Just saw the movie and it's a really weird sequel. I can recommend it if you're drunk or high. Expect nice fatalities, thin characters, predictable story,
6-7/10 actual fighting (for Hollywood), 7/10 cgi special movies and Kano. Details in spoilers:
First off, the movie has too many characters it wants to pay tribute to which leads
to the majority of side characters having approx. 3 voice lines while the main characters have 10 over a runtime
of 110 minutes. The movie moves very fast so you can get the impression that you just started watching
the 2nd half of a 2-episode season finale of a TV series.
Story: Shao Khan tries to rule over Earth by winning the 10th tournament (with cheats!).
So it's up to the warriors of earth realm to find and destroy a MacGuffin and Khan along with his allies.
"Custom character" Cole Young makes way for Johnny Cage and Kitana to take over the role as main
protagonists. Cole was the center of criticism in the first one (uninteresting, shitty abilities) and the switch
was necessary.
Johnny Cage feels like a mix of Butcher from The Boys and Wolverine from Logan and Deadpool & Wolverine
but due to the material he's been given, his archtype of character feels like ordered on Temu. Karl Urbans delivery is
if totally fine overall.
Kitana, the original Gamora, does fine as well. Again, the material the actors have to work with is very thin at times
and doesn't really allow deep character arcs.
The rest of the actors are competent but Kano stands out again. While Cage tries to take over his spot at shittalking,
Kano surpasses him easily and carries every scene he is in. Probably because he is the most relatable character out
of all of them but definitely because of his delivery. He, like actually almost everyone on team Earth could be
described as likable.
The effects are good as in "obviously not real but executed well enough so that the gore puts a smile on my face".
The fighting itself is meh most of the time. Liu Kang vs. Kung Lao as well as Scorpion vs. Noob Saibot are the obvious
highlights in that regard. I do have to say that I admit the dedication of the filmmakers to include as many signature
special moves in the fights as they can and all but one (you know which one when you see it) do enhance the fights.
I'd describe MK2 as pure fan service. MK fans get their fatalities, the famous characters, the original theme
song and the stages in a story that everyone already knows.
