Mortal Kombat 2 First Reactions Call it "The Movie We Should've Gotten the First Time"

Mortal Kombat 2 has got some positive early reactions from fans and critics, calling it a vast improvement on the original movie. The sequel to the 2021 adaptation transports the action to a new tournament where the champions of Earthrealm are forced to battle it out once again.

via: CBM

The first Mortal Kombat movie didn't exactly set the box office on fire when it arrived in 2021, but it performed well enough - especially as one of the first major Covid-era releases with a day-and-date streaming debut - despite a mixed reception from critics (55% on Rotten Tomatoes).

Following a lengthy delay, Warner Bros.' video game sequel hits theaters on May 8, and the first social media reactions have landed

It sounds like Mortal Kombat II has its share of issues, but almost every post hails it as a significant improvement over its predecessor in nearly every respect, with many noting that the filmmakers seem to have learned from the mistakes of the first film.

The Fatalities are also said to be even more gruesome this time, which should please fans of the long-running fighting game series.

It's always best not to put too much stock in these initial reactions, but we'll take this as a good sign until the full reviews drop.

Check out the posts below, along with a new clip featuring Johnny Cage facing off against Kitana.

Speaking with ComicBook, Mortal Kombat II star Karl Urban revealed that he did, indeed, do the splits for Johnny Cage’s iconic special move and perhaps more than that, he wasn’t injured in the process.

“This is a lot of things going on here, pal, but I, I will say I was not injured. Almost injured. Yeah okay I did I did do the splits,” Urban said.

As fans well know, Johnny Cage’s Nut Punch (also called the “Nut Cracker”) is a low-blow strike that sees Johnny drop into the splits before delivering the very sensitive punch. Given that doing the splits can be a challenge for almost anyone as it is a move that requires a great deal of flexibility and agility even outside of a Mortal Kombat context, the fact that Urban did the move himself is wildly impressive. However, the significance and challenge of the skill set needed to not only pull off the move but star in the film as well is something that was not lost on Urban.

“I think my biggest concern was the challenge,” Urban said. “You know, and this was, without a doubt, the most difficult physical challenge that I’ve ever encountered in making a movie. And I’ve made a few. But this, the skill set required, it was like. And starting from scratch, starting with just learning how to move, agility, doing speed drills, then, you know, learning movement and form and style. It’s just everything is so specific and it’s not like a brawl where you can just sort of, you know, sort of, you know, push your way through it.”

From New Line Cinema comes the latest high-stakes installment in the blockbuster video game franchise in all its brutal glory, Mortal Kombat II. This time, the fan favorite champions—now joined by Johnny Cage himself—are pitted against one another in the ultimate, no-holds barred, gory battle to defeat the dark rule of Shao Kahn that threatens the very existence of the Earthrealm and its defenders.

Karl Urban stars as Johnny Cage, alongside Adeline Rudolph, Jessica McNamee, Josh Lawson, Ludi Lin, Mehcad Brooks, Tati Gabrielle, Lewis Tan, Damon Herriman, with Chin Han, Tadanobu Asano as Lord Raiden, Joe Taslim as Bi-Han, and Hiroyuki Sanada as Hanzo Hasashi and Scorpion.

Director Simon McQuoid returns to helm the follow up to his explosive 2021 cinematic adventure, from a screenplay by Jeremy Slater, based on the videogame created by Ed Boon and John Tobias. The film is produced by Todd Garner, James Wan, Toby Emmerich, E. Bennett Walsh and McQuoid, and executive produced by Michael Clear, Judson Scott, Slater and Lawrence Kasanoff.

Joining McQuoid behind the camera are director of photography Stephen F. Windon, production designer Yohei Taneda, editor Stuart Levy and costume designer Cappi Ireland, with casting by Rich Delia and music by Benjamin Wallfisch.

New Line Cinema Presents an Atomic Monster/Broken Road Production, a Fireside Films Production, Mortal Kombat II.