MORTAL KOMBAT II PANEL REVIEW | Film Threat Versus

Added: 2026-05-12

[00:00:04]It's gotten mixed reviews. I think uh you know I enjoyed it as a fan of the games. Um but I think it's a lot better than this.

[00:00:12]>> Prepare yourself for the most advanced ever.

[00:00:17]>> Oh my Line Home Video presents the world premiere of Mortal Kombat. The journey begins.

[00:00:23]>> Oh my god.

[00:00:24]>> Directed video animated.

[00:00:28]Look at those graphics, man.

[00:00:30]>> Mortal Kombat is generating ground.

[00:00:33]Now it continues its trend setting legacy with Mortal Kombat. The journey begins. Give millions of kids what they've wanted because Mortal Kombat the animated video is suitable for viewing by the entire family. Travel to a mystical realm with the characters that made the MK video game so popular as they battle the >> All right. What did What did everyone think? This is a direct to video animated VHS tape from the '9s. What did you guys think of the movie?

[00:01:07]>> It was dumb fun.

[00:01:08]>> Yeah, brain off.

[00:01:10]>> Leave it at the door and just go in and enjoy the fights. Don't think too hard about it. If you think too long and too hard about it, it's not going to work out. Um I had a I had a good time, you know, at at um at the screen at the uh theaters with it. The audience seemed to be into it. Um, so yeah, it's the kind of movie that you want to, you know, watch one time, have a good time with it. You'll probably never watch it again after this. Uh, but it was a lot of fun, you know, and I'm kind of looking forward to see what they're going to do again. I'm interested in the third one, you know.

[00:01:40]>> I had a lot of fun watching it. I I I will say I liked it a lot more than the Devil Wars Prada 2.

[00:01:46]>> I had so much fun watching this movie. I really didn't like the Devil Wars Prada 2. I thought it was garbage. Um, this one was a lot of fun. I've played some of the Mortal Kombat games um and I like them. I've never really followed the story though, so I don't I don't have any like background information as far as that concerned, but I I loved this movie. I thought it was so much fun. I um all of the characters were really good. The story was fine. Like it wasn't It wasn't It's not like this movie was going to challenge me intellectually or or anything like that. Um so it was really fun for what it was. Um I would watch it a second time, honestly. I would go and watch it and see it again.

[00:02:23]Um because it was just it was a good popcorn flick. I liked it. If this does if this if word of mouth uh gets out for this movie then, you know, and I think that it could possibly help it. I I think that a lot of people were kind of intimidated like let's just not waste my money on this just yet. Let's see how people like it and then I'll go and see it at the theater. But >> mouth did get out.

[00:02:47]>> Mouth got out that it's not a Johnny Cage movie. It's a Katana and Jade movie. Johnny, so I Yeah, I wanted a Johnny Cage movie, >> but it's a Katana movie.

[00:02:56]>> That's how they advertised it.

[00:03:00]>> Yeah. I I I look, it was dumb fun. It was just dumb fun. I I I I I woke up that morning, man. I, you know, worked out a little bit, went to In-N-Out, popped a few gummies, man. I went and watched that movie and had a great time, dude. Like I and look I you know before anyone you know says that you know I my judgment is off on this. I am a hardcore fighting game like junkie dude. Like I've been in the fighting game community since like 2007 man. I and I've been playing Mortal Kombat since '92. Okay.

[00:03:29]So I am a hardcore Mortal Kombat fan. I have had every game on every system since since that game came out. So as a hardcore fan I I I it's not a perfect movie by any means. Uh there's a lot of things I would have changed about it, but here's the thing. The things that they got right, they got right. The fight scenes were great. I loved that fight with Liu Kang and Kung Lao. I you know, it it was just goofy fun, man.

[00:03:53]Like I I didn't take it serious. I I was just happy that it was better than the first movie because that first movie was [ __ ] >> I I did not like the first movie at all.

[00:04:01]But uh I love the setup. I I I even love the inside baseball stuff where if you don't know the game, you know, I love the fact that they that they they threw Shinoch's name out there. you know, they had his amulet which was like a whole core part of the story line. Shinchok is a big character by the way, guys. And the fact that he's going to be in the next movie. Well, if there's a next movie. I mean, this movie didn't do well, but but I enjoyed it. I had a really good time with it, man. It wasn't It wasn't perfect. The script was all over the place. I I completely agree with Badger. I look and I love Katana.

