MORTAL KOMBAT 2, also known as MORTAL KOMBAT: ANNIHILATION, was the 1997 film sequal to the 1995 hit, MORTAL KOMBAT.  It is proof of the adage that sequels are seldom as good as the original.

The original, in this case the 1995 movie, was actually based on an extremely popular computer arcade game, in which the player is supposedly a martial arts champion who has to take on a series of very formidable challengers.  If there was a plot to the arcade game (evidently there was), it eludes me completely.  [NOTE:  WIkipedia has numerous articles about Mortal Kombat, the games (plural), films, characters, backstories, etc., written by people who took them seriously.]   Anyway, movie #1 introduced us to a bundle of characters:  Lord Raden, supposedly an avencular storm god with flowing white hair; Liu Kang, a youthful Shaolin monk well versed in the martial arts; Johnny Cage, a supposedly shallow Hollywood kungfu star; and Sonya Blade, a policewoman expert in the martial arts.  It was explained, in movie #1, that there exists a darker dimension, Outerworld, that wants to invade Earth but that "the Elder Gods" have decreed that such an invasion will only be permitted if Outerworld champions defeat the Earth champions in a cosmic martial arts contest called Mortal Kombat.  It's held on some magical island.  Lots of earthlings get slaughtered by the bad guys but finally the three good guys I have mentioned prevail, under Raden's guidance, and with assistance of the bad guy's beautiful daughter, Princess Kitana.  Earth is saved.  End of story.  Lots of flashy martial arts stunts, lots of special effects, lots of action, not much plot; this movie was a really big success.

So two years later they try to squeeze another winner from the computer game.  Apparently this story picks up within a very few hours of the end of movie #1.  Just as the winners of Mortal Kombat think they can relax the sky opens up and there's all this thunder and lightning all over this same island.  The bad guy from the first movie evidently is cheating - and the Elder Gods seem not to notice or care.  So even before his recruits can go home, Raden (James Remer, taking over from Christopher Lambert, with shorter hair) rounds up Liu Kang (Robin Shou, also in the first movie), Johnny Cage (Chris Conrad, not the same actor in movie #1 but it hardly matters because he's killed right away), Sonya Blade (Sandra Hess, replacing genuine martial artist Bridgette Wilson who in turn, when the first movie was being done, replaced Cameron Diaz who was injured early in the film's preparations), and Princess Kitana (Talisa Soto, from the first movie).  They are supposed to fight a bunch of magical monstrosities including giants, centaurs, and a nasty young lady with four arms.   And it turns out that Raden's father is leader of the baddies.  Just as it looks like the bad guys are gonna win, Raden renounces his godlike powers so he can fight with the earthlings.  Raden is immediately killed by magic.   Some very fake fights then take place (surely you didn't think that someone was actually grappling with a guy who had four hooves and an alligator tail!) and just as it looks really grim, two of the Elder Gods show up and insist on the Old School rules, which turns the tide.  At the end we are assured that earth will remain safe and Raden is restored to life and given a god promotion.

I have just told you the whole plot.  If I had left out the actors' names, I could have done it in one breath.  This is not a good sign.

Lots of chop-socky, lots of special effects, lots of stunts.  But it's pretty much the same as in movie #1 except it has inferior plotting, pacing, dialog, and logic.  Movie #1 was a hit, this movie was a dud.  Even fans of the computer game were not impressed.  But additionally, a lot of people had gone to see movie #1 out of curiosity, or maybe in the hopes that it would teach them something useful about the computer game; by now their curiosity was satisfied and they didn't feel the need to see this sequel. Nothing new here and by now it's no secret thta even the chop-socky is fake (but you could say that about ALL the kungfu movies -- did you seriously believe that if a fighter simply swings his arm through the air without touching anything that there'd really be a loud crackling sound?).  But mostly it failed because it was an unimaginative, uninspired follow-up to a movie that wasn't all the good to begin with.

Amazingly this didn't actually kill the franchise.  The computer games company continued to churn out new variants and additions to the arcade game.  There was a brief TV life-action series and a brief animated cartoon series based on Mortal Kombat, even a comic book.  And another example of what nobody can go broke doing -- a third theatrical movie is supposedly in the works and supposedly Christopher Lambert is interested in reprising his role from the first flick.  That is more amazing than anything that took place in the movie itself!

I do not recommend this movie to anyone capable of reading this review.  It's definitely not a date movie and it's not for small children - although it should amuse anyone with the mind of a 12-year-old boy.

Recommended:
No

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: None of the Above
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 13 and Older