Simon McQuoid

Mortal Kombat II (2026): The Best Mortal Kombat Movie Yet

Posted on by Jack Drees

“Mortal Kombat II” is directed by Simon McQuoid, who also directed the 2021 “Mortal Kombat” movie. This film stars Karl Urban (The Boys, Dredd), Adeline Rudolph (Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, Riverdale), Jessica McNamee (Packed to the Rafters, Home and Away), Josh Lawson (Superstore, House of Lies), Ludi Lin (Power Rangers, Aquaman), Mehcad Brooks (Law & Order, Supergirl), Tati Gabrielle (The 100, Chilling Adventures of Sabrina), Lewis Tan (Deadpool 2, Into the Badlands), Damon Herriman (Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Mr Inbetween), Chin Han (Ghost in the Shell, American Born Chinese), Tadanobu Asano (Thor, Shōgun), Joe Taslim (Warrior, The Raid), and Hiroyuki Sanada (Shōgun, Bullet Train). This film is the sequel to 2021’s “Mortal Kombat” and this time around, actor Johnny Cage joins the battle as he and other fighters take on the tyrannical Shao Khan.

I have played some of the “Mortal Kombat” games, and I am a fan of those games. I will sometimes hop on a cabinet in the arcade, or maybe put in a game I have at home. I am a casual player, but I am a player nonetheless. The games are a ton of fun. As for the movies, that’s where things become more complicated.

The 1995 “Mortal Kombat” is far from the greatest movie ever made, but there was a period of time where it was considered the gold standard of video game to film adaptations. Not that that is saying much. The film did have its problems and occasionally felt like a product of its time. Though I did have fun watching it, admittedly.

Then in 1997, the universe was introduced to the disgrace on a bloody stick known as “Mortal Kombat: Annihilation.” It is a movie whose subtitle quite literally described what happened to my brain cells while watching it. I have no plans to do a worst movies of all time list, but I think “Mortal Kombat: Annihilation” is a contender for the bottom of the barrel.

Then comes 2021, when another “Mortal Kombat” hits the big screen (and HBO Max), and I thought it was quite good. It is not perfect, but I thought even with some creative liberties, it did a decent job at capturing the spirit of the games. Plus, unlike the previous “Mortal Kombat” movies, this one was a lot bloodier and gorier. So, while not a home run, I was down for another “Mortal Kombat” should one be in the pipeline.

Now, “Mortal Kombat II” has made its presence known, and while it is not quite a flawless victory, the film may be my favorite so far based on the “Mortal Kombat” property. That is, of the theatrically released ones. There are others that have not been to theaters that I have yet to see.

“Mortal Kombat II,” like the previous installment, terrifically captures the vibe of the games. The locations are big, colorful, and while they may not always be realistic, they are nevertheless palatable. If you have never played a “Mortal Kombat” game, or heck, missed out on the last “Mortal Kombat” movie, you may not know that this film should require some suspension of disbelief.

The film, like many sequels, aims higher and goes bigger than its predecessor, with more violence, a longer runtime, and new characters. The standout of the newbies on the roster, by a clear mile, is Johnny Cage (Karl Urban).

Johnny Cage brings the camp to “Mortal Kombat II.” In most cases, when I use “camp” and “movie” in the same sentence, my mind will think of the combination as a negative, but “Mortal Kombat II” is an unusual exception where I find it to be a positive. The campiness of “Mortal Kombat II” works like a charm, and that is mostly due to Karl Urban’s commitment to making the character of Johnny Cage come off as the coolest has-been movie star of all time.

In Earthrealm, we see our protagonists watch a vision that reveals their “chosen one” to defeat evil. That being Johnny Cage. The movie perfectly sets the tone for what’s to come by showing Cage in perhaps the most 90s-esque action schlock of a movie imaginable. AI could not create this magic. Of course, that time is over, and like some other actors who are not doing as much film work, Cage is making money through conventions. The moment we see the first encounter between Cage and the heroes of Earthrealm, he tries to show as much respect as possible, thinking that they are cosplayers, hoping they would screw off. I thought the first scenes featuring Cage were clever and did a good job at revealing how much Cage has evolved from his prime.

