The creative minds behind Mortal Kombat II know precisely how to make an awful ’90s-style action movie. We get a glimpse of that with footage from “Uncaged Fury,” an in-film demonstration of Hollywood playboy Johnny Cage’s replete with one-liners, glacially slow choreography and ridiculous stunts, all of which would have felt right at home in a forgettable Van Damme flick. By nodding to schlocky action cinema — which definitely includes Mortal Kombat (1995)— director Simon McQuoid and screenwriter Jeremy Slater are also making a statement: They know what not to do. That self-awareness ultimately makes it the best Mortal Kombat film yet.
This sequel is practically a point-by-point refutation of everything in “Uncaged Fury.” McQuoid, Slater and crew made the action far more complex than what we’ve seen before in the franchise. Moves hit harder, characters make more inventive use of their surroundings and everything is shot to emphasize the profound level of skill involved in constructing a modern fight scene. There are quips, to be sure (including a nod to Big Trouble in Little China, which directly influenced the Mortal Kombat games), but they’re more than just throw-away lines.
Perhaps most importantly, it balances those (slightly) loftier cinematic aspirations against the campier aspects of Mortal Kombat. It’s still about a tournament that determines the fate of the world. People have superpowers. There’s a necromancer. But there’s still room to find the humanity in these ridiculous characters.
