--- title: "Mortal Kombat II: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/mortal-kombat-ii/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/mortal-kombat-ii" critics_score: 52 critics_reviews: 18 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Mortal Kombat II (2026): what the critics said Critics' score 52 from 18 reviews: 7 positive, 3 mixed, 8 negative. The reviews split almost down the middle. Where most agree is on what the film sets out to do: it delivers the tournament the first film only promised, and the fatalities are as bloody as fans expect. Karl Urban’s Johnny Cage draws the most consistent praise, named as the source of humour in reviews that otherwise disagree about almost everything else, with Josh Lawson’s Kano a frequent second. Several critics call it an improvement on the 2021 film. The disagreement is about whether fights and gore are enough. The favourable reviews find the choreography imaginative and the silliness deliberate. The unfavourable ones, which include most of the British broadsheets, find the story wafer-thin, the fights choppy and the whole thing cheap and forgettable. The AV Club stands apart in finding even Cage humourless. The spread is wide, from open enthusiasm to outright dismissal, with little settled in between. ## Slant Magazine Fi1m's normalised score 89/100 (inferred from the text). 6 May 2026. The critic praises the sequel as the most complete and gleefully kinetic live-action adaptation of the games since 1995, ravenous to get down to bloody business with wall-to-wall hard-hitting fights. It gets the mix of mythmaking, silliness, and gore right, standing victorious for fans. [Read the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/mortal-kombat-ii-review-karl-urban/) ## The New York Times — Glenn Kenny Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 7 May 2026. The critic praises the film's eye-popping pyrotechnics and gruesome fighter tournament spectacle as its own reward. The director unleashes another high-stakes battle to determine the fate of the universe. [Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/07/movies/mortal-kombat-ii-review.html) ## Empire — Amon Warmann Fi1m's normalised score 77/100 (inferred from the text). 8 May 2026. The film improves on its predecessor by delivering the tournament and gory fatalities, with strong turns from Kitana and especially Johnny Cage. It compensates for a thin story with entertaining fights and humour, making for plenty of dumb fun overall. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/mortal-kombat-ii/) ## The Hollywood Reporter — Frank Scheck Fi1m's normalised score 52/100 (inferred from the text). 6 May 2026. The critic finds the sequel delivers plenty of bone-crunching gory action for devoted fans but feels tacky and low-rent overall, with unexciting fight sequences and underwhelming effects. Urban provides fun as the self-aware Johnny Cage amid the non-stop carnage. [Read the review](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/mortal-kombat-ii-review-karl-urban-1236586504/) ## Variety — Owen Gleiberman Fi1m's normalised score 50/100 (inferred from the text). 6 May 2026. The critic finds the action dependable but faults the sludgy story in this old-school video-game trash extravaganza. The kombat hits the mark with minor force overall. [Read the review](https://variety.com/2026/film/reviews/mortal-kombat-ii-review-karl-urban-1236738114/) ## IndieWire — Alison Foreman Fi1m's normalised score 49/100 (inferred from the text). 6 May 2026. The review describes a muddy sequel that has its moments but not enough of them, with Kitana unable to save the doomed IP from another fatality. Director McQuoid returns with a film that struggles to deliver consistent thrills. [Read the review](https://www.indiewire.com/criticism/movies/mortal-kombat-2-film-review-1235192434/) ## The AV Club Rating D+. 6 May 2026. The critic calls it a fatally joyless fighting sequel that combines direct-to-video schlock with blockbuster boredom, replacing its protagonist with a humorless Johnny Cage. Early tournament fights shine but the overall fidelity feels joyless and forgettable. [Read the review](https://www.avclub.com/mortal-kombat-ii-review) ## Radio Times — James Mottram Rating 2/5. 6 May 2026. The critic calls it a serviceable but largely uninspired follow-up that feels outdated compared to better recent video game adaptations. They single out Karl Urban’s Johnny Cage (with his catchphrases and entrance) and Josh Lawson’s Kano for welcome one-liners and energy amid an otherwise thin story and few surprises. [Read the review](https://www.radiotimes.com/movies/mortal-kombat-2-review/) ## Time Out — Phil de Semlyen Fi1m's normalised score 40/100 (inferred from the text). 