[00:04:32]She's like one of my mains in the game.

[00:04:34]like I made her in the game, but >> it it should have been honestly it should have been more of a Liu Kang movie, >> but you know, Carl Urban for Johnny Cage, man. You gota you gotta let him shine, right? And he had a great moment with Baraka, which I really liked, but it was just fun. That's it. It was just dumb fun.

[00:04:51]>> Yeah, I'll tell you, I was I was bored.

[00:04:53]Uh I think the only fights I liked were the Liu Kang fights. Everything else was, >> you know, I'd seen it before. It wasn't that special. the Katana and Jade stuff was like, uh, yeah, this is I I've seen all this before. It's nothing groundbreaking, which something needs to be groundbreaking when you do this stuff. Um, and then the the lore, I'm just wasn't into it. It just didn't It had very little depth. The idea that, oh, uh, his fortress is impenetrable except for this tunnel underneath that we can all go through.

[00:05:24]>> Well, that happens in the game, too, though. But but I I will say uh after I told this story on Friday, but after uh seeing the movie, you know, did went to the restroom. Uh father brought his two young kids in there. Father asks his kids uh what was your who's your favorite character? And his youngest kid says, "Johnny [ __ ] cage."

[00:05:43]And then and then afterwards he goes, "Dad, this is the best day of my life."

[00:05:50]>> Hey, you can't beat that. Come on.

[00:05:52]That's the response you want.

[00:05:54]>> Nice. Nice.

[00:05:56]>> Yeah, I feel I feel like I'm kind of the only one that's going to really poo on this thing. Like I mean I I gave it a 50% on critic list, but like I left the movie theater with just the biggest me ever. And I mean this was like my fifth most anticipated movie of the year. I was extraordinarily excited. I'm an OG Mortal Kombat player. Been playing my whole life. But it was just this thing.

[00:06:14]It felt like they just I I was so distracted between the bad writing, the bad acting, the bad editing, the bad music, the like it was just like everything was just subpar for me. And so and it felt like so many of the performances were just kind of phoned in to where I was so excited about Carl Urban playing Johnny Cage. And even with him, I'm just like, dude, this just feels so man. And I know that some of that was how they wrote him, but I'm also like, did they just last Jedi freaking Johnny Cage in this movie? like is he the washed up old man that's getting upstaged by freaking Katana who's going to be the hero of the day?

[00:06:49]And it just I I just it got a real eye roll for me by the end of it. And and since seeing it now, I I've I've progressively liked this movie kind of less partially just for the fact of like what a roasting that Mario got from some folks. But then this same movie which has a lot of the same types of shortcomings is getting praised where by some now not everybody and I'm not speaking for everybody here but I'm just saying a lot of the people that were bashing the hell out of Mario for basically like this is just fan service.

[00:07:21]We now have this movie which stands alone on nothing but fan service and Kano. They are the only two people for me that kept this movie alive. And so I I just I'm like, man, like what what is it that these folks that were like just hating on Mario so hard didn't see the exact same thing here?

[00:07:40]>> Or they hated Deadpool and Wolverine and called it slop and then they're glazing this like how the [ __ ] is this not slop?

[00:07:46]>> Exactly. And that's where I'm struggling.

[00:07:48]>> I'm wondering if it's because they're just not as invested in the Mortal Kombat lore, >> you know?

[00:07:54]>> I mean, who is that's where I'm wondering?

[00:07:57]>> I am.

[00:07:57]>> I don't know. And like I >> Yeah. Uh I like the first Mario movie better than the second one.

[00:08:04]>> And this is what I call >> I'm sorry. This is what I call shut your brain off movie, man. You just shut your brain off >> and and have a good time with it.

[00:08:13]>> That was the only way I I knew I knew going in. I guess my expectations were pretty low cuz I hated the first movie >> and I wasn't sure about this one. So my expectations were low. I I I enjoyed it for what it was.

[00:08:24]>> You know what? I had no expectations for this movie. Maybe that's why I enjoyed it.

[00:08:29]>> And I I I I didn't hate the first movie.

