Mortal Kombat II
Rating: 2/5
ETV as a channel is famous for introducing many viewing experiences, from the soft-core pornography that famously played quietly in many homes late on a Saturday night to the chilling gong of the Undertaker on WWE‘s wrestling shows.
One standout for me was its roster of high-rotation movies. While the Anaconda trilogy might come to mind for many, a memorable one for me was the 1997 Mortal Kombat: Annihilation. That was a sequel to a 1995 movie, which was a remake of the video game franchise.
The movie’s preceding flick never got to play on the channel, which caused the illusion in my head that this was the only version available. Even with its flashback scenes, I got the sense that it was just lore to build a battleground for the characters we would follow in its adventure.
With only Encarta and no Google to dispel this idea, I was left to believe that the Johnny Cage character I was familiar with from the video games was just destined to die. In the 1997 film, his death seen in the flashbacks triggers female lead Sonya Blade to seek revenge, but decades later I would learn that Johnny is much more than just a sacrificial lion.
This movie becomes retcon (retroactive continuity) for a flick that didn’t seem important to its makers; something that feels the same in its 2026 flick Mortal Kombat II.
In the video games, Johnny is famed for his ego, whereas his Hollywood career plateaus due to him not doing enough to sharpen his craft. He starts to believe his success in the world-threatening fighting tournament might get the spotlight back.
Rather than shame him for being a goofball, it embraces this quality, celebrating his quips as he grows from cocky superstar to a matured funnyman. His eventual marriage to Sonya and becoming a father puts this growth to the test. When she is killed, Johnny faces the younger versions of themselves, which helps him confront the change he still needs to make as well as the feelings he must still reconcile with.
Thirty years later, the character is now being played by Karl Urban of The Boys fame. And with the potential to tell a story of growth, this casting of Urban paves the way for a new tone and flatter storytelling.
In the 2021 reboot, Earth’s defenders face magical threats to the planet, which are looking to defeat this world’s strongest fighters in an effort to take over the universe. Shortly after the events of that movie, they are now facing Shao Khan (Martyn Ford), who has already thwarted the kingdom where we find our new female lead, Kitana, played by Adeline Rudolph, who takes on the role with fellow coven sister from The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, Tati Gabrielle, as her best friend, Jade.
The movie sets itself up like any other Marvel flick: a random character has a backstory that will push things forward (Kitana’s father losing a battle to Shao Khan) and a main character who can descend from the heavens to save the day.
With a bloated cast, the movie feels like an ensemble, treading carefully not to put so much weight on Urban’s Johnny. A mistake, one could say, made in the first movie by creating an original character, Lewis Tan, played by Cole Young. A cardinal sin for fans of comic book, anime or video game adaptations.
Mortal Kombat II becomes fan service for this very reason. Rather than firmly establishing their original character next to Johnny or Kitana, who are framed as leads, they choose to brutally murder Lewis. And while the fight scenes (which, let’s be clear, is why anyone watches this genre) are par excellence, shifting the gaze to a one-note Johnny wastes the opportunity to tell a compelling story.
Sure, Ryan Gosling would be a perfect fit but would say no to a role like this, and Bradley Cooper would not only require starring in it but would also need to bring the laughs in as the director as well. Urban’s fellow The Boys star Chase Crawford could have been great to showcase the comedic expectations for the character — talents that went underappreciated in his role on Gossip Girl. Even Channing Tatum or Chris Pratt come to mind as fitting alternatives as they were gold mines in their individual Marvel franchise appearances.
However, Urban becomes a popular casting who attempts to adopt the acerbic demeanour of his character, Billy Butcher, from The Boys — especially next to Rudolph’s Kitanna.
Rudolph’s character is fun to follow throughout the movie — the true lead we don’t get because this is a genre that is supported by men who need female lead characters as romantic interests who battle giant ogres in thongs. Urban’s approach as lead dampens the potential of the much more exciting stories of Kitana and Lewis, who is a father on a mission to protect the world.
This version of Johnny has no motivation to join in on this world-bending adventure. With as many liberties as they could have taken from the original material, they chose to do very little instead. Unless you have played the games, following Johnny’s sudden choices to be a hero is baffling to watch. He is not a hero by choice but by force. He is plopped onto the battlefield of his first fight with no logical reasoning, and he even ends up finding his hidden superpowers out of nowhere, as opposed to the compassion and courage his original counterpart required.
As a character who is constantly facing his reflection, literally and figuratively, the 2026 Johnny Cage becomes a shell of a lead with no room for growth. A clear problem with this franchise is that it refuses to commit to a female cinematic lead. This shallow approach becomes a compilation of thrilling fight scenes that are worth the watch if you don’t mind sitting through storylines that have the dimension of a PacMan arcade game.
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