While “Mortal Kombat II” is far from Shakespeare, some lines in the film are poetic in their own way. My favorite moment in “Mortal Kombat II” features Johnny Cage fighting against Baraka, the leader of the Tarkatans. The fight itself is massively entertaining. That is if you can even call it a fight. There is a repeated moment in the choreography that is honestly begging to find its way into today’s meme culture. I saw this film alongside my dad, and there have been instances following its conclusion where we jokingly repeated said moves.

What follows after is Baraka’s purely cinematic line, “That is the greatest fighting I have ever f***ing seen!” Collectively, that may have been the biggest laugh amongst my opening Thursday audience. Truth be told, I read this line back as I write this paragraph, and I am trying my hardest not to roll on the floor.

“Mortal Kombat II” is not perfect. I had the privilege of seeing this film in IMAX, which for this film, is fantastic, as some scenes feature an expanded aspect ratio. But while this critique may not matter for every screening, I think the IMAX scenes could have been handled better, because the way that some of these scenes were edited felt inconsistent or jumpy. It reminded me of “Transformers: The Last Knight,” where the aspect ratio changes every second. It is nowhere near as bad, but it is still jumpy. The CGI at times is utterly amazing and a complete feast for the eyes. I was gobsmacked with the worlds the VFX artists were able to create. But that does not mean that they do not look CGI-ish. Again, the movie looks real when it chooses to. Sometimes the heightened reality works. At other times, it could be better.

The story of the film is very simple, but what complicates it is how often this movie jumps from place to place and has to handle a variety of characters. It is hard to say that the characterization of this movie is the strongest. It is kind of like the last “Mario” movie, though I admittedly had more fun with this video game adaptation compared to that one.

Even with its imperfections, “Mortal Kombat II” is a total blast. Shao Khan is a menacing threat. Johnny Cage has personality for days. I liked seeing more of the characters from the last movie like Raiden, Kano, and Liu Kang. Not that I dislike the original, but I think this sequel is an improvement. I walked out of this movie thinking that I cannot wait to watch it a second time. This is a fantastic movie to watch with friends. If you can handle some blood and gore, you are in for a treat.

In the end, “Mortal Kombat II” is a komplete explosion of epicness! This is a visual effects-heavy, balls out killer time that is by no means going to win any major awards. But if you are a sucker for a big, dumb action movie that sometimes pays tribute to the video games of the same name, this movie might be up your alley. Karl Urban is excellent as Johnny Cage and oozes charisma from start to finish. The action is super fun. This movie maintains a modern look to it, but it also has this occasional throwback feel that ties everything together. I cannot wait to watch this movie again, and I have no shame in saying that. I am going to give “Mortal Kombat II” a 7/10.

“Mortal Kombat II” is now playing in theaters. Tickets are available now.

Thanks for reading this review! This Sunday on Flicknerd.com and YouTube, stay tuned for the next episode of Movie Requests! This episode is going to feature a suggestion from Brian O’Halloran, who you may know from the “Clerks” trilogy! I just watched his suggested movie last night. I cannot wait to share what it is and talk about it with you. If you want to watch the review as fast as possible, do yourself and I a favor by subscribing to my YouTube channel!

My next review is going to be for “The Sheep Detectives!” Stay tuned! Also coming soon, I will be sharing my thoughts on “In the Grey,” “Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu,” “I Love Boosters,” and “Backrooms.” If you want to see these reviews and more from Scene Before, follow the blog either with an email or WordPress account! Also, check out the official Facebook page! I want to know, did you see “Mortal Kombat II?” What did you think about it? Or, what is your favorite “Mortal Kombat” film that has been released thus far? Let me know down below! Scene Before is your click to the flicks!

