Early reviews for Mortal Kombat II are finally beginning to arrive online, and things are looking great for the sequel, as it has already achieved a milestone for the live-action film franchise. This comes ahead of the action fantasy sequel’s long-awaited theatrical release on Friday, May 8.
What is the series first that Mortal Kombat II achieved?
So far, Mortal Kombat II has already garnered 77% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 66 reviews. This marks the first time in the live-action film franchise’s history that a Mortal Kombat movie has been granted a Certified Fresh score. Previous live-action adaptations, including the cult classic 1995 version and 2021’s Mortal Kombat, all received rotten Tomatometer ratings from critics. Before this, it was only the animated Mortal Kombat movies that had been well-received by critics, such as 2020’s Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion’s Revenge (90% RT score).
Most critics felt that the new sequel is definitely an improvement over the first installment, praising the film for its amusing and creative fight sequences. ComingSoon.net‘s Jonathan Sim, who gave a decent 6/10 score, called the film “wickedly entertaining,” despite being a “chaotic blood-soaked spectacle.” Shahbaz Siddiqui of The Movie Podcast also said that the film “pulls its punches when it matters most, but seeing these characters on screen is still a total blast. It’s pure arcade energy and features a Liu Kang fight that absolutely rips! A messy ride for sure, but the fan service carries it.”
Meanwhile, Aidan Kelley of Collider, who gave a 7/10 rating, described watching the second half of the sequel as “a bloody good time and a bone-crunching spectacle from start to finish.” Many critics also singled out the performance of Karl Urban, calling him a “more capable lead” and a better audience stand-in than Lewis Tan’s Cole Young in the 2021 film. Moviefone‘s Tessa Smith says that Urban “steals the show as Johnny Cage.”
Mortal Kombat II will feature the return of Hiroyuki Sanada as Scorpion, Lewis Tan as Cole Young, Jessica McNamee as Sonya Blade, Josh Lawson as Kano, Tadanobu Asano as Lord Raiden, Mehcad Brooks as Jax, Ludi Lin as Liu Kang, Chin Han as Shang Tsung, Joe Taslim as Bi-Han and Sub-Zero, Hiroyuki Sanada as Hanzo Hasashi and Scorpion, and Max Huang as Kung Lao. Joining them are several new characters in the form of Karl Urban as Johnny Cage, Adeline Rudolph as Kitana, Tati Gabrielle as Jade, Martyn Ford as Emperor Shao Kahn, Damon Herriman as Netherrealm demon Quan Chi, Desmond Chiam as Edenian King Jerrod, and Ana Thu Nguyen as Queen Sindel.
