Mortal Kombat II (2026)
Video game adaptations have had a notoriously bumpy road to the big screen, but the Mortal Kombat franchise has always occupied a slightly different corner of that conversation. The original 1995 film is, for a certain generation, a genuinely beloved piece of nineties nonsense, and when Simon McQuoid's 2021 reboot arrived, it managed to thread a needle that most game adaptations fumble: it actually felt like the thing it was based on. Brutal, loud, and gleefully over-the-top, it found its audience and held it tightly enough to warrant this follow-up. The franchise itself, of course, has been a fixture of gaming culture since 1992, when Midway's arcade original caused a minor moral panic over its digitised violence and started a conversation about video game ratings that eventually led to the formation of the ESRB. The games have never been shy about what they are, and that consistent, unapologetic identity is a big part of why the property has survived and thrived across more than three decades.
McQuoid returns to the director's chair here, working again under the New Line Cinema banner alongside James Wan's Atomic Monster production house. Wan, who has form shepherding genre franchises (you only need to look at the Conjuring universe to see his instinct for building loyal fanbases), remains on board as producer, and his influence on the tone and commitment to practical nastiness is probably felt throughout. The script expands the roster considerably, most notably bringing in Johnny Cage, the franchise's resident wisecracking action star archetype, and positioning the conflict around Shao Kahn's threat to Earthrealm in a way that maps, loosely, onto the tournament mythology long-time fans will recognise from the earlier games. The cast returning from the 2021 film includes Ludi Lin, Jessica McNamee, and Josh Lawson, with Karl Urban arriving as the new addition most likely to generate pub arguments about perfect casting. Urban has built a career on exactly this kind of work, grounding genre material with enough charisma and dry wit to keep things watchable even when the plot goes sideways. If you want evidence of what he can do in a role that demands both physicality and comic timing, his work in Dredd (2012) remains one of the better arguments for taking action cinema seriously.
At 116 minutes, the film is a reasonably brisk watch by modern blockbuster standards, though with a roster this large, it is always going to feel like it is fighting (pun very much intended) against itself for screen time. The R-rating, equivalent to an 18 certificate here, was never really in question given the source material, and the production appears to have leaned into that freedom rather than edging nervously around it. For fans of franchise action that commits properly to its own internal logic and refuses to sand down the edges, there are touchstones worth considering: John Wick (2014) proved definitively that genre audiences respond to choreography treated with genuine craft, and Godzilla Minus One (2023) demonstrated that spectacle films can carry emotional weight when the material is handled with respect for what fans actually want from it. Whether Mortal Kombat II clears those bars is, of course, the question.
Simon McQuoid’s 2026 sequel, Mortal Kombat II: it is unapologetic, unadulterated fan service. The critical reception has been absolutely dreadful, but I’ve found this franchise has always split audiences cleanly into two camps. If you aren’t a fan of the video games, this will just look like a noisy, chaotic mess. But if you know the source material, you’ll recognise it as a massive, loving tribute.
The story doesn’t slavishly follow any single game’s plot, but it nails the overarching themes and brings the roster to life in a way that feels authentically arcade-born.
That said, the character dynamics are a mixed bag of absolute brilliance and baffling missteps. Fair play to Josh Lawson and Karl Urban, whose turns as Kano and Johnny Cage are a cracking, welcome addition to the fray. They are regularly funny, deeply engaging, and bring exactly the right amount of swagger to the screen. On the other hand, we are stuck with Cole Young, the first film's original character, who routinely annoys me and feels like a completely unnecessary addition to an already bloated lineup. I’ll admit, I let out a genuine cheer when he was dispatched early on. Even worse is the treatment of Baraka; anyone who knows the games knows the Tarkatans are a ruthless, warring species, yet here he is reduced to a gullible, comic-relief idiot.
The film’s biggest structural issue is that it tries to juggle far too many characters at once. Franchise heavyweights like Sub-Zero and Scorpion are bizarrely shunted into the background, reduced to only very small sections of the runtime. However, when the gloves actually come off, McQuoid absolutely delivers. The fight choreography is fantastic, punchy, and kinetic. More importantly, the gore and violence remain central to the experience, delivering a perfect, unapologetic flood of claret red that stays entirely faithful to the franchise's bloody, over-the-top roots.
I actually did really enjoy this film, despite its glaring flaws. It knows exactly what it is and refuses to pretend it’s high art, opting instead to deliver a loud, violent, and thoroughly entertaining spectacle for the fans who showed up for it. It’s a bit of a mess narratively, sure, but when the fatalities are this well-executed and the character moments this fun, it’s hard to complain too much. It’s a highly watchable, gloriously bloody romp.
A 3.5 out of 5 from Macca suggests a film that delivers more than it perhaps had any right to, given the critical noise surrounding it. Genre films built on pre-existing fanbases are always fighting on two fronts simultaneously: satisfying the faithful while justifying their existence to everyone else. Not every film has to win both fights to be worth your time, and there is something quietly refreshing about a blockbuster that knows its audience and plays to them without apology. If the fights land and the fatalities get the reaction they are designed to get, then on its own terms, this one seems to have done its job. Come for the chaos, and leave before you think about it too hard.
Rating: ★★★½ | Year: 2026 | Watched: 2026-07-23
Trailer
▶ Watch the official trailer for Mortal Kombat II (2026) on YouTube
Where to watch
Watch in the UK
Stream: HBO Max Amazon Channel · Sky Go · Now TV Cinema · HBO Max
Rent: Amazon Video
Buy: Apple TV Store · Rakuten TV · Amazon Video · Sky Store
Physical: Amazon UK · Zavvi
Watch in the US
Stream: HBO Max Amazon Channel · HBO Max
Rent: Amazon Video · Apple TV Store · Google Play Movies · YouTube
Buy: Amazon Video · Apple TV Store · Google Play Movies · YouTube
Physical: Amazon US
Affiliate disclosure: Movies With Macca may earn a small commission on purchases or subscriptions started via these links. It costs you nothing extra.