Mortal Kombat (2021): You May Want to Get Over Here For Some Things, But Not Everything

Posted on by Jack Drees

“Mortal Kombat” is directed by Simon McQuoid and stars Lewis Tan (Deadpool 2, Into the Badlands), Jessica McNamee (Sirens, Battle of the Sexes), Josh Lawson (Superstore House of Lies), Tadanobu Asono (Thor, 47 Ronin), Mehcad Brooks (Desperate Housewives, Supergirl), Ludi Lin (Aquaman, Power Rangers), Chin Han (The Dark Knight, Skyscraper), Joe Taslim (Fast & Furious 6, Star Trek: Beyond), and Hiroyuki Sanada (The Last Ship, The Wolverine). This film is based on the iconic video game franchise of the same name and is another attempt at possibly kickstarting a big screen “Mortal Kombat” movie franchise.

This film centers around an MMA fighter named Cole Young who seeks out Earth’s greatest fighters to defeat the enemies of Outworld with the fate of universe potentially at stake.

As I mentioned in my reviews for prior “Mortal Kombat” movies, I am familiar with the “Mortal Kombat” games even though I have barely played them. I know about the bloody nature and vibe, the rivalry between Sub-Zero and Scorpion, and the fact that it has spawned a couple of the more iconic utterances in video game history. Having seen the prior “Mortal Kombat” movies and having known what I know about the games, there was potential for this movie to be really good.

Buuuuut… One thing stood in the way. Actually two things. A first time writer and a first time director.

Now, the first time writer, otherwise known as Greg Russo, is technically accompanied by other experienced people who have writing credits, but still, it is a cause for concern. But the director of this film, Simon McQuoid, has literally nobody else by his side, nor does he have any credits for prior extended content.

“Mortal Kombat” is according to IMDb, Simon McQuoid’s (left) feature-length debut. The only other credit he has is for the video short titled “The Night-time Economy.” I’d be less concerned if the film I am talking about was less expensive or not based on any iconic property, but here we are. This is a reimagining of a popular video game intellectual property and it is being done by a couple of people who may clearly be passionate about what they’re doing, but with fewer credits to their name than I would desire.

Having seen “Mortal Kombat,” let me just start off by saying that I really enjoyed the movie. BUT… My concerns were met. In fact that’s not all! Not only are the directorial and written efforts for this film a cause for concern, but I will also add the editing is mediocre at best!

I have not seen all the “Bourne” movies. I have watched the first two from start to finish, started three, never finished it. Anyway, having seen those first two, I just remember both of those happen to be one of those action flicks that occasionally thinks fast pace can sometimes be taken too literally. Every other second, there is a cut during an action scene that shows us one thing, part of that thing happening again from a different angle, maybe some shaky cam is inserted here and there, and it does not give the viewer as much time to breathe. Do not get me wrong. Fast pace is everything to me. But if you watch movies in recent years like “John Wick,” you’d notice that they sometimes avoid reliance on quick cutting for the sake of showing an overload of information at once. They let a certain shot play out for a decent amount of time, that way the viewer can determine what is going on without needing to go somewhere else in terms of an angle. In “Mortal Kombat,” while I will say, I do not find the editing *as bad* as other people have confirmed it to be, it is still sometimes distracting and despite this being a fast-paced movie, there could have been a greater effort at cutting it together. At least those are my two cents.

For all I know, this may be on the director, because again, Simon McQuoid has not had much experience when it comes to filmmaking compared to other people. He has done this film, one short, and that is about it. In fact the editors on this film are experienced. Scott Gray has credits going back to the 1990s and Dan Lebental has done a ton of the Marvel Cinematic Universe films ranging from “Iron Man” to “Spider-Man: Far from Home.” So if anything, I do not know how much blame I can put towards them. I think Simon McQuoid, who I imagine is a nice guy, may have something to do with how the film turned out in the edit.

