Mortal Kombat II

Posted on August 10, 2026 by Dr. Tennyson

Vampire Owl: So, it is that time of the year when we fight against them all.

Vampire Bat: We do immortal combat and do not fight mortals.

Vampire Owl: Why should we immortals engage in immortal wars?

Vampire Bat: We have had our immortal war moments in the last few years.

Vampire Owl: But zombies disintegrate, werewolves live and die. Where are the immortals?

Vampire Bat: The shadow demons are immortal, and our fight is with them.

Vampire Owl: They have not reached the realm yet, as far as I know.

Vampire Bat: The tunnels connecting our realm and the shadow world are active.

Vampire Owl: You mean to say that there is activity down there?

Vampire Bat: Yes, vampire scouts are expecting a surprise attack soon.

[Gets a ghee podi masala dosa and three cups of Munnar tea].

What is the movie about? :: Shao Kahn (Martyn Ford) had defeated and killed King Jerrod (Desmond Chiam) as part of the final battle against Edenia, and took Queen Sindel (Ana Thu Nguyen) as his new queen but completely under his control. Later Shao train Jade (Tati Gabrielle) whom he found in a slave pit, and he also has Kitana (Adeline Rudolph) who is the daughter of Jerrod and Sindel by his side, as he also keeps her ready to fight on his side. Many years later, with the tenth Mortal Kombat tournament is about to happen, Quan Chi (Damon Herriman) revives Kung Lao (Max Huang) and Kano (Josh Lawson) as they are in need for more warriors to serve their purpose. While Kung Lao becomes under their control, Kano remains the same, greedy and selfish, not able to be controlled by anyone. Meanwhile, Lord Raiden (Tadanobu