[00:08:33]Now, I hated the like Cole and making the movie about Cole was stupid. We didn't get the tournament, but at least like I felt like there was a marketkedly big like drop down in quality of the making of this film compared to that one. Like what I was talking about with the script and acting, whatever. And I'm like, that's a pretty bad deal considering that it wasn't exactly like phenomenal in that first film, those elements. So, it just for me I think maybe my expectations were too high and that is part of it too. And I think one of the moments when I really checked out was when Liu Kang like and I guess we're we're in spoiler territory to some degree here but it's like he he he gets stabbed and just flies up into the sky and he's like this isn't my movie or my series. I've realized it and you're just like >> I was like what >> he ascended to like elder god status too. But >> Mhm.

[00:09:25]>> Yeah. I know, but in the way that they handled it in this and for him being so sidelined in this movie already, I'm just like, hold on. Like, what are we doing? And so that also it was kind of where I checked out, but and I don't know for any of you guys, but for me, maybe I'm used to just Carl Urban putting in like such just energetic performance for this.

[00:09:45]Maybe it was how the character was written because he wasn't written great and he's just the washed up old man, but I'm just like this almost feels like he's phoning it in too cuz it just feels so manh.

[00:09:53]>> I mean, his final move. I mean, come on.

[00:09:55]>> Yeah.

[00:09:56]>> Windmill. Windmill.

[00:09:58]>> The windmill, >> bro.

[00:10:00]>> Yeah. I I kind of wish they didn't go with the washed up Johnny story because Johnny Cage is supposed to be like arrogant. He's supposed to be full of himself. He think he's the best actor in the world even though he's not. Like I wanted that Johnny and and to get that Johnny, they needed to cast somebody younger for that.

[00:10:15]>> Yeah.

[00:10:15]>> Yeah.

[00:10:16]That was the only character arc really in the movie and that's why they had the cast right tell the story that way which >> you know again who who cares about Mortal Kombat lore >> fans >> I think Mortal Kombat fans but I do like Johnny Cage's arc. He starts out as washed up and then he becomes the vision of himself that he is in the movies. And plus, I did love that scene at the convention where you could hear on the loudspeaker, uh, the cosplayers and YouTubers will be doing signing. Oh, yeah. At that was great. I thought, you know, it's funny that >> I like that stuff.

[00:10:54]>> It's funny that when you describe, uh, Johnny Cage's arc like that, it's very similar to Captain Marvel's, >> you know, it's the finding yourself, finding the power within you. You know, it was in you all the time.

[00:11:05]>> But his was at least like the [ __ ] original Mortal Kombats in '95. they're still very much the action movie star where 20 plus years later that [ __ ] is played out. So like it made sense in that context, right?

[00:11:16]>> But yeah, it would have been nice if he had whatever.

[00:11:18]>> I don't know how they would have rewritten it.

[00:11:20]>> The thing that made the movie less in my mind was there was 25 minutes of trailers cuz we saw it at AMC before and there was the trailer to the Street Fighter movie and people went nuts in the theater because it was packed.

[00:11:35]>> That movie looks way better.

[00:11:36]>> I know. I'm I'm >> that looked way better.

[00:11:39]>> This movie is edited to hell. I'm sure there's another movie in there. There's so many. It's like, "Wow, that was an abrupt trans." All of a sudden, they're just talking. What happened to the introduction? So, clearly there's a bunch of footage left. Probably all Johnny Cage.

[00:11:50]>> Do you think Do you think they delayed it and tried to fix it? And by when I say fix, I mean re-edit.

[00:11:56]>> There's two movies on October. There's Katana and Jade and her [ __ ] redemption and all and her aven. And then there's the Johnny Cage. was terrible. I will agree there. I didn't like Jade at all.

[00:12:08]>> Well, Tati Gabrielle, she was always going to be a red flag.

[00:12:10]>> Yeah.

[00:12:11]>> Yeah. Kano and Cage were the I would take a movie of just Kano and Cage doing things.

[00:12:14]>> Buddy cop or buddy buddy movie roll.

