Mortal Kombat 2 - Page 3

*IMJ* · 05-09-2026, 07:19 PM

I want to see this too and I think it will be fun, but the casting sucks (C-Lister level) and casting karl Urban as Cage instead of as Kano is a GLARING obvious miss there.

But i suppose that's an observation of opportunity. The movie will probably still be fun. I'm REALLY looking forward to the original MK showing up on 4k though.

*triplexxx* · 05-09-2026, 10:29 PM

Just saw with my friends, very fun, delves into several characters backgrounds, gives them development, Kitana's backstory, Johnny Cage and his transformation from a once-was to a back-again, Liu Kang's and Kung Lao's relationship, definitely felt more like the video games than the 90s flicks with actual bloody violence and fatalities as well as arenas/locations from the games, and of course leaves opening for number three whenever that is ready to come out.

*Andrew NDB* · 05-09-2026, 11:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by IMJ

I want to see this too and I think it will be fun, but the casting sucks (C-Lister level) and casting karl Urban as Cage instead of as Kano is a GLARING obvious miss there.

Probably, but the Kano guy himself is pretty good here, too. I admit, all of his jokes in this landed with me and that's somewhat rare. I wish they'd shave his head, but whatever.

Daytona · 05-09-2026, 11:28 PM

Some fun to be had here with the choreography and the reverence for the series history but overall it just feels so taped together. I think the 1995 film is a legitimately good movie despite its flaws and I don’t think either of these new ones hold a candle to it or even really come together. I was entertained at times though so I’ll give it that.

*Andrew NDB* · 05-10-2026, 02:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Daytona

Some fun to be had here with the choreography and the reverence for the series history but overall it just feels so taped together. I think the 1995 film is a legitimately good movie despite its flaws and I don’t think either of these new ones hold a candle to it or even really come together. I was entertained at times though so I’ll give it that.

I would disagree on this movie, at least. It did come together. And that was some pretty slick juxtapositioning of 3 different simultaneous scenes at the end there that came together well.

My only gripes about the movie:

* Mileena. I actually had to look back at the first movie to remember that she was killed in it, as I was wondering where she was in this with things being so Kitana heavy. She should have been there in the flashbacks, at least.

* No Kintaro or Motaro or Shiva? Bad. Surely 1 or 2 could have at least been background characters if nothing else.

* No Sub-Zero? Criminal. Maybe the biggest oversight in this. Sub-Zero 2 was IN the MK 2 game. If you're doing a Mortal Kombat movie you have to have the guy that's freezing people and pulling out spines, at a minimum.

* At the end of the first movie in the very last scene Cole's sole purpose was to go and find/recruit Johnny Cage. He doesn't do that in this movie, it's Sonya and Raiden. That's kind of bullsh**. At least swap him in instead of Sonya to go in there with Raiden (or at the VERY least have him there WITH Sonya), but let him do that much, ffs.

Daytona · 05-10-2026, 06:37 AM

Sub-Zero has always been my favorite so I definitely missed his presence. Was sort of expecting at least a tease of the second Sub-Zero if not a full appearance.

I guess saying the movie didn’t “come together” for me is sort of nebulous but what I mean is I just am not able to buy into the world or the characters on a deeper level. I’m still comparing to the 1995 film where I find the main cast quite likable and actually feel a bit of emotional pull and tension for Liu Kang. I found him much easier to root for than anyone in these two films.

I also think the world feels more cohesive in the 1995 film. The on-set locations have a lot to do with the world feeling tangible. What also probably helps was being a bit less ambitious. Less time spent in “Outworld” type locations, perhaps makes the film slightly less ambitious than this one but also makes things a bit easier to buy into. The world feels real and the deaths feel more consequential and final.

I don’t want to be too hard on this movie though, bc I did enjoy my time with it. It’s just missing something essential for me to consider it truly satisfying.

*Andrew NDB* · 05-12-2026, 11:28 AM

Box office: so far in weekend #1 it alone has earned domestically the ENTIRETY of what the 2021 movie did over its whole run domestically. Not bad. With about 25 million earned internationally. Even with a big % drop next weekend this should end up OK.

Daytona · 05-12-2026, 01:38 PM

That’s good to hear. Overall I want the franchise to succeed even if I have complaints.

I’ve been watching recent interviews with the original cast of the 1995 film - Robin Shou and Linden Ashby and it’s been really heartwarming for me. These guys have great chemistry together after all this time and I must have watched that movie 30 times so it’s great to see.

