Warner Brothers Releases Toasty New Mortal Kombat Trailer
The first film may have received mixed-reviews, but the trailer for Mortal Kombat II is essentially a flawless victory, and has anticipation at an all time high.
From New Line Cinema comes the latest high-stakes instalment 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.
Bringing in arguably one of the most beloved bad-asses out there in Urban is perhaps the most brilliant move this film franchise has made since the original Mortal Kombat created the greatest techno song intro of all time. Having Urban play a Cage past his prime is even more brilliant. The trailer shows what Cage once was - a Van Damme-esque action star who could dodge a missile simply by doing the splits, and take on 20 men with nothing more than a bo-staff. Flash forward to the here-and-now when Cage even realizes the golden goose has probably laid its last egg.
That is, until he’s invited to defend Earthrealm from the deadly Shao Kahn in a the infamous tournament and a fight to the death. Naturally, Cage refuses, and must seemingly circumnavigate this new realm of warriors, sorcerers and monsters.
Director Simon McQuoid returns to helm the follow up to his explosive 2021 cinematic adventure, from a screenplay by Jeremy Slater, based on the video game created by Ed Boon and John Tobias. This might be a bit of a gamble considering the mixed reviews the original film got. McQuoid’s aesthetic was certainly on par for the world the game had created, but the script and the somewhat lack-luster build up during the film didn’t resonate with every die hard fan. Granted, it’s difficult to please everyone as the internet proves time and time again, but here’s hoping this amazing trailer is a sign of better things to come.
That also means, here’s hoping that Slater’s script is tighter, and perhaps just relies on what Mortal Kombat should be all about - a tournament with hyper-violent deaths in it. Keep it simple. Sadly, this too looks like a gamble as Slater, among other sub-par films is responsible for the 2015 Fantastic Four. So far, the partnership or Slater and McQuoid doesn’t have the best track record.
However, saying all that, the trailer looks like a lot of fun. As mentioned, Urban looks to be having a great time playing Cage, and will bring the cocky swagger he’s brought to so many roles into this new film. There was a lot for fans to be excited about, especially considering the cameos of beloved characters like Jade, Noob Saibot, Baraka and Kitana. Add those to the list of the favorites from the first film (like Hiroyuki Sanada’s Scorpion or Josh Lawson’s Kano) and you’ve got enough to ensure this film does not suffer a ‘fatality’ at the box office.