It’s been five years since the release of the Mortal Kombat film reboot, and the sequel is finally arriving in theaters this weekend. Mortal Kombat II sees Karl Urban make his highly anticipated debut as Johnny Cage, who joins the other champions of Earthrealm in more one-on-one battles while also going up against the villainous emperor Shao Kahn. The first reviews for the video game adaptation are in, and critics are recommending the movie to existing fans of the franchise while also celebrating its improvements over the previous installment.
Here’s what critics are saying about Mortal Kombat II:
Is it better than the original?
It manages to fix most of its predecessors’ shortcomings. – Mario Alegre, Próxima Tanda
It’s another project that isn’t without its flaws, but thankfully, it becomes a far more enthralling venture than its predecessor. – Josh Parham, Next Best Picture
It delivers stronger fights, better character integration, and a more confident understanding of what fans want. – Nagier Chambers, Big Gold Belt Media
The sequel makes some notable upgrades, including dispatching a weak link or two from the first movie, introducing a few new players, and reviving anyone who died before who feels worth saving. – Liz Shannon Miller, Consequence
Mortal Kombat II isn’t able to completely save itself from many of the pitfalls of its predecessor, [yet] there’s actually a fair amount of aspects that are actually upgrades. – Joshua Mbonu, InSession Film
Mortal Kombat II, directed by the returning Simon McQuoid, offers more to chew on than its predecessor, even if it remains largely nutrition-free. – Amon Warmann, Empire Magazine
It’s rare that you see a sequel that is as much of an apology for its predecessor than Mortal Kombat II. – Travis Hopson, Punch Drunk Critics
Does it do a good job adapting the games?
Mortal Kombat II stands victorious as the first adaptation to get all the proportions right. – Justin Clark, Slant Magazine
If you love playing the games, chances are you will love watching the movie. – Tessa Smith, Moviefone
At least we actually get to see Mortal Kombat this time, though its broad stakes and flat characters are never meant to offer much beyond the basic structure for building the action scenes around. – Josh Parham, Next Best Picture
That DTV action heritage shines through, directly translating the contained 2D gameplay to enjoyably over-the-top brawls. – Jacob Oller, AV Club
More importantly, McQuoid truly captures the transcendental scope of the games. – Travis Hopson, Punch Drunk Critics
The sequel has two tones it whiplashes between: Isn’t-this-all-so-ridiculous? wisecracks and excessively bloody violence. That, I suppose, marks this as a faithful Mortal Kombat adaptation. – Matt Singer, Screen Crush
While Mortal Kombat II is the most successful in the franchise yet, as an adaptation, that still isn’t saying much in the grand scheme of things. – Joshua Mbonu, InSession Film
How does it compare to other video game adaptations?
Unlike some other video game adaptations, this movie cares enough about its audience to actually tell a story with conflict and stakes. – William Bibbiani, TheWrap
Kids got The Super Mario Galaxy Movie; older kids/adults get this. Same brand of non-stop fan service, but at least this one remembers to include an actual plot while delivering the bloody goods. – Mario Alegre, Próxima Tanda
It’s the latest in the line of recent video game films to place fan appeasement first, and being a good movie 20th. – Joshua Mbonu, InSession Film
What else will it remind us of?
The setting of the Underrealm — a tiered inferno — allows the movie, late in the game, to establish the monosyllabic version of a Star Wars vibe. Yet it’s only a vibe. – Owen Gleiberman, Variety
The scenes meant to be played more for comedy…feel right out of an 1980s fantasy adventure with just the right amount of tongue-in-cheek playfulness. – Josh Parham, Next Best Picture
The violence has about as much significance as it does in a Looney Tune. And if it’s good enough for Wile E. Coyote, it’s good enough for me. – William Bibbiani, TheWrap
This new sequel will likely remind you of other pop culture artifacts that preceded it, including Mortal Kombat: Annihilation. – Simon Abrams, RogerEbert.com
Mortal Kombat II is neither campy enough to revel in its violent bad taste, nor earnest enough to pull off its sprawling ambitions, [so] it most resembles a late-stage Marvel entry. – Jacob Oller, AV Club
Is it only for diehard fans of the franchise?