Pretty easy to find on YouTube. The new films are cool but that original really was special.

*Andrew NDB* · 05-12-2026, 02:13 PM

MK 1995 casting was good, chemistry was OK, music was great... but boy, it was and still is impossible to wrap my head around a PG-13 Mortal Kombat movie. I don't think I'd felt as insulted by a movie being pasteurized as with this one. This and maybe Alien vs. Predator.

It was stupid then and it'd be stupid now. How ridiculous was it that you could go see Mortal Kombat 1995 as a kid that couldn't even so much as show any blood then as you're leaving stop by in the lobby and play MK3 where you can bloodily rip out hearts and dissolve skin from characters' bones.

Daytona · 05-12-2026, 02:45 PM

A totally fair critique but somehow it doesn’t bother me. It wasn’t gratuitous but it still felt violent and deadly. Maybe even more so than the modern movies despite the gore.

I mean we saw necks snap, bodies explode into chunks of ice, and several spike impalements. Even though we didn’t see much blood, it still felt more deadly than the new films to me. I think that, again, has a lot to do with the practical effects and sets. It just makes everything hit harder. Plus we didn’t really see people continually coming back to life.

But it’s hard to argue against that as a complaint. Gore and gratuitous violence is what makes MK iconic. At the same time, the characters and lore have become just as important and the 1995 film nailed that.

*IMJ* · 05-12-2026, 08:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Daytona

That’s good to hear. Overall I want the franchise to succeed even if I have complaints.

I’ve been watching recent interviews with the original cast of the 1995 film - Robin Shou and Linden Ashby and it’s been really heartwarming for me. These guys have great chemistry together after all this time and I must have watched that movie 30 times so it’s great to see.

Pretty easy to find on YouTube. The new films are cool but that original really was special.

I feel the same way. I think we have a shared passion for the first Mortal Kombat flick. It's authentically one of the top video game movies ever made. Not without missteps obviously (Raiden casting, anyone?).

But man the musical/fight energy in that one? The Reptile fight? It's hard to believe that they pulled it off yet gave up utterly on the 2nd one.

*TigerClaw* · 05-12-2026, 10:35 PM

The sequel was better then the first one. Oh and they did not mention the whole arcana thing.

*IMJ* · 05-13-2026, 01:36 PM

Oh geeze I had forgotten about the whole "glyph" thing from the first movie entirely....

*Andrew NDB* · 05-13-2026, 01:45 PM

Not only was the arcana not mentioned in Mortal Kombat II, but it wasn't allowed to be.

https://www.gamesradar.com/entertain...idi-chlorians/

*sdp* · 05-13-2026, 01:51 PM

as much as I hated the kombat tattoos ignoring it completely as well as the arkana in a direct sequel is somehow worse for me.
Star Wars did it right, midichlorians still existed, they just stopped giving it as much emphasis.

*Andrew NDB* · 05-13-2026, 01:56 PM

And there's the whole pesky conundrum of "We let the fans dictate our creative vision."

But with something like MK... meh. Whatever. Do it, I guess.

*Coola Yagami* · 05-13-2026, 02:32 PM

ehhh it's fixing things that never should have been there in the first place. I know in a narrative stand point it doesn't make sense... but I mean, it was their own fault for throwing that **** in there to begin with.

Like the Resident Evil movies... narrative cohesion aside, I wouldn't care if Alice died and Jill, Chris, Claire and Leon took over their own movie.

I mean say what you will about how crammed with references the new Mario movies were... they didn't throw in RandomOCMan and have him take lead status away from Mario, Luigi and the Princess

*oldmanwinters* · 05-16-2026, 09:12 PM

Saw it. Liked it. Don’t think it’s as good as the 1995 MK film.

*Andrew NDB* · 05-16-2026, 09:16 PM

Idk, guys. I hear you about the 1995 movie. But yeah, watch that right now on your HD TV. I pecked at it a bit the other day, particularly the Goro fight.... eh, it's not good.

*CyberCubed* · 05-17-2026, 12:34 AM

I'm not going to see this in theater, I'll wait till it comes out in HD on the illegal streaming websites. I imagine many other people are doing the same, which is probably why the box office run isn't as great as it could have been.

I'm glad to hear it turned out well and a vast improvement over the first movie from 2021, almost as if its a soft reboot.

