Fight Night

Mortal Kombat II (2026)

You guys know me, as the Weekend Gamer, I’m more of a Street Fighter than a Mortal Kombat guy. MK just has a different play mechanic compared to a fluid SF moveset. Still, that doesn’t stop me from enjoying seeing MK and all of its goofiness.

I own the 90s MK films on Blurays, who could forget that unbelievable turbo techno dance soundtrack? You can just hear the beats in your head as you shout, “Mortal Kombatttt!!!”

Like many of you, I thought the 2021 reboot, Mortal Kombat, didn’t really capture what MK is all about. I felt it spent too much time on Raiden and Sub-Zero and those supernatural characters. Also, the main character was created specifically for the 2021 movie… and not a character that anyone was familiar with. Fans just wanted “Kombats” to fight in an area, that is what MK games are about. What I’m saying is that the 2021 did not deliver on what fans wanted.

So, enter the sequel: Mortal Kombat II, a movie that came out last week (May 8th), setting things right, with a script by Jeremy Slater and directed by Simon McQuoid.

This time around, one of our main leads is Johnny Cage (played by the great Karl Urban from Dredd and The Boys), from the video game. He’s recruited by Raiden and Sonya Blade to join the fight in the tournament against these supernatural warriors of Shao Kahn. This is all video game-canon, so it’s great that the writer is at least familiar with the source material.

Unfortunately, after I watched MKII, it is pretty much the same as the 2021 film… I didn’t like the 2021 film, so I also didn’t like MKII. All the problems I had with that first film is presented here. Kano doesn’t look like Kano from the game. That lame original character from 2021 is also in this second film. The only thing I liked was Johnny Cage, and I won’t give away too much, but you know from the game that he’s just an actor, right?

Despite all the fighting, pitting the human characters against the other world… I just found the whole movie a little boring (and safe since no heroes really dies). I guess they all have to make it to the next movie.

The only thing that I liked is the backstory of Kitana, who was a child princess when her father brutally died in combat. Like I said earlier, I was more of a SF fan, so a lot of backstory is new to me when it comes to MK.

Please note: If you are interested in purchasing the Mortal Kombat II (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) it is available on all major digital streaming platforms, including Amazon. The album showcases an original score by composer Benjamin Wallfisch, who also reinterpret that iconic “Techno Syndrome” song (which plays at the end of the movie). Deluxe vinyl editions of the soundtrack are also available for pre-order via WaterTower Music.

Beast (2026)

The plot for Beast is pretty simple. Patton, a former mix martial fighter, who was a beast in his days, is now a down on his luck fisherman. His brother, who is currently also an MMA suffered from a devasting lost at the hands of champion Xavier who basically put his brother in a coma.

It turns out that this champion was once defeated by Patton in record time, it was Xavier’s only defeat… so both fighters want to settle the score for the final time. It’s been ten years, so Patton has a lot of catching up to train for the fight… so he has to reunite with his former coach, played by the great Russell Crowe.

If you watch a lot of Kung Fu movies, it’s usually a revenge plot. The heroes got defeated, so they retreat and train under a master… and so half the movie is training. Everything is paid off at the end, when they take everything they’d learned and defeat the villain. That’s just standard martial arts trope. You take that same formula and apply that to Beast, and you have a winning story.

It can be slow for viewers, who aren’t used to the training films, which takes about 66% of the film. In that time, our hero has to learn everything, starting from the basics to advance fighting strategy. It is because ‘the Beast’ hadn’t had to fight in over a decade, so he has to re-learn what makes him unstoppable. But I will confess, there are some sluggish moments, and I did contemplate on taking a break or fast-forwarding through the slow parts, like his struggle with his girlfriend (or wife?)

There are some twists that I like, regarding Patton’s ungrateful brother. I half suspected that it was him that drew Patton out of retirement to fight Xavier. I mean, if the writers wanted to go that route, I would actually be on board with that plot. Part of Patton’s story is also to make amends with his brother. In more ways than one, Patton’s brother was the reason for Patton to be motivated to take out Xavier.

The film ends, how you would imagine it – a big throw-down in the ring between Patton and Xavier. The second round of the fight was great. It’s like five minutes of the two of them making contact with their face to their opponent’s fists.

Incidentally, singer Amy Shark plays Russell Crowe’s daughter, a fight trainer, and she’s absolutely great at acting! I really believed her when she delivers the lines that she used to be a great fighter in the ring, but due to a knee injury forced her to retire as a coach and trainer now. Her glow when we first met her is absolutely wonderful. When she got upset at her dad, you can see it in her facial expression. I can’t believe I saw her sing in Oct 2017 and described her as, “Shark was wonderful and had plenty to say about all her songs. Each song had meanings or described a moment in her life. For example, the song ‘Deleted’ was about how people she used to know decided to go in a different direction “at the Uni” (college). She didn’t want to erase them from her life, yet they were no longer friends.”

Complete opposite of Shark, in the acting department, is Patton’s girlfriend, played by Swedish-Australian model, Kelly Gale. She looks great, but I did not like her acting at all. Her character had one speed – you promise you won’t fight and pouts or cries. Maybe she’s just a badly written character, but every time she’s on screen, I want to fast-forward. The worst is during the big fight, they keep cutting to her and she only has one line: “come on, baby”. So annoying.

Xavier, played by Luke Hemsworth (Captain America’s brother), is also pretty good and unrecognizable in the film. He’s the villain in the movie, and although he’s despicable at times, he’s not a complete monster. He’s bad, but he’s not heartless. All the things he does, he can justify it. If he lost, it’s fair and square.

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