‘Mortal Kombat II’ Review: Not Even Kitana Can Save This Doomed IP from Another Film Fatality

Looks like it’s going to be another brutal loss for the Earthrealm in its endless battle against the big screen. After five long years waiting for director Simon McQuoid to finally produce the actual martial arts tournament his mostly table-setting reboot teased audiences with back in 2021, “Mortal Kombat II” arrives with plenty of the one-on-one fighting scenes its predecessor so sorely lacked. 

But even graduating past that odd structural choice, and swapping Warner Bros.’ pandemic-era hybrid release model for a 100 percent theatrical rollout, McQuoid stuffs his highly anticipated follow-up film with so many basic creative flaws that not even its strongest cinematic moves land. A noisy carousel of muddy altercations that blur together until even their extreme finishing gore seems routine, “Mortal Kombat II” somehow feels flat, overextended, and quietly taxing — at just under two hours. 

That’s a particularly disappointing outcome for McQuoid considering his earlier “Mortal Kombat,” while undeniably messy, offered generally stronger execution and the promise of a debut director at least trying to build some sincere emotional momentum. And yet, this underwhelming sequel reads more like a slow-motion rendering of the exact moment such notoriously cumbersome IP came crashing down on its challenger. Most damningly, that catastrophe comes out as a fiery blaze that’s routinely overwhelming but seldom compelling, resulting in a tedious experience that might be better live-streamed on UFC. 

Yes, it’s hard to make a skill-based fight to the death — one that literally decides the fate of humanity (!!) — boring. But “Mortal Kombat II” manages to make the back half of McQuoid’s epic strategizing into a remarkable slog, as five Earthrealm champions are forced to battle five Outworld aggressors in a string of fights that will determine which side keeps control of the closest thing their multiverse has to “our” reality. Confronted with dense lore and a medium that’s infamously hard to translate for film and TV, McQuoid would’ve done well to focus on his storytelling fundamentals rather than guess at the staying power of a borrowed world that’s already been thoroughly adapted.

‘Mortal Kombat II’ (2026)©Warner Bros/Courtesy Everett Collection

Pushing along a stiff plot that always keeps the broader “Mortal Kombat” universe in mind, while miraculously failing to make much of that connective tissue matter, McQuoid’s latest has its moments… just not enough of them. The first combat scene that feels truly alive is, fittingly, the meeting between the film’s two most important newcomers. Pairing the killer Kitana (Adeline Rudolph), an imprisoned warrior princess armed with razor-edged fans, and the goofy Johnny Cage (Karl Urban), a washed-up Hollywood stuntman stumbling into cross-dimensional warfare, the match is fun. Sure, the fight itself is visually choppy and barely supported by the underdeveloped beats that get us there. But it contains the faintest essence of personality that the rest of McQuoid’s bland effort struggles desperately to maintain.

Rudolph, best known for her melodramatic comic-book work on Netflix’s “Chilling Adventures of Sabrina” and The CW’s “Riverdale,” emerges as the sequel’s not-so-secret weapon. A main attraction, even when she’s saddled with painfully awkward but not quite campy dialogue from screenwriter Jeremy Slater (and then literally chained to a pole?!), Kitana remains an enthralling force throughout. That begins with a reasonably effective prologue that depicts the fall of her childhood home, Edenia, and gives Kitana’s origin a more solid foundation than any of her cast mates.

Luminous yet lethal, Rudolph carries herself with enough conviction to make the reluctant royal daughter of the barbaric Shao Kahn (Martyn Ford) feel inherently consequential. Whether Kitana is confiding in her bodyguard and friend, Jade (Tati Gabrielle), or attempting to challenge the monstrous authority of her adopted father, she moves with enough dramatic purpose to consistently suggest the existence of a magnetic character study struggling to escape the situational resources limiting this one. Still, that’s faint praise for what should have been one of this year’s major breakout action roles.

‘Mortal Kombat II’ (2026)©Warner Bros/Courtesy Everett Collection

For decades now, “Mortal Kombat” canon has been expanding beyond the 1992 Chicago arcade cabinet where the video game franchise started, and taking root in global pop culture as a kind of shorthand for violence that’s stylishly vicious. Between new games, animated projects, web series, comic books, TV shows, and other movies, the barebones mythology that once drew players into this realm’s menacing mystery has become a confusing soup. Organizing that chaos into a coherent blockbuster format is a key part of the assignment here. But in “Mortal Kombat II,” McQuoid fails to connect even the strengths of his own hard work from five years ago with the hit he should be releasing today. 