05-09-2026, 07:19 PM	#41
IMJ Emperor Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Midwest, U.S.A. Posts: 8,881	I want to see this too and I think it will be fun, but the casting sucks (C-Lister level) and casting karl Urban as Cage instead of as Kano is a GLARING obvious miss there. But i suppose that's an observation of opportunity. The movie will probably still be fun. I'm REALLY looking forward to the original MK showing up on 4k though. __________________ Wave 1 Collectibles Online Market Watch Blog Collection Photography

05-09-2026, 10:29 PM	#42
triplexxx Mad Scientist Join Date: Aug 2006 Posts: 1,816	Just saw with my friends, very fun, delves into several characters backgrounds, gives them development, Kitana's backstory, Johnny Cage and his transformation from a once-was to a back-again, Liu Kang's and Kung Lao's relationship, definitely felt more like the video games than the 90s flicks with actual bloody violence and fatalities as well as arenas/locations from the games, and of course leaves opening for number three whenever that is ready to come out. Last edited by triplexxx; 05-09-2026 at 10:37 PM.

05-09-2026, 11:28 PM	#44
Daytona Hench Mutant Join Date: Feb 2025 Posts: 263	Some fun to be had here with the choreography and the reverence for the series history but overall it just feels so taped together. I think the 1995 film is a legitimately good movie despite its flaws and I don’t think either of these new ones hold a candle to it or even really come together. I was entertained at times though so I’ll give it that. __________________ https://x.com/JohnnyDi17 lmk if you’re from the drome if u follow me.

05-10-2026, 06:37 AM	#46
Daytona Hench Mutant Join Date: Feb 2025 Posts: 263	Sub-Zero has always been my favorite so I definitely missed his presence. Was sort of expecting at least a tease of the second Sub-Zero if not a full appearance. I guess saying the movie didn’t “come together” for me is sort of nebulous but what I mean is I just am not able to buy into the world or the characters on a deeper level. I’m still comparing to the 1995 film where I find the main cast quite likable and actually feel a bit of emotional pull and tension for Liu Kang. I found him much easier to root for than anyone in these two films. I also think the world feels more cohesive in the 1995 film. The on-set locations have a lot to do with the world feeling tangible. What also probably helps was being a bit less ambitious. Less time spent in “Outworld” type locations, perhaps makes the film slightly less ambitious than this one but also makes things a bit easier to buy into. The world feels real and the deaths feel more consequential and final. I don’t want to be too hard on this movie though, bc I did enjoy my time with it. It’s just missing something essential for me to consider it truly satisfying. __________________ https://x.com/JohnnyDi17 lmk if you’re from the drome if u follow me.

05-12-2026, 01:38 PM	#48
Daytona Hench Mutant Join Date: Feb 2025 Posts: 263	That’s good to hear. Overall I want the franchise to succeed even if I have complaints. I’ve been watching recent interviews with the original cast of the 1995 film - Robin Shou and Linden Ashby and it’s been really heartwarming for me. These guys have great chemistry together after all this time and I must have watched that movie 30 times so it’s great to see. Pretty easy to find on YouTube. The new films are cool but that original really was special. __________________ https://x.com/JohnnyDi17 lmk if you’re from the drome if u follow me.

05-12-2026, 11:28 AM	#47
Andrew NDB Weed Whacker Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Auburn, WA Posts: 34,537	Box office: so far in weekend #1 it alone has earned domestically the ENTIRETY of what the 2021 movie did over its whole run domestically. Not bad. With about 25 million earned internationally. Even with a big % drop next weekend this should end up OK.

05-12-2026, 02:13 PM	#49
Andrew NDB Weed Whacker Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Auburn, WA Posts: 34,537	MK 1995 casting was good, chemistry was OK, music was great... but boy, it was and still is impossible to wrap my head around a PG-13 Mortal Kombat movie. I don't think I'd felt as insulted by a movie being pasteurized as with this one. This and maybe Alien vs. Predator. It was stupid then and it'd be stupid now. How ridiculous was it that you could go see Mortal Kombat 1995 as a kid that couldn't even so much as show any blood then as you're leaving stop by in the lobby and play MK3 where you can bloodily rip out hearts and dissolve skin from characters' bones. __________________ [ ODYSSEY \| ORIGIN \| THE IMAGE/VOL. 3 CONCLUSION \| THE SHELLSHOCKED PODCAST \| ON FACEBOOK ]