Despite the technical difficulties, I will point out, as a 21-year-old, who really has he mind of a 12-year-old sometimes, I enjoyed myself immensely watching this movie. It is not Shakespeare, the only Academy Award I could see this film going for is for visual effects, maybe costume design, but this is a vastly entertaining adaptation of “Mortal Kombat” and frankly better than the 1995 version. It is not much better for some reasons I already stated, but better nevertheless.

When it comes to recent movies based on video games, I do think it is slightly better than “Pokemon: Detective Pikachu” but not as fun as “Sonic the Hedgehog.” I will say though, it may end up being almost as rewatchable as the latter. Simply because of the fun this film provides as it goes for the edge, kind of like the games. Seeing gross, bloody finishers are sometimes simply satisfying. If I want eye candy, I would definitely watch this movie again.

But what about characterization? Would that make me watch the movie again? Hard to say. Yes, the movie does have a ton of the iconic characters from the games and gives a lot of promising details in terms of world-building and establishing identities, but sometimes the characters themselves are somewhat forgettable as someone who has barely played the games.

The main character of Cole Young is not that bad. He serves his purpose in the film. There is nothing that I can really say about him that is negative, but to call him the most memorable character of all time would be a lie. I understand the need of changing or adding something to material that already exists, but at the same time, Cole Young is not the holy grail of characters. I did not go see “Mortal Kombat” strictly for Cole Young, and as I stayed in my chair, I was interested in his journey, but his charisma was not as high as I would have wanted it to be. Although I do like one moment where he is learning about Mortal Kombat and points out that the word “Kombat” is not even spelled right. I don’t know, it got a laugh out of me.

Although the real scene stealer in this film is Kano.

Kano. Kano. Kano.

Kano is played by Josh Lawson, who owns his particular role because of his rugged voice, Australian accent that shines all the way through, and how his character is basically written to be the wise-cracking nutjob of the bunch. He’s almost got the personality of Deadpool or a Disney sidekick comic relief if such a character took a few drugs and enjoyed the ride. Safe to say, he is easily my favorite character of the movie and I would watch a film specifically centered around him as long as Josh Lawson is playing the role! He is well-written and realized perfectly for this bloody extravaganza!

In the end, “Mortal Kombat” is not a bad film, but it is also sadly, another example of why video game movies have yet to break this rock solid barrier. The film does a good job at establishing the world in which our characters roam. Unfortunately, characterization and filmmaking techniques leave a little to be desired. Again, this is Simon McQuoid’s feature-length directorial debut and it shows. It is also Greg Russo’s writing debut, and that shows as well. I can tell that there are elements of this movie that feel like they come from people who have played the games, which is one of the major strengths that comes with it. But passion is not enough. There also has to be talent, and there is unfortunately not enough brought to the table. Maybe if they got different people or a co-director with some experience, things could have worked out. But I don’t know. I am just hoping McQuoid and Russo move up from here. I am rooting for them. Until then, I’m going to give “Mortal Kombat” a positive grade of 6/10.

I decided to give it this grade because despite not being the best film in terms of craftsmanship, even though there are various shots, effects, and costumes that looked pretty neat, it is also one of the more entertaining films I have seen in some time. If you are at the movies and are looking for something to watch, give this film a chance. You may enjoy it. I also want to see a sequel. Although if that’s the case, maybe a different directorial or writing crew would make the film better. At least that is my assumption. Again, I am rooting for McQuoid and Russo in their careers, but they personally were not off to the best of starts. But hey, we all get our starts somewhere!

“Mortal Kombat” is now playing in theaters and is also currently available for a limited time on HBO Max for all subscribers.

Thanks for reading this review! My next review is going to be for “Four Good Days” starring Glenn Close and Mila Kunis as a mother/daughter duo. The mother in particular tries to help the daughter escape her drug addiction and turn her life around. Stay tuned for that review and more great content on Scene Before! Follow either with an email or WordPress account, and also like the Facebook page! I want to know, did you see “Mortal Kombat?” What did you think about it? Or, which movie is better? 1995 “Mortal Kombat” or 2021 “Mortal Kombat?” Let me know down below! Scene Before is your click to the flicks!