Mortal Kombat

[Lucky Planet]

My review is the *complete* opposite of this. I personally thought the fights were better, and the lead character was *much* better (Cole Young was a square and the worst part about MK1 to me). I thought it improved on the 1st one in basically every way and my only real complaint (if I had to pick one) is how death continues to mean absolutely nothing LOL

I gotta go into spoilers on why I had problems
and why it's messy for me.

Spoiler

not only does death mean nothing, but there are 3 fights in a mortal Kombat movie without any death, that was ridiculous to me lol.
might as well just be street fighter.

sindel was wasted on a very short fight. raiden was wasted, scorpion was shoehorn in just for the fight shown in the trailer, shang tsung kinda wasted, just really bad writing.

shao kahn having an invincible cheat code was such a horrible cope out. just awful. why do that why? it diminishes any suspense because you know he can't die. that was so dumb.

the whole amulet plot was kind of nonsense

 

[mccgavin]

I thought it was a very significant improvement over the first film. It felt a lot more accurate to the world and story of the games. The fights were a lot better, and there were many more of them. Death not mattering kind of comes with the territory of this series, there's no way of really getting around it.

 

[Lucky Planet]

I thought it was a very significant improvement over the first film. It felt a lot more accurate to the world and story of the games. The fights were a lot better, and there were many more of them. Death not mattering kind of comes with the territory of this series, there's no way of really getting around it.

I guess I wish the fights were a little longer and had more gore and more fatalities.

 

[CoryLevy91]

I legitimately think MKII (2026) is a contender for one of the best video game adaptations of all time. It's fun, faithful to the tone and spirit of the games, features a veritable boatload of nods and homages to the IP, juggles a massive amount of character with relative ease while not shorting any of them yet it tells a relatively original story set within the huge lore of the series.

The characters are great, the fights are pitch perfect, I was shocked that they managed to include Johnny Cage yet they also made Kitana massively important in a have their cake and eat it too style, the score got me JACKED, the gore was outrageous, the effects were glorious (Baraka's mouth is an insanely great practical effect in 2026) and I absolutely marked the hell out that QUAN F'N CHI is here and being a scheming little weirdo. I was supremely surprised with how well they played the 'stakes' throughout the film in way that really resonated.

It's clear that this series of MK films are handled by people who really do care, love and respect the games. They're not 1 to 1 adaptations and they don't need to be because the diligence the creatives, crew and cast all took with bringing the film to life shines through. Again it's not an award winning melodrama with a powerful message but it shouldn't be; it's a Mortal Kombat film and **** me if it isn't fun as ****!

Sidenote: seeing this only makes my stance on the Cregger Resident Evil film even stronger. I don't want to hear a video game can't be adapted faithfully because of its tone or content when MKII is over here being a certified banger of a time.

 

[Jerroddragon]

I need to rewatch the first MK film

Because I didn't hate it, the opening scene of the first movie to me was more interesting then this film

I think this film is better on the whole, but I just need to see the first one because I felt like this was better but...like nothing insane. It was a fun fighting film but not perfect or anything, lots of things just happen with not much reason and yeah turn your brains and go enjoy the ride

Anyway, fun film and kind of glad they didn't just kill Cole Young right off the bat, I like the actor now because he was in Cobra Kai.

 

[CoryLevy91]

The first film is a fun introduction to the world but suffers from sidelining the vastly more interesting stories of Hanzo/Bi-Han, Liu Kang/Kung Lao, & Lord Raiden/Shang Tsung for propping up the original character new to the lore (no fault of Lewis Tan, he does great in the role in both films!).

MKII is just balls to the walls Kombat goodness, I'm shocked at how faithful and well it captures the tone, spirit and feeling of the series. It does such a good job twirling the spotlight on its grand cast of characters and letting them play with and off each other well. It's up there with the likes of Twisted Metal and The Last of Us for best video game adaptations for me.

