Mortal Kombat II

It certainly seems to the year of retro games and cinema connecting.

Perhaps studios see more lucrative potential in an older, engaged and nostalgic audience base as Mortal Kombat II follows on from the Super Mario sequel and releases in advance of Masters of the Universe, Street Fighter and another Resident Evil reboot.

All good things on the surface but, in reality, MKII doesn’t quite do enough to justify its existence, unfortunately.

The first Mortal Kombat from a few years ago felt surprisingly fresh as an antidote to big franchise fatigue at the time.

Tongue wedged firmly in cheek, it delivered a ridiculous story, fun fighting and violent fatalities with each character knowing exactly what kind of film they’re in.

In fairness to this sequel, the feel is the same. It’s, once again, a heightened, ridiculous story of fighting to save realms and is broken up, predominantly, into nicely varied fighting sequences.

Sadly, as a sequel, a little more story has to be squeezed into the narrative and it just doesn’t quite give you anything to latch on to or care about, especially when the concept of life and death doesn’t really apply in this universe.

As such, for every humorous moment or wince-inducing fatality, you have to sit through some nonsense about a magical amulet or yet another odd choice of pop-culture reference which, simply, don’t feel necessary.

However, it’s a fun and silly action film that’ll serve you well for an evening of brainless entertainment.

⭐️⭐️⭐️