Rod and Karen review the video game action sequel “Mortal Kombat II.” They also discuss movie trailers and your comments on “Project Hail Mary.”
Spoiled Reviews: (Protected Content)
SMR 589: Mortal Kombat II
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Man, it’s too bad this isn’t better than the very first film (1995 version, that is; I’ll follow up on the ’21 version in a moment), because MKII has its moments as a potentially prospering video game film adaptation. Good costumes, some pretty good fights (Liu Kang v. Revenant Kung Lao was easily a highlight) & decent moments of humor with Cage, Kano & Baraka but when it’s all said & done, this film is done by an unproven director, who’s only motion picture credit was the very first reboot of this property, Simon McQuoid, who still has about as much experience as our pinky fingers combined, if I must be frank. Not to mention, wow, the dialogue is distractingly bad, which an argument can be made for just the screenplay but it affects everyone, including an enthusiastic but well-beyond-his-years Karl Urban, that struggles to make this film enjoyable. It is better than the first one, even if it’s mainly off making Kitana (Adeline Rudolph is a smoke show. My lord!) the principal lead juxtaposed Cole Young from movie one & it’s an actual tournament, but having rewatched the very first film with the late Cary Hiroyuki-Tagawa as Shang Tsung, there’s something to be said about a “less is more” aesthetic as that one was. Sure, the line reading is kindergarten but because of Cary’s charisma & menace, it just pop in a way these latest ones don’t. Even if Paul Anderson isn’t exactly a Spielbergian director, his heart was in the right place where it mattered, which was capturing the soul of the property’s silly charm.
Now Rod & Karen, I was one of those people who happened to enjoy the ’21 film on the first watch & while I didn’t go back and read what I wrote what I said, I’m pretty sure I was quite pleased with it. Having seen it again for my second viewing in 2022, whew, man COVID-19 really put low expectations into low expectations because it does suck & it always did. Outside of the Sub-Zero/Scorpion scenes, the direction is just bad & so is the script, which sacrifices earnest storytelling for fan service for characters that just don’t have a place in this proper, like Kabal, Nitara & of course, Lewis Tan’s Cole Young. It’s a hard 2 out of 5 compared to me giving it a 3.5 out of 5 on LetterboxD.
And while MK2 is inches better than the first one, it’s not saying much. Also, when they do a third, get a proven director that can, ya know, direct.