OK, Karl Urban, You’ve Convinced Me to See Mortal Kombat II

Let’s be perfectly honest: All spine-ripping nostalgia aside, the Mortal Kombat films are pretty far from what most would consider good cinema. But even by those “adjusted” standards, 2021’s reboot was underwhelming (the casting of Hiroyuki Sanada, Tadanobu Asano, and Joe Taslim notwithstanding). So why am I even slightly interested in seeing the upcoming sequel?

Five words: Karl Urban as Johnny Cage.

I’ve always liked Urban, and he looks great here as the bitter, washed up actor who suddenly finds himself in waaay over his head and forced to battle otherworldly enemies to the death. Make no mistake, I don’t expect Mortal Kombat II to be a great film, but now I have some hope that it’ll be an entertaining one. The trailer suggests the film won’t take itself too seriously, which seems like the best approach to me, and Urban’s grimacing crankiness looks to be the icing on the cake.

Mortal Kombat II arrives in theaters on October 24, 2025.