 

[Lucky Planet]

I need to rewatch the first MK film

Because I didn't hate it, the opening scene of the first movie to me was more interesting then this film

I think this film is better on the whole, but I just need to see the first one because I felt like this was better but...like nothing insane. It was a fun fighting film but not perfect or anything, lots of things just happen with not much reason and yeah turn your brains and go enjoy the ride

Anyway, fun film and kind of glad they didn't just kill Cole Young right off the bat, I like the actor now because he was in Cobra Kai.

the first one has a better story and better suspense, better villains. better threats.
I know ALL Of the fandom of mortal Kombat hates the lack of tournament and hate Cole,
but the fights felt more risky. they felt more dangerous. the villains felt more dangerous.
the plot flows better in the last one.

the last movie has a better narrative.

The first film is a fun introduction to the world but suffers from sidelining the vastly more interesting stories of Hanzo/Bi-Han, Liu Kang/Kung Lao, & Lord Raiden/Shang Tsung for propping up the original character new to the lore (no fault of Lewis Tan, he does great in the role in both films!).

MKII is just balls to the walls Kombat goodness, I'm shocked at how faithful and well it captures the tone, spirit and feeling of the series. It does such a good job twirling the spotlight on its grand cast of characters and letting them play with and off each other well. It's up there with the likes of Twisted Metal and The Last of Us for best video game adaptations for me.

I feel the exact opposite. I kind of hate this movie,
badly written.

since anyone can come back and Will come back, there's no sense of real danger, there's no threat like the last movie.
that also makes the fights boring
(and a couple fights don't even end in any deaths, making it feel less dangerous,
literally no danger at all in the Jonny cage fight and the Jax fight. )
zero tension.

making the bad guy shao kahn invincible by cheating with some amulet completely removed any suspense or tension the movie had. his fight with Cole feels like a waste of time.
the baraka fight was funny but completely pointless. just a joke fight.

this movie might "look pretty" but it has an awful messy story with disappointing villains and short mediocre fights ( again, Jonny and Jax fights are extremely underwhelming)

the amulet becomes more important than the tournament itself. very disappointing.

 

[Brian G.]

the first one has a better story and better suspense, better villains. better threats.
I know ALL Of the fandom of mortal Kombat hates the lack of tournament and hate Cole,
but the fights felt more risky. they felt more dangerous. the villains felt more dangerous.
the plot flows better in the last one.

the last movie has a better narrative.



I feel the exact opposite. I kind of hate this movie,
badly written.

since anyone can come back and Will come back, there's no sense of real danger, there's no threat like the last movie.
that also makes the fights boring
(and a couple fights don't even end in any deaths, making it feel less dangerous,
literally no danger at all in the Jonny cage fight and the Jax fight. )
zero tension.

making the bad guy shao kahn invincible by cheating with some amulet completely removed any suspense or tension the movie had. his fight with Cole feels like a waste of time.
the baraka fight was funny but completely pointless. just a joke fight.

this movie might "look pretty" but it has an awful messy story with disappointing villains and short mediocre fights ( again, Jonny and Jax fights are extremely underwhelming)

the amulet becomes more important than the tournament itself. very disappointing.

Gonna be honest, I’m completely flummoxed by this review. lol

 

[Jerroddragon]

the first one has a better story and better suspense, better villains. better threats.
I know ALL Of the fandom of mortal Kombat hates the lack of tournament and hate Cole,
but the fights felt more risky. they felt more dangerous. the villains felt more dangerous.
the plot flows better in the last one.

the last movie has a better narrative.



I feel the exact opposite. I kind of hate this movie,
badly written.

since anyone can come back and Will come back, there's no sense of real danger, there's no threat like the last movie.
that also makes the fights boring
(and a couple fights don't even end in any deaths, making it feel less dangerous,
literally no danger at all in the Jonny cage fight and the Jax fight. )
zero tension.

making the bad guy shao kahn invincible by cheating with some amulet completely removed any suspense or tension the movie had. his fight with Cole feels like a waste of time.
the baraka fight was funny but completely pointless. just a joke fight.

this movie might "look pretty" but it has an awful messy story with disappointing villains and short mediocre fights ( again, Jonny and Jax fights are extremely underwhelming)

the amulet becomes more important than the tournament itself. very disappointing.

