Some in the audience will be perfectly fine being dropped into the middle of “Mortal Kombat II,” the sequel based on the video game franchise, but others will need cinematic cheat codes to even come remotely close to understanding everything happening on the screen.
It’s a kinetic, gore-filled and violent experience where the narrative proves to be minimal with those other elements dominating the screen.
Character development? Just totally overrated. After all, we’re dealing with characters developed in the realm of video gaming more than three decades ago during the height of gaming.
For a game such as “Mortal Kombat,” the mantra was kill quickly, kill best, kill hard and the gorier the better. Think skulls being sliced into several sections. Story, as defined in the world of cinema, is not necessary in abundance.
So let the killing begin.
For the uninitiated, the audience returns to the Outworld where Shao Kahn rules with an enormous spiked hammer and a fist to match its size. He’s conquered 10 of 11 realms in the universe with Earth Realm being the last one to get before he has unfettered control of the universe. That 10 realm sees him vanquish the king and take his wife and daughter Kitana (Adeline Rudolph), who eventually grows to be one of his best warriors.
Standing in his way, a group of fighters under the guidance of the god-like Lord Raiden (Tadanobu Asano). They include Liu Kang (Ludi Lin), Sonya Blade (Jessica McNamee) and Jax (Mehcad Brooks). But they aren’t going to be enough to face Kahn, a fact that sends Lord Raiden on a search for another warrior.
Destiny has decided that former Hollywood action star Johnny Cage (Karl Urban) will be that person. Down on his luck and struggling to even sell his autograph at pop culture conventions, he’s an unlikely and reluctant combatant.
The group eventually has to come together to recover an artifact that controls the fate of Lord Raiden and along the way, oceans of blood is spilled and plenty of body parts are sliced and diced.
It’s a predictable and tedious journey for anyone who is not immersed in the world of violent video games.
The saving grace: Urban, who portrays just another version of Billy the Butcher from “The Boys,” only Johnny Cage is far less complex as a character. A close second: the return of Kano (Josh Lawson). Lawson chews the scenery and has a good time doing so.
The allure for the audience I viewed “Mortal Kombat II’ with seemed to be appreciating the unique ways that assorted characters could kill or be killed with cheers erupting for their favorite scenes. No, I kid you not.
Director Simon McQuoid seems to be very aware of that fact and, therefore, doesn’t tinker with a winning – I guess – formula. He knows the film’s audience.
For anyone outside of that crowd, “Mortal Kombat II” will be an exercise in tedium.
George M. Thomas covers a myriad of things including sports and pop culture, but mostly sports, he thinks, for the Beacon Journal.
Review
Movie: “Mortal Kombat II”
Cast: Karl Urban, Jessica McNamee, Mehcad Brooks, Josh Lawson
Directed by: Simon McQuoid
Running time: 1 hour 56 minutes
Rated: R for strong bloody violence and gore, and language.
Grade: C-
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Video game fatigue sets in with ‘Mortal Kombat II’: Review
Reporting by George M. Thomas, Akron Beacon Journal / Akron Beacon Journal
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