6 May 2026. The review describes a plotless two hours of relentless fights, gory kills and clichéd elements in a weightless CG world that will mainly appeal to fans. It notes some bright spots in performances (Karl Urban’s Johnny Cage and Josh Lawson’s Kano) and Hiroyuki Sanada’s gravitas as Scorpion but criticizes the lack of story or memorable characters overall. [Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/mortal-kombat-ii-review-2026) ## The Guardian Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 6 May 2026. The sequel delivers the tournament promised but remains unexciting and wafer-thin, with choppy choreography and meaningless stakes that fail to engage. It has the cheap feel of a direct-to-video release without the fun, despite some gore. [Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2026/may/06/mortal-kombat-ii-review-film) ## Vulture Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 6 May 2026. The review laments that the film shouldn't be this rizzless, criticizing its pandering fan service, incoherent fights, and lack of fun or color despite the gruesome source material. McQuoid prioritizes test-audience pandering over engaging storytelling or spectacle. [Read the review](https://www.vulture.com/article/mortal-kombat-ii-shouldnt-be-this-rizzless.html) ## The Telegraph Fi1m's normalised score 20/100 (inferred from the text). 7 May 2026. The sequel is amnesia-inducing in its tedium and predictability, another grim and gory video-game adaptation that feels like a repeat of the previous film. It features familiar characters and finishing moves but lacks any spark or reason to care. [Read the review](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/2026/05/07/mortal-kombat-ii-review/) ## The Times — Kevin Maher Fi1m's normalised score 20/100 (inferred from the text). 7 May 2026. The film is pretty awful, with perfunctory lines, leaden non-jokes and interminable fights lacking visual imagination. It features a vaguely Game of Thrones-like setting and annoying catchphrases but offers little else. [Read the review](https://www.thetimes.com/culture/film/article/mortal-kombat-ii-film-review-s9pqbv2zb) ## /Film — Bill Bria Rating 8/10. 6 May 2026. The critic finds the film a strong, faithful video game adaptation that embraces the tournament structure while delivering emotionally charged fight sequences. Praise centers on the earnest tone, imaginative combat, and balance between fan service and accessibility for newcomers. [Read the review](https://www.slashfilm.com/2165056/mortal-kombat-2-movie-review/) ## Consequence Rating B. 6 May 2026. The film is the right kind of stupid, improving on the first by focusing on the tournament and delivering bloody fatalities and fun performances, especially from Karl Urban as Johnny Cage and Josh Lawson as Kano. It complains that it can feel like an apology to fans and that some characters are sidelined. [Read the review](https://consequence.net/2026/05/mortal-kombat-2-review-karl-urban/) ## Collider — Aidan Kelley Rating 7/10. 6 May 2026. The critic finds it a significant improvement over the 2021 film with better action sequences that breathe more, but notes awkward pacing and too many characters in the first half. Praises the stronger focus on Johnny Cage and Kitana along with the bone-crunching spectacle in the second half. [Read the review](https://collider.com/mortal-kombat-2-review-karl-urban-martial-arts-fantasy/) ## The Wrap Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 6 May 2026. The critic finds the sequel enjoyably violent and mostly works thanks to its brisk pace. Karl Urban's Johnny Cage is singled out for praise as a welcome source of humor and levity that counters the film's self-serious tone. [Read the review](https://www.thewrap.com/creative-content/movies/mortal-kombat-2-review/) ## Polygon — Jake Kleinman Fi1m's normalised score 40/100 (inferred from the text). 6 May 2026. The critic calls it an extremely forgettable movie that serves as a desperate apology to fans unhappy with the previous entry, consisting mostly of fight scenes strung together with video game cutscene-like plot. Praises the fun fight choreography and gore but criticizes the lack of quality storytelling. [Read the review](https://www.polygon.com/mortal-kombat-2-review/) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/mortal-kombat-ii.md