My Cultural Diet

I thought I had adjusted my expectations accordingly for Mortal Kombat II. After seeing the movie’s first trailer last July, I was ready to watch Karl Urban chew up all the scenery as a washed up Johnny Cage who suddenly finds himself in an extra-dimensional duel to the death. As it turns out, though, I didn’t lower my expectations far enough. Sure, Karl Urban gives it his all, but Mortal Kombat II is never more than meh, especially when it becomes painfully obvious that stunt doubles and CGI stand-ins are doing most of Urban’s fighting for him. But what about the fatalities, you ask? After all, what’s a Mortal Kombat movie without gory deaths? There again, it’s all CGI spurts and splatters. Which means that sure, it’s gross when someone gets split asunder by Kung Lao’s razor-brimmed hat, but it’s also quite tame and the furthest thing from visceral. As for the movie’s storyline, it features the requisite character appearances and cameos, but it all feels rather by-the-numbers, especially when it tries to set up the inevitable sequel. To its credit, Mortal Kombat II is mostly better than the 2021 film, but that’s not saying much. But even so, it doesn’t have anything nearly as enjoyable or special as the Scorpion/Sub-Zero duels.

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