05-12-2026, 02:45 PM	#50
Daytona Hench Mutant Join Date: Feb 2025 Posts: 263	A totally fair critique but somehow it doesn’t bother me. It wasn’t gratuitous but it still felt violent and deadly. Maybe even more so than the modern movies despite the gore. I mean we saw necks snap, bodies explode into chunks of ice, and several spike impalements. Even though we didn’t see much blood, it still felt more deadly than the new films to me. I think that, again, has a lot to do with the practical effects and sets. It just makes everything hit harder. Plus we didn’t really see people continually coming back to life. But it’s hard to argue against that as a complaint. Gore and gratuitous violence is what makes MK iconic. At the same time, the characters and lore have become just as important and the 1995 film nailed that. __________________ https://x.com/JohnnyDi17 lmk if you’re from the drome if u follow me.

05-12-2026, 10:35 PM	#52
TigerClaw Mutant Tiger Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Hialeah, Florida, USA Posts: 14,165	The sequel was better then the first one. Oh and they did not mention the whole arcana thing. __________________ Follow me on my Tiktok https://www.tiktok.com/@tygerclaw305

05-13-2026, 01:36 PM	#53
IMJ Emperor Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Midwest, U.S.A. Posts: 8,881	Oh geeze I had forgotten about the whole "glyph" thing from the first movie entirely.... __________________ Wave 1 Collectibles Online Market Watch Blog Collection Photography

05-13-2026, 01:45 PM	#54
Andrew NDB Weed Whacker Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Auburn, WA Posts: 34,537	Not only was the arcana not mentioned in Mortal Kombat II, but it wasn't allowed to be. https://www.gamesradar.com/entertain...idi-chlorians/

05-13-2026, 01:51 PM	#55
sdp Detoxed Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Tokio, Italy Posts: 11,215	as much as I hated the kombat tattoos ignoring it completely as well as the arkana in a direct sequel is somehow worse for me. Star Wars did it right, midichlorians still existed, they just stopped giving it as much emphasis. __________________ *Trapt* *urself Page MiscRave!!!* Click to join The Drome Discord server

05-13-2026, 01:56 PM	#56
Andrew NDB Weed Whacker Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Auburn, WA Posts: 34,537	And there's the whole pesky conundrum of "We let the fans dictate our creative vision." But with something like MK... meh. Whatever. Do it, I guess.

05-13-2026, 02:32 PM	#57
Coola Yagami Overlord Join Date: Jan 2004 Posts: 15,709	ehhh it's fixing things that never should have been there in the first place. I know in a narrative stand point it doesn't make sense... but I mean, it was their own fault for throwing that **** in there to begin with. Like the Resident Evil movies... narrative cohesion aside, I wouldn't care if Alice died and Jill, Chris, Claire and Leon took over their own movie. I mean say what you will about how crammed with references the new Mario movies were... they didn't throw in RandomOCMan and have him take lead status away from Mario, Luigi and the Princess __________________ "I was down with TMNT once, but then they changed what TMNT was. Now what I was down with is no longer TMNT and what TMNT now is seems weird and scary. And it'll happen to YOU." Check out my blog for Comic Reviews and other things. https://markepicblogofrandomness.blogspot.com/ I also started The AEW Crew, the All Elite Wrestling Fan Club! https://www.facebook.com/groups/637508120044168/

05-16-2026, 09:12 PM	#58
oldmanwinters Overlord Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Between yesterday and tomorrow! Posts: 15,497	Saw it. Liked it. Don’t think it’s as good as the 1995 MK film. __________________ Experience the TMNT Fan Commentaries! Check out my TMNT fan comic, "Nothing to Fear"! View my sketch work! I'm selling some of my hard-to-find TMNT items!

05-16-2026, 09:16 PM	#59
Andrew NDB Weed Whacker Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Auburn, WA Posts: 34,537	Idk, guys. I hear you about the 1995 movie. But yeah, watch that right now on your HD TV. I pecked at it a bit the other day, particularly the Goro fight.... eh, it's not good.

05-17-2026, 12:34 AM	#60
CyberCubed Overlord Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 43,866	I'm not going to see this in theater, I'll wait till it comes out in HD on the illegal streaming websites. I imagine many other people are doing the same, which is probably why the box office run isn't as great as it could have been. I'm glad to hear it turned out well and a vast improvement over the first movie from 2021, almost as if its a soft reboot.