I think we are in the minority but I just have moments from the first film, I think about and I just thought the opening of the first film was acted and written and directed better

The new opening is not bad but feels rushed compared to the first opening.




Also no spoilers but some characters in MK just changes sides because, like what ever but when you have one character who gives someone up to the bad guys just in the next scene to join the good guys would have been nice to see more of why the character changed but anyway I'm not telling people to not like the sequel. It was dumb fun, and hopefully on a second watch some scenes will stick in my head more and if not cool would still see a third film and glad most MK fans seemed to like this film

 

[CoryLevy91]

Nothing touches the opening of MK with Hanzo and Bi-Han in either film but tossing those characters aside for the newly generated audience surrogate one drags the first down massively for me. That film centering entirely around Hanzo/Bi-Han and bringing them into the modern world with the current tournament about to happen would have made just an overall great film.

What we got was a story lead by a kind of bland character. Which pales in comparison to the rip roaring character ensemble we got in II (IMO). At the end of the day they're both just fun action adventure flicks.

 

[Lucky Planet]

Gonna be honest, I’m completely flummoxed by this review. lol

I think we are in the minority but I just have moments from the first film, I think about and I just thought the opening of the first film was acted and written and directed better

The new opening is not bad but feels rushed compared to the first opening.




Also no spoilers but some characters in MK just changes sides because, like what ever but when you have one character who gives someone up to the bad guys just in the next scene to join the good guys would have been nice to see more of why the character changed but anyway I'm not telling people to not like the sequel. It was dumb fun, and hopefully on a second watch some scenes will stick in my head more and if not cool would still see a third film and glad most MK fans seemed to like this film

Nothing touches the opening of MK with Hanzo and Bi-Han in either film but tossing those characters aside for the newly generated audience surrogate one drags the first down massively for me. That film centering entirely around Hanzo/Bi-Han and bringing them into the modern world with the current tournament about to happen would have made just an overall great film.

What we got was a story lead by a kind of bland character. Which pales in comparison to the rip roaring character ensemble we got in II (IMO). At the end of the day they're both just fun action adventure flicks.

some stuff that works in the games don't work in the movies,
people bring up that the games have friendships, so characters not dying in this movie it's ok because not everyone always dies in the games,
but the games also have babalities and animalities which wouldn't work well for a movie ( we don't really need a baby scorpion lol)

if death is not a component of these fights, but only needs a defeat, then no one ever needs to die, just surrender if you are losing. ( if you already lost before a kill then just surrender)
that's kind of why this movie fails for me.

thats also why the Baraka fight is kind of nonsense. they play it for laughs, but kinda takes away any tension.
the movie itself looks great but the tournament is kinda silly. shao Khan is just cheating the entire time so what's even the point?
story wise, why even have a tournament if shao Khan just cheats with everything. ?
( that's what I mean about elements of the game not working on movies)

 

[Brian G.]

the movie itself looks great but the tournament is kinda silly. shao Khan is just cheating the entire time so what's even the point?

It's called stakes...

He cheats in the game series, so they ported that story to the film. Half the point of Mortal Kombat is that the villains don’t care about fairness or mercy. The heroes overcoming stacked odds is the story.

if death is not a component of these fights, but only needs a defeat, then no one ever needs to die, just surrender if you are losing. ( if you already lost before a kill then just surrender)

That assumes the people in Mortal Kombat are honorable enough to stop fighting after someone “loses.” Most of the villains absolutely are not. The point is the stakes are life-or-death.

There are only 2 people who spare a life: Kitana, who turns out to be on the Earth's side, and Jax, who repays the favor to Kitana because she asked to spare Jade. Everyone else dies.

thats also why the Baraka fight is kind of nonsense. they play it for laughs, but kinda takes away any tension.

