Mortal Kombat II Poll And Spoiler Discussion - What Did CBM's Readers Make Of Video Game Sequel?

Mortal Kombat II Poll And Spoiler Discussion - What Did CBM's Readers Make Of Video Game Sequel?

Mortal Kombat II arrived in theaters on Friday, and we want to know what ComicBookMovie.com's readers made of the violent video game sequel...

By MarkCassidy - May 10, 2026 06:05 PM EST
Filed Under: Mortal Kombat

Warner Bros. and New Line's Mortal Kombat II is now in theaters, and we want to know what ComicBookMovie.com's readers made of the video game adaptation sequel.

The movie was met with a mostly positive reception from critics, although its Rotten Tomatoes score has dropped from 74% to 65% since the embargo lifted earlier this week.

The critics consensus reads: "A self-aware slugfest that plays directly to those who know the difference between Fatalities and Babalities, Mortal Kombat II may not be a flawless victory but it's likely the most roundly enjoyable entry in the franchise yet."

The sequel has a much higher audience score of 89%: "Karl Urban as Johnny Cage alone is worth the price of admission in this second installment of Mortal Kombat, a gleefully gory victory that delivers faithful lore and bone-crunching fatalities."

Fans of the games do seem to have enjoyed Mortal Kombat II, but the movie had a softer-than-expected box office debut, especially overseas, with a $23 million 5-day opening over 71 international markets. Its current global total sits at $63 million, with a reported production budget of $80 million.

Vote in the poll below, and be sure to elaborate on your choice in the comments section.

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.

About The Author:
MarkCassidy
Member Since 11/9/2008
Mark Cassidy is a writer, photographer, amateur filmmaker, and Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic from Dublin, Ireland.
Mortal Kombat II's Most Shocking Fatality Was Originally Much More Gruesome - Spoilers
Related:

Mortal Kombat II's Most Shocking Fatality Was Originally Much More Gruesome - Spoilers

The Mandalorian And Grogu's Final Four-Day Opening Weekend Numbers Are In - And They're Lower Than Expected
Recommended For You:

The Mandalorian And Grogu's Final Four-Day Opening Weekend Numbers Are In - And They're Lower Than Expected

DISCLAIMER: As a user generated site and platform, ComicBookMovie.com is protected under the DMCA (Digital Millenium Copyright Act) and "Safe Harbor" provisions.

This post was submitted by a user who has agreed to our Terms of Service and Community Guidelines. ComicBookMovie.com will disable users who knowingly commit plagiarism, piracy, trademark or copyright infringement. Please CONTACT US for expeditious removal of copyrighted/trademarked content. CLICK HERE to learn more about our copyright and trademark policies.

Note that ComicBookMovie.com, and/or the user who contributed this post, may earn commissions or revenue through clicks or purchases made through any third-party links contained within the content above.

Bucky74
Bucky74 - 5/10/2026, 6:09 PM
Karl Urban and the guy who played Kano made it. Definitely entertaining, but they shafted Liu Kang a bit, and the original from way back is still better.
HashTagSwagg
HashTagSwagg - 5/10/2026, 6:22 PM
Walked out feeling it was a solid 4/10, after sleeping on it, it's now at 3/10. I hate it the more I think about it, especially what they did to Liu Kang.

User Comment Image
Bucky74
Bucky74 - 5/10/2026, 8:26 PM
@HashTagSwagg - Agreed that they shafted Liu Kang, but I was surprised how much I like Urben as Cage.
ImNotaBot
ImNotaBot - 5/10/2026, 10:08 PM
@HashTagSwagg - I think it was a improvement from the previous movie. Liu Kang really had the best fights in the entire movie he only “lost” because Shao had the amulet if not Liu Kang would’ve finish the fight in the first 5sec when he incinerated Shao Kahn. He’s “death” was also badass as [frick].

It sucks that he’s not the main character but they also sidelined him in the most recent games, now he’s basically what Raiden was in the first few games.
HashTagSwagg
HashTagSwagg - 5/10/2026, 11:09 PM
@ImNotaBot - Liu Kang's action scenes were good, it's the fact that they completely butchered his legacy.