Mortal Kombat II knows exactly what fans want this time around. – Tessa Smith, Moviefone
It’s a sequel that works not necessarily because listening to criticisms from fans is an infallible strategy, but because it harkens back to the source material and the over-the-top spectacle of the films that inspired it in the first place. – Chrishaun Baker, Inverse
Mortal Kombat II is a film that feels unapologetically steeped in its own mythology, to the point where those unfamiliar with the source material may find themselves a bit lost for large portions of its runtime. – Linda Marric, HeyUGuys
Only those who consider live-action recreations of Mortal Kombat moves, characters, and stages the absolute peak of human artistic expression will be satisfied by this sequel. – Matt Singer, Screen Crush
Non-devotees will be largely left in the dust, especially since there are so many characters, both returning and new, that you practically need a spreadsheet to keep up. – Frank Scheck, The Hollywood Reporter
The film balances fan service with a more developed story, making it appealing for both newcomers and longtime fans. – Britany Murphy, Muses of Media
How are the fight sequences?
Simon McQuoid returns to the director’s chair and manages to make the fight scenes land with more impact this time. – Josh Parham, Next Best Picture
Any Mortal Kombat film knows its audience’s primary concern is the fighting tournament itself — which we actually get to see this time — and in that regard, the sequel by and large delivers. – Amon Warmann, Empire Magazine
There’s some top-tier fight choreography in play, including a battle between Johnny Cage and the terrifying Baraka that features some solid character beats. – Liz Shannon Miller, Consequence
The early rounds of the tournament, which are just fight after fight set in explicitly unreal environments with little narrative fat to trim between them, are Mortal Kombat II at its best. – Jacob Oller, AV Club
They’re pretty good. None of them reach the zeniths of the Johnny Cage/Scorpion fight from Paul W.S. Anderson’s first Mortal Kombat movie, but they’re briefly thrilling and every once in a while someone’s skull gets diced like a Ninja Power Blender, so that’s a good time. – William Bibbiani, TheWrap
While many of the film’s fights still retain the same core issues [as the last movie], Simon McQuoid’s direction is certainly more innovative in both choreography and creative deaths. – Joshua Mbonu, InSession Film
A couple of them are decent…but a lot of the action sequences are very heavily edited. After a while, they get very repetitive. – Matt Singer, Screen Crush
The movie is one fight scene after another after another…the kombat hits the mark, but ultimately with minor force. – Owen Gleiberman, Variety
Are the stakes high enough?
This time, the stakes feel clearer. – Nagier Chambers, Big Gold Belt Media
All the floating combat metaphysics ends up blanding out the stakes, or maybe just the rules. What, exactly, allows one fighter to triumph over another? It’s all rather blurry. – Owen Gleiberman, Variety
For a franchise based on the idea that dying is bad and should be avoided, Mortal Kombat II kind of whiffs it. – William Bibbiani, TheWrap
I truly did not care who lived or died for a single second — mostly because the film made it very clear that death is basically meaningless in this story. – Matt Singer, Screen Crush
This movie revives so many characters with such frequency that the concept of death seems to lose all meaning (even when some of those deaths look pretty permanent). – Liz Shannon Miller, Consequence
How are the visuals?
Every location has its own color coding, as does every character’s superpower, which also helps keep events easy to follow. – Alonso Duralde, The Film Verdict
Some of the CGI and excessive green-screen is off-putting. – Frank Scheck, The Hollywood Reporter
While some computer-animated set pieces look like they cost money, most are woefully nondescript and underdeveloped. – Simon Abrams, RogerEbert.com
The whole thing comes off as low-rent, with underwhelming CGI effects and creature costuming and make-up that pales in comparison to a typical NYC Village Halloween Parade. – Amon Warmann, Empire Magazine
Does it have a better script this time?