You're right that not everything can be ported over from game to film, such as babalities, but the game series has always mixed brutal gore with light-hearted silliness. So they found a way to do that. Films need brevity, too.

No, the movie is not perfect, but we're really nitpicking some pretty easily explainable stuff.

 

[Lucky Planet]

It's called stakes...

He cheats in the game series, so they ported that story to the film. Half the point of Mortal Kombat is that the villains don’t care about fairness or mercy. The heroes overcoming stacked odds is the story.



That assumes the people in Mortal Kombat are honorable enough to stop fighting after someone “loses.” Most of the villains absolutely are not. The point is the stakes are life-or-death.

There are only 2 people who spare a life: Kitana, who turns out to be on the Earth's side, and Jax, who repays the favor to Kitana because she asked to spare Jade. Everyone else dies.



You're right that not everything can be ported over from game to film, such as babalities, but the game series has always mixed brutal gore with light-hearted silliness. So they found a way to do that. Films need brevity, too.

No, the movie is not perfect, but we're really nitpicking some pretty easily explainable stuff.

the other problem the movie had is being able to bring anyone back ( which the game has)

two other problems for me, half the cast is kinda wasted because of so many characters on screen, some characters like Syndel are just completely wasted,

And also the game has such a huge roster of fighters that we really didn't need to bring back Kano or Kung Lao. ( I understand Kung Lao was brought back to add an emotional moment with Liu Kang, but it didn't need it. )

but that also bothered me because there were other characters that could have been used for the tournament.
it's just that a lot of the game elements just don't work.

 

[mccgavin]

if death is not a component of these fights, but only needs a defeat, then no one ever needs to die, just surrender if you are losing. ( if you already lost before a kill then just surrender)
that's kind of why this movie fails for me.

thats also why the Baraka fight is kind of nonsense. they play it for laughs, but kinda takes away any tension.
the movie itself looks great but the tournament is kinda silly.

Have you ever played any of the story modes within the games? While there are some brutal deaths and Fatalities, a good chunk of the fights within them end with both kombatants surviving. Killing every opponent works better in an arcade ladder with no story (if you are able to pull it off), but it doesn't work as well when you're actually trying to tell a story, and want characters to have screentime beyond a single fight.

 

[Brian G.]

the other problem the movie had is being able to bring anyone back ( which the game has)

two other problems for me, half the cast is kinda wasted because of so many characters on screen, some characters like Syndel are just completely wasted,

And also the game has such a huge roster of fighters that we really didn't need to bring back Kano or Kung Lao. ( I understand Kung Lao was brought back to add an emotional moment with Liu Kang, but it didn't need it. )

but that also bothered me because there were other characters that could have been used for the tournament.
it's just that a lot of the game elements just don't work.

Kano and Kung Lao are major characters with important relationships and roles to the larger MK Story. Yea, they needed to come back - especially when Kano is a big highlight of the film.

And saying “there were too many characters” is kind of unavoidable. Fans would complain just as much if fighters were missing.

I think the issue with your criticism is that it’s judging the movie like it’s adapting a single tournament instead of adapting Mortal Kombat as an ongoing universe.

 

[Jerroddragon]

I mean I also think its ok not to love all films

Like cool if you like everything but for me this one felt like just a weaker story

Johnny was good but he's not as funny as Kano and his story wasn't that interesting things just happened and worked out when they needed to

The main girl was fine, but her friend just became good because....

Not saying the first film was better but once again no part of the second film to me lived up to the opening of the first film, that was well acted, well shot, great action and even suspense

I'd just like more scenes like that in the next movie, like me the cool action but also have at least some fights mean more

 

[Brian G.]

I mean I also think its ok not to love all films

Like cool if you like everything but for me this one felt like just a weaker story

I have no problem with someone not liking the movie. I’m not pushing back on that.

I’m more pushing back on criticisms that feel super nitpicky or are about things the movie already explained.