He's not the Mortal Kombat champion, It's Kitana.
He did not avenge Kung Lao, Kabal had nothing to do with Kung Lao's death.
He did not beat Shang Tsung, doesn't even mention him you know, the guy who actually killed Kung Lao and currently still has his soul.
He did not beat Shao Kahn, It was Kitana.
He doesn't even get a scene with Kitana, his f**king love interest.
He doesn't even get to be alive by the end of the movie.

His "destiny" according to the script writer...... I mean "Raiden", was not to win Mortal Kombat but to save his "brother". Good luck doing that as a corpse. I know it's implied they will bring him back but when he dies in the film he not even aware of Quan Chi, they just had him say that because they knew killing him off before he gets to do any of the things he's done in the games would rightfully piss off the fans.
DCfan84
DCfan84 - 5/11/2026, 7:11 AM
@ImNotaBot - I mean, technically, Cole Young beat Shao Kahn first. The only reason he won was because of the Amulet. Cole cut Shao's throat, and if it wasn't for the Amulet, would have won. I don't think Liu Kang got shafted as he had a pretty emotional and bad ass fight (better than all the others) with Kung Lao. I don't think Katana winning was done with the intentions of checking off boxes. I think it was a good "comeback" story. Kano and Cage were the two best characters by far.
ImNotaBot
ImNotaBot - 5/11/2026, 1:21 PM
@DCfan84 - Agreed. Katana had a lot of help, Shao Kahn fought Jax, Liu Kang and Sonya before facing her. Shao also got caught off guard when the amulet got destroyed and even with all that she trained her whole life to avenge her father I really think it was a fair victory for her.

For me Liu Kang, Cage and Kano were the highlights of the movie and Liu had the best fights by far. The duble dragons and he turning into flames as he “died” was [frick]ing bad ass and the visuals were crazy. I really hate that Cole “won” because the character is trash and I think they gave Lewis Tan a “victory” because of his ego before blowing his head off (the best part of the fight).
Why
Why - 5/10/2026, 6:31 PM
Liu Kang Vs Kung Lao was the only good fight scene. Everything else, apart from Lewis Man's head getting smashed and nobody giving a [frick], sucked.
slickrickdesigns
slickrickdesigns - 5/10/2026, 6:34 PM
It was exactly what was advertised 😂

I liked the first one bettter.
Mortagon1978
Mortagon1978 - 5/10/2026, 6:35 PM
I thought it was a hot mess. Some cool visuals and one decent fight, but the story was all over the place. The characters paper thin. The acting bad and Karl Urban was woefully miscast as JC.
dragon316
dragon316 - 5/10/2026, 7:50 PM
@Mortagon1978 - acting was bad ?

Anyone had job in Hollywood know and have experienced in acting know what goood and bad acting is what do us average people know about acting nothing
KennKathleen
KennKathleen - 5/10/2026, 8:54 PM
@dragon316 -


Great actors/actresses:

User Comment Image

User Comment Image

User Comment Image

User Comment Image

User Comment Image

User Comment Image

User Comment Image

User Comment Image

User Comment Image


Terrible ones:

User Comment Image


User Comment Image

User Comment Image

User Comment Image






Arthorious
Arthorious - 5/11/2026, 10:27 AM
@Mortagon1978 - yeah they should’ve gotten someone else to play Johnny. I like Karl, but he didn’t do much with his Johnny.
TheNewYorkerr
TheNewYorkerr - 5/10/2026, 6:50 PM
Absolute garbage.
DarthOmega
DarthOmega - 5/10/2026, 7:41 PM
It was solid. Shao Khan was pretty intimidating. Of course Johnny was good and Kano was awesome. Decent fights. Baraka was kinda relegated to a joke, but he was entertaining. I love how they incorporated stages like The Portal, The Pit, and the Dead Pool. I didn't come in expecting an epic with Academy award acting and screenplay.

Also it was cool seeing Ed Boon cameo. I enjoyed myself and for that it gets a 7/10
dragon316
dragon316 - 5/10/2026, 7:56 PM
@DarthOmega - acting and screen play what do us average people have no experience in acting and screenplay know what goood and bad is we know nothing about acting and screen what’s next cashier with no medical experience perform surgery save someone life what makes us people keep acting fake non paid movie critics with no Hollywood experience what so what do we know about that crap absolutely nothing what do we have input say acting and screenplay was bad when we know nothing about it we had no job in Hollywood we have no right to judge us people are not paid movie critics what do we know nothing pretending be fakes pass off as NON experts of Hollywood industry jobs
HashTagSwagg
HashTagSwagg - 5/10/2026, 8:09 PM
@DarthOmega - Shao Khan looked cool but at the end of the day, he lost to Kitana and had to cheat in order to beat Cole Young. If not for the God powers he stole from Raiden, he'd be dead after his first fight.
Just to put that into perspective, Sub-Zero beat the shit out of Cole that last film, it took Scorpion and Cole to bring him down which would make Sub-Zero stronger than Shao Khan in this universe.

