Mortal Kombat 2

May 22 – 28

Fri May 22 – 3:30 & 7:00 pm
Sat May 23 – 1:30 & 7:00 pm
Sun May 24– Closed – No hydro
Mon May 25 – 7:00 pm
Tues May 26 – 7:00 pm
Wed May 27 – 3:30 pm
Thurs May 28 – 7:00 pm

Rated 14A – 1hr 53min
Action / Adventure / Fantasy

Mortal Kombat II, the new installment of the acclaimed 1992 fighting game, is faithful to the original material, full of bloody hand-to-hand combat, iconic characters from the saga and many surprises for the followers of this story.

The film opens with an ultraviolent duel — the movie is one fight scene after another after another — in which King Jerrod (Desmond Chiam), the leader of Edenia who’s like a warrior from ancient times, faces off against Shao Kahn (Martyn Ford), who looks like the Lord Humungus meets Darth Vader under a helmet that’s a horned metal skull. (He wields a spiked version of Thor’s hammer, swinging it like an executioner’s ax.) Shao Kahn will be the film’s reigning badass monster, who tries to defeat 10 warriors from Earthrealm, all so that he can claim dominion over the other realms.

Cole Young was the focal point of the first film, but the sequel thankfully sidelines him in favor of Karl Urban’s Johnny Cage and Adeline Rudolph’s Kitana. Kitana, now grown up, gives us a window into what’s going on in Outworld, and unsurprisingly, Shang Tsung and Shao Khan don’t have very sportsmanlike intentions for this upcoming tournament. Meanwhile, Johnny’s onboarding process to Earthrealm’s team of good guys offers a few sprinkles of exposition in-between heaps of smart-ass color commentary.

The other returning characters are great, even if they aren’t given quite as much to do. As revealed in the trailers, Kung Lao is alive again (because… again… reasons) and he and Liu Kang throw down in one extremely fun fight scene that Max Huang and Ludi Lin make a meal out of. Mehcad Brooks is effortlessly likeable as Jax, and Lewis Tan’s Cole Young isn’t totally backburnered. Jessica McNamee’s Sonya Blade does her best to corral this ragtag crew, and though he’s likened to various Warners-owned wizards, Tadanobu Asano’s portrayal of Rayden is more reminiscent of Professor X.

It might not be Oscar-caliber cinema, and hardcore fans of the game with encyclopedic knowledge of the game may have a bone to pick, but it’s big and loud and gruesome and not afraid to have fun. The bar for video game movie sequels isn’t very high, but this one not only clears the bar, it twirls it around like a bo staff. Kids got The Super Mario Galaxy Movie; older kids/adults get this. Same brand of non-stop fan service, and this one remembers to include an actual plot while delivering the bloody goods. And with reportedly more than 100 easter eggs from the games, a stronger focus on the lore and a full swap of main characters in direct response to fan complaints about the first movie, Mortal Kombat II makes fans smile.