The year is 2003, Director Quentin Tarantino sits down for his obligatory interaction with the press to promote his new martial arts action film 'Kill Bill: Vol. 1'. This was before YouTube took off, with today's heavy lifting resting on the shoulders of five people from the movie trailer company figuring out when to place the dramatic quick cuts and the customary remixed eighties music.
Tarantino was instead faced with the stern and disapproving film critic Jan Wahl. Wahl seemed to disapprove of the gratuitous blood and viscera sprayed over most of the action sequences in the film.
"Why the need for so much gruesome graphic violence? Why not let us imagine a little of it?" the critic enquired.
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"Because it's so much fun Jan!" Tarantino blurted out.
Mortal Kombat II seems to have embraced that maxim, and ran with it, creating a bloody good experience for fans and newcomers alike.
A partial big screen adaptation of the ultraviolent and irreverently schlocky Mortal Kombat fighting game series, Mortal Kombat II manages to capture the charm and the charisma of the long running video game franchise.
The Tournament Begins
Shao Khan, Emperor of the Outworld Dimension seeks to add Earth to his growing list of conquered realms.
Photo Credit: IMDb
The setup is deceptively simple but very effectively conveyed. The fearsome tyrant Shao Khan, Emperor of the Outworld Dimension, seeks to add Earth to his growing list of conquered realms. But the Elder Gods have set up cosmic rules to prevent the extensive bloodshed that emerges from the tragedy of war. Instead, a realm's fate is decided by a martial arts tournament known as 'Mortal Kombat', where the two realms will send their best champions to fight to the death. The victor decides the fate of both realms.
Sounds like a great excuse to have actors and stunt people duke it out for our viewing pleasure. Which is what the games tended to focus on, since the story is secondary to the game mechanics.
However, Director Simon McQuoid and writer Jeremy Slater set out to tell a story about the horrors of invasion, what it feels like to have one's home and family ripped away from them by forces out of their control. Witnessing their cultures and freedoms being trampled upon. Or about the dead weight of a mid-life crisis, the temptation of wallowing in your own self pity, desperately trying to relive your glory days.
They also tell a story that routinely exhibits a 1,000 different ways to behead, disembowel, bruise, slice, slash and stab martial artists to death. Because that's the movie you came to see. This isn't 'All Quiet On Western Front', it's a Mortal Kombat movie.
Choose Your Fighter
Adeline Rudolph's performance as 'Kitana' anchors the film's overarching storyline.
Photo Credit: IMDb
The cast is no slouch either. Karl Urban of The Boys and The Lord Of The Rings fame plays the unforgettable Johnny Cage, a cocky charisma machine that could go toe to toe with Rajinikanth in star power. An exceedingly talented actor, martial artist and stuntman, Cage has to overcome his mid-life crisis and rise to the occasion to defend Earth.
Urban is joined by Adeline Rudolph's Kitana, a determined and fierce warrior princess, who weaponises her regal femininity with the help of two spiked hand fans and a deadly sash, making her fight scenes all the more exciting. Kitana grapples with the uphill task to avenge her kingdom and her family, taken from her by Shao Khan.
The enigmatic Khan is played to perfection by the hulking Martyn Ford, who not only captures his impressive looming physicality, but also his impassive menacing cruelty that makes the audience sit up every time he enters the frame. That booming voice and relentless savagery that intimidated so many of us when we played the games, is masterfully brought to life.
The remaining cast are only dwarfed by screen time rather than talent, because each of them have a memorable and satisfying portrayal of the iconic characters from the game series. Other standouts include Ludi Lin as the warrior monk Liu Kang, Tadanobu Asano as the thunder god Raiden, and Josh Lawson as the hilariously unscrupulous mercenary Kano.
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Behind the Brutality
The film takes no prisoners, you may have to say goodbye to some of your favourites.
Photo Credit: IMDb
Suffice to say, the action feels genuinely exhilarating, cinematographer Stephen Windon excels at conveying the danger and the spectacle of the various fights. Nail biting combat over spike pits, across perilous rooftops, acid rivers, scorching hellfire and other captivating locations make up a majority of the runtime.
The special effects, makeup, costuming and set design teams' efforts seamlessly blend together to convey some extremely gripping atmosphere. Be it the creepy and ethereal ambience of Shao Khan's stone palace or the eldritch eeriness of the necromancy magic used by his sorcerers, every frame feels compelling due to their artistry.
They're also great at conveying some epic gore. The film utilises its 'A' rating to the fullest, treating fans to cinematic depictions of jaw-dropping fatalities. Fan favourite characters are crushed, sliced open, charred to a crisp, impaled and disembowelled, and it never, ever gets old.
These gory deaths also happen to be inflicted on a majority of the main characters in the ensemble piece, making every fight have nail-biting tension due to their unpredictable outcomes. The film takes no prisoners, if you're a fan of the game, you may have to say goodbye to some of your favourites.
A Nearly Flawless Victory
Mortal Kombat II deftly shrugs off the curse of the bad video game movie.
Photo Credit: IMDb
Mortal Kombat II deftly shrugs off the curse of the bad video game movie by playing to the strengths of its medium and source material. It strikes a balance between accessibility and faithfulness, never so deep in lore that casual viewers are lost, or so stripped down that fans feel shortchanged. The film is a great time at the theatre and a love letter to the fans, delivering the story with the respect and self-awareness it deserves.
The dialogue is uneven, but rarely derails the film. The comedic writing earns its laughs — quips, verbal gags, and metatextual references incite giggles instead of groans. The clunkier lines go largely unnoticed, due to the efforts of the cast.
Mortal Kombat II joins the leaderboard alongside the Sonic The Hedgehog movies and the Fallout show, as one of the few adaptations that actually gets it right.
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