Familiar faces, including video game favorites Sonya Blade (Jessica McNamee) and the bionic Jax (Mehcad Brooks)— plus, the 2021 film’s original protagonist Cole Young (Lewis Tan) — drift through “Mortal Kombat II” more like functional placeholders than real people. While the much-maligned Cole might fare slightly better here than his first appearance, that’s mostly because the sequel smartly sidelines his part. When the former “Mortal Kombat” lead dramatically bellows, “This is for Earth, you son of a bitch,” the line lands squarely between earnest melodrama and accidental self-parody.

That tonal uncertainty appears throughout and becomes impossible to ignore as soon as the finale is in sight. You’re never fully sure whether this early-career filmmaker is intentionally leaning into the ridiculousness of the position he’s put himself in by leaving his best work in his last movie, or simply losing control of impenetrable material that might be good if it didn’t try quite so hard. Earthrealm and Outworld cycle through matchup after matchup as the future of everything hangs in the balance, but the iterative tension rarely makes sense. Powers appear to shift based on narrative convenience, while the contest’s cosmic “rules” are negotiable at best. The result is strained effort without rhythm or reason. 

‘Mortal Kombat II’ (2026)©Warner Bros/Courtesy Everett Collection

If the original “Mortal Kombat” video games are notorious because they demanded such punishing levels of skill from their players, this latest film adaptation instead provides an arc that’s easy to follow — but more enjoyable to watch disappear over the horizon without a second thought. Made worse by frantic editing and counterintuitive shot framing, the visual effects fluctuate wildly between convincing digital flourishes and surprisingly cheap-looking practical attempts. The environments themselves often resemble generic fantasy soundstages, and at a point, every arena feels distinct yet meaningless. 

Appropriately, the scene-stealing Kano (Josh Lawson, returning in a unique way) seems to understand this shortcoming better than anyone else in the cast. Once again charming viewers with his native Australian accent, the actor remains effortlessly entertaining while using his charisma to neutralize caustic dialogue that would flatten a less likable performer on impact. While Urban’s has-been Cage gets trapped repeating the same excruciating punchlines, several of which sound like they were ripped straight from a bargain-bin “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” Kano breezes through simple sentences like, “My peripheral vision is fucked, mate,” with enough confidence to briefly resuscitate entire scenes.

‘Mortal Kombat II’ (2026)©Warner Bros/Courtesy Everett Collection

To Urban’s credit, the script occasionally gives Johnny Cage flashes of inspired stupidity, but “The Boys” star is sorely missing his New Zealand lilt here and no matter of screen time can save him. Even accepting that Johnny Cage whining, “I got a Saturn Award for Best Fight in a Feature Film!” is probably this movie’s single best written joke, “Mortal Kombat II” relies on its weakest link like a ringer for far longer than Urban can sustain. The performance itself grows increasingly grating as the runtime drags on, particularly when Johnny’s scene partners overpower him by connecting deeper and doing less.

Equally unsatisfying is just how common this sequel sounds. For a property with theme music, sound effects, and character iconography that’s been hugely influential across the hip-hop, rap, and pop music scenes, “Mortal Kombat II” defaults to some anonymous orchestral scoring that pointlessly drains the audio of its drive and identity. These video games have always pulsed with a heightened, aggressive energy, but the latest movie’s soundtrack could come from virtually any action title in modern history. That only underlines the notion that many cinephiles have no real understanding of what made “Mortal Kombat” culturally sticky in the first place, and for many, that will ultimately be the sharper frustration.

‘Mortal Kombat II’ (2026)©Warner Bros/Courtesy Everett Collection

McQuoid clearly isn’t a fake fan. “Mortal Kombat II” is equipped with countless references, callbacks, and details pulled directly from the games. Heck, even co-creator Ed Boon pops up for a reasonably amusing cameo as a bartender. But somewhere between the reboot in 2021 and the letdown headed for theaters today, “Mortal Kombat II” became yet another example of Hollywood borrowing recognizable video game IP without being able to successfully reinterpret the core elements that made it popular.

As a franchise, “Mortal Kombat” has spent years crossing over with other fictional worlds, recruiting everyone from Jason Voorhees to RoboCop in fights facing its champions. McQuoid throws in a batch of contemporary references, too, nodding at “The Lord of the Rings,” Keanu Reeves, and, believe it or not, “Big Trouble in Little China.” But none of that intertextual awareness matters if the heart of the next movie chapter feels this artistically inert. With whispers of another film already looming at Warner Bros., McQuoid’s best defense might be tapping out — before he’s tasked with delivering an even more insufferable cinematic fatality.

Grade: C-

From Warner Bros., “Mortal Kombat II” is in theaters on Friday, May 8.

Want to stay up to date on IndieWire’s film reviews and critical thoughts? Subscribe here to our newsletter, In Review by David Ehrlich, in which our Chief Film Critic and Head Reviews Editor rounds up the best new reviews and streaming picks along with some exclusive musings — all only available to subscribers.