[00:12:17]Yeah. Yeah. That would >> Yeah. I mean the fan service like as far as like again the entertainment value comes in the fights, right? Like the Scorpion and Noo Saibot fight I thought was really good. Um obviously Liu Kang and Kung Lao. I look it wasn't it wasn't a perfect film and and as a as a fan of the of the franchise I I think that it could have been a lot better but at the same time I didn't feel like you know I felt like look it's better than what I thought it was going to be. Uh I had a good time with it because I just let it go. I just turned my brain off. I the guy who played Kahan I think did a great job.

[00:12:52]>> Yeah.

[00:12:52]>> Uh for sure. And uh you know even the things that happened with Cole Young I'm not going to bring up because that's a big spoiler but you know even that felt a little redemptive considering I hated that character in the first movie.

[00:13:06]>> Right.

[00:13:06]>> So I felt like he was better in this movie for the >> short amount of time he had >> for will be the better movie.

[00:13:14]>> Oh absolutely.

[00:13:15]>> Did you like about this movie? I think there's a lot of fun to be had if you just go in with those expectations. If you walk in thinking I did walk in thinking this was going to be even better than you know maybe the last movie. I thought okay this is going to re they're going to win the audience back. But yeah it was good enough but I wish they had >> a better story you know because I was just enjoying the fatalities and the fights and all of that stuff. Fatalities were great man. It's like >> fatalities were good.

[00:13:44]>> Yeah it was horror movie level stuff and I enjoyed that but I mean I just wish there was a better story. I wish they didn't dog Johnny Cage's story out in in favor of Katana. That >> it should have been Johnny Cage that that beat.

[00:13:56]>> Yes.

[00:13:57]>> Yeah. Yes. That was the thing that But at the beginning, from the way the movie started out, you knew exactly how it was going to end.

[00:14:04]>> And it's so fast-paced. I had a hard time giving a [ __ ] about anyone. The Sonia actress is just not a great actress. Um like >> Urban is intentionally doing a stilted [ __ ] American accent. Like he's at least doing something. Sonia's just not a great actress, unfortunately. Did you like the Ed Boon cameo in the ball?

[00:14:22]>> Yeah, that was good.

[00:14:23]>> Well, at least for a modern audience, you can say the movie is really diverse >> because the game was diverse in the '9s.

[00:14:31]It's like very accurate to the game, at least in the character design, >> gender race swapping, any of those.

[00:14:36]>> I will say one thing that really bugged me a lot though in this movie was the sidelining of Raiden. I was like, really?

[00:14:42]>> Yeah.

[00:14:42]>> Yeah.

[00:14:43]>> Like I I get it, right? And but no, I I didn't like that at all.

[00:14:48]>> They don't know what to do.

[00:14:49]>> I I think one of the other struggles here too is tone. And I don't think that they just knew what to do with tone.

[00:14:55]Whether it's going to be like Street Fighter like this is going to be hammy as [ __ ] and goofy and over the top, right? And in this movie, it seems like there's a constant struggle because even when you pair in the score for this movie, which is weirdly like oporadic and just doesn't didn't elicit anything for me outside of the couple times where they wo in the old school Mortal Kombat song from the original film. But like outside of that, the tone just felt off to me. So that like when the jokes were landing, partially due to editing and whatever, it's just like the music wasn't there vibing with it to where I'm like, I feel like this is silly or I feel like this is serious. It's just it tonally it just didn't quite know like if it wanted to be hammy and I'm like you need to lean into the ham if your writing is going to be this damn bad.

[00:15:35]>> Like we need to really lean into it >> for sure.

[00:15:40]>> Yeah.

[00:15:40]>> Uh let's uh any other final comments or fatalities for Mortal Kombat 2?

[00:15:47]>> Yeah, I will say I I am kind of genuinely surprised it's not doing a little bit better. Like I like like I and I get maybe word of mouth or something, but like I really thought considering there's not much in the theater right now >> that this would do better than it's doing right now.

[00:16:02]>> They should have released it in October.

[00:16:05]>> I agree.

[00:16:05]>> Yeah, >> because I don't know what they did for the months in in Turnum, but I still see people complain about the effects even though I thought they were fine. Uh I think they just kept [ __ ] with it.

[00:16:13]They just kept editing it and that's probably to their detriment.

[00:16:32]Heat. Hey, heat. Hey, heat.