Title – Mortal Kombat II (2026)

Director – Simon McQuoid (Mortal Kombat)

Cast – Karl Urban, Adeline Rudolph, Ludi Lin, Jessica McNamee, Joe Taslim, Hiroyuki Sanada, Josh Lawson, Martyn Ford

Plot – With the Earthrealm’s existence threatened, the greatest fighters in the universe, including ex-Hollywood superstar Johnny Cage (Urban), must face off against Shao Kahn (Ford) in order to save humankind from extinction.

“It’s time to become the hero you were meant to be”

Review by Eddie on 08/05/2026

At the same time one of the better examples of a guilty pleasure blockbuster and video game adaptation, Australian director Simon McQuoid is back following on from his 2021 effort to deliver Mortal Kombat 2, a film entirely aware of what it is and embracing it for the good of all.

Personally finding McQuoid’s first outing more than tolerable, MK2 takes all the enjoyable elements from the 2021 film and polishes them up, gifting Mortal Kombat fans and more casual viewers a throwback like actioner that embeds itself into the slight but fun world of the game series, creating a baggage free offering that acts as a fantastically fun big-screen sugar hit.

Enlisting the support of The Boys favourite Karl Urban to take over leading man duties from the first films Lewis Tan, who here acts as a support to proceedings, MK2 wastes little time throwing Urban’s ex-Hollywood heavyweight Johnny Cage into the thick of the action, as Earth’s greatest fighters battle it out against Martyn Ford’s world conquering baddie Shao Khan.

Delivering a slightly varied take on his own turns as Star Trek’s Bones or his Boys anti-hero Billy Butcher, Urban is a far from inspired pick as Cage but he fits the bill perfectly and having his on-screen charisma and presence for this second go around certainly helps elevate McQuoid’s follow-up that features plenty of fan service, fighting carnage and memorable one liners that come at us thick and fast thanks to Urban and the first films cult favourite Kano, once more enthusiastically played by Australian actor Josh Lawson.

As was the case with the original film and in all honesty the games this series is based off, the actual narrative at the heart of everything here is very far from noteworthy but at the same time it’s refreshing to see a Hollywood video game adaptation become like one big video game in itself and it’s hard as a willing audience member not to get around Cage and his compatriots, including fun new addition in the form of Adeline Rudolph’s Kitana, battle to defeat an ominous big bad in the most generically predictable but enjoyable of ways.

In a day and age where most seemingly simple things become anything but, seeping into films that at times want to add depth and get sidetracked where they didn’t need to, MK2 is a big, loud and rightfully simple offering that is going to charm a lot of fans of the I.P and provide a fun and fast-paced piece of escapism for a lot of others.

Not a flawless victory but a minor one worth quietly celebrating nonetheless.

Final Say –

Making no apologies for what it is and benefiting greatly from it, Mortal Kombat 2 brings back the good from the first outing while enhancing it, giving us another memorably sassy Karl Urban performance to boot.

3 1/2 unexpected Voldemort references out of 5