kombat II in the slightest would have been hardcore gamers from the early 90s and total martial arts cinema fans. There’s a reason why every Jacky Chan needs a Chris Rock. Urban was the yin to all the yang in this movie.
There’s really not much else to say
So, was Mortal Kombat II worth my time and corn? Eh, sure. Barely. If I find out I skipped a better movie (I’m giving Sheep Detectives the side-eye right now) for MKII, I’ll be PO’d. As it is, Mortal Kombat II gets a very lackluster 2.8 our of 5. Without the awesome Urban, this easily would have been a 2. At best. My best advice is to wait a couple more weeks and it will be on Prime or Max. Good enough for a pre-summer Saturday night double feature, if your baseball team isn’t doing so well (looking at you, Royals). But for prime time date night? Look elsewhere.
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