Jeremy Slater’s screenplay is smart-dumb enough to know its audience. – Justin Clark, Slant Magazine
If you were hoping for a story much better than the first, you do get that, but it’s still not entirely good. – Britany Murphy, Muses of Media
[It has] a serviceable screenplay by Jeremy Slater, which moves the plot along enough while not really indulging in any specific machinations to make the storytelling singular. – Josh Parham, Next Best Picture
Simon McQuoid keeps the overstuffed, underbaked story moving so quickly that we don’t have much time to question it. – William Bibbiani, TheWrap
The narrative is delivered with such confidence in the audience’s prior knowledge that it can feel as though key exposition has been left out. – Linda Marric, HeyUGuys
Not much of it is particularly clever, as evidenced by someone commenting to a depressed Cage, “You’re normally a little more animated,” but let’s face it, nobody comes to Mortal Kombat for the bon mots. – Frank Scheck, The Hollywood Reporter
Jeremy Slater’s screenplay is all around abysmal…the dialogue is particularly bad, ranging from a bit clunky at best to spouting exposition like a robot at worst. – Joshua Mbonu, InSession Film
Is it funny?
Some of the comedy can feel out of place at times, especially when the script plays with pop culture references…at the end of the day, though, one does not go to see a Mortal Kombat movie for the jokes. – Liz Shannon Miller, Consequence
The pop culture references are the worst part of the humor. – Josh Parham, Next Best Picture
How is Karl Urban as Johnny Cage?
Karl Urban has an excellent sense of this character. He’s amused and amusing, which is good, but never detached and ironic, which would be bad. – William Bibbiani, TheWrap
Urban brings a self-awareness and dry wit to the role that cuts through the film’s more impenetrable elements, grounding the spectacle with a welcome sense of perspective. – Linda Marric, HeyUGuys
Urban has never been funnier…[his] performance is a delightfully unexpected pleasure in a movie that winds up being full of them. – Alonso Duralde, The Film Verdict
Karl Urban’s Johnny Cage is a downright riot. – Liz Shannon Miller, Consequence
He’s got enough charm and screen presence to be an endearing figure, even though he’s mostly used as an audience surrogate in the beginning to reassert the plot points you have probably already forgotten from the first film. – Josh Parham, Next Best Picture
Karl Urban feels bizarrely miscast even as an aged version of the video game character. Sometimes he’s able to make the cheesiness work, but…many of his line deliveries tend to be off. – Joshua Mbonu, InSession Film
Are any other cast members worth mentioning?
Pretty much all of the other funny moments can be attributed to Josh Lawson as Kano, who pretty much stole the first movie. – Liz Shannon Miller, Consequence
Thankfully, just as he did in the first movie, Kano (Josh Lawson) is on hand to constantly and entertainingly remind us how ridiculous all of this is…Lawson is a blast in the role, and the knowing nods to the absurdity of Mortal Kombat help everything else go down a little easier. – Amon Warmann, Empire Magazine
[Lawson’s] presence proves essential in making the film accessible, even when its narrative is not. – Linda Marric, HeyUGuys
The new cast members provide more effective humor and screen presence. – Josh Parham, Next Best Picture
What is the biggest issue with the sequel?
It’s a problem for Mortal Kombat II that they can’t even get the “mortal” part right. – William Bibbiani, TheWrap
Although this has a pretty large ensemble, Kitana and Johnny Cage’s journeys get the emphasis, meaning that most of the other characters are left feeling like afterthoughts. – Liz Shannon Miller, Consequence
The sequel demotes Cole from protagonist to glorified extra, retroactively making all the screen time they devoted to him in the last movie look awfully pointless, diminishing both films in the process. – Matt Singer, Screen Crush
The most obvious problem with the film is its pacing, which feels like an overcompensation from the laborious nature of the first movie. – Chrishaun Baker, Inverse
Does it leave us wanting more Mortal Kombat?
It sets the stage for what could be a very strong future for the franchise. – Nagier Chambers, Big Gold Belt Media
To no one’s surprise, Mortal Kombat II lays the groundwork for a third film. One that is sure to continue to give fans everything they want in the franchise. – Tessa Smith, Moviefone
Fingers crossed [a third movie will] do what this movie did: improve on what came before…It might be nice if it aimed slightly higher. – Liz Shannon Miller, Consequence
Another bit of frustrating sequel bait muddies some arcs towards the finale…[but] if another one comes, there’s room for improvement all the same. – Josh Parham, Next Best Picture
Mortal Kombat II opens in theaters on May 8, 2026.