OG Kahn doesn't need Raidens powers, he's beaten Raiden multiple times. Having him steal Raiden's powers just made Kahn look weak. They could and should have just left the amulet plot out.
HashTagSwagg
HashTagSwagg - 5/10/2026, 8:14 PM
@dragon316 - You go to a restaurant and the food tastes like absolute shit but you can't complain because you're not a Chief.

That's your logic here.

User Comment Image
ElJefe
ElJefe - 5/10/2026, 9:17 PM
Remember, dear readers, that an overwhelming majority of people who visit this site love these movies. The vocal minority do not.

Don’t let the frequent posters seeking validation for their misery speak for you.

This movie rocked 🤘
ImNotaBot
ImNotaBot - 5/10/2026, 10:22 PM
@ElJefe - Agreed it’s weird people shitting on the movie when for me it was the best game adapted into a movie. The movie is straight up exactly the same experience you have playing the story mode of MK9, X and 1. They even adapted the aspect ratio when a cutscene ends and the fight starts. The movie has the same type of stages, transitions when you brake a stage, the characters are exactly like the game…. The movie adapts everything 1:1 it’s a really amazing improvement from the last game.

My only wish is that they didn’t cut so damn much the Scorpion vs Noob fight, if every fight was like Liu Kang vs Kung Lao and if the ending was not so lazy and rushed the movie would be a 10/10 in terms of a MK adaptation and forgetting about the very basic plot (even tho MK game plots are always basic).
XenoJazz
XenoJazz - 5/10/2026, 9:33 PM
It was pretty terrible. But I had a good time. Shao Kahn and Cage were great.
TheManOfSteelHI
TheManOfSteelHI - 5/10/2026, 10:09 PM
I will be the one oddball that literaly enjoy this movie. I thought it was straight out of the game, love the king Herod Story line added on to the movie world. Love how they showed Quanchi and ShangTsung together with Shai Kahn. Quanchi looked horrible but glad they showed him and how he makes Revenants. I am for the next movie regardless what most posters on here posts. Had to comment because I really liked the movie and was bummed you all showing hate.
MyCoolYoung
MyCoolYoung - 5/10/2026, 10:23 PM
It wasn’t my cup of tea but to be fair, the games were just decent to me. I didn’t know about the rich lore until somewhat recently.
SuperCat
SuperCat - 5/10/2026, 10:23 PM
User Comment Image
GalactusEatsALL
GalactusEatsALL - 5/10/2026, 10:31 PM
Ed Boo. Cameo for the win
Matchesz
Matchesz - 5/10/2026, 11:02 PM
I thought the film had its moments, Scorpion actor is too old to go against an actor with martial arts training kinda holds the Scorpion Bi Han fights back. Would like them to go a lil harder with the fights in part 3 that's all.
MrDandy
MrDandy - 5/11/2026, 12:16 AM
Action scenes were fun. Everything in between was complete nonsense.
MMFRESHSW2
MMFRESHSW2 - 5/11/2026, 2:00 AM
Yawn they made this Y...
dp0mega7
dp0mega7 - 5/11/2026, 2:10 AM
I loved this silly, silly movie.
Urubrodi
Urubrodi - 5/11/2026, 7:02 AM
lol if people here were expecting a deep plot out of a Mortal Kombat movie they are missing the point, the "plot" was just an excuse for the fights to happens, which were very well choreographed in my opinion. Johny Cage and Kano carried. Scorpion cameo was great. And Katana is pretty nice to look at. I guess movie means more if you have some connection to the game.
FinnishDude
FinnishDude - 5/11/2026, 7:15 AM
It's far from a great movie, but I had fun and it is by far the best Mortal Kombat movie so far.

Please log in to post comments.

Don't have an account?
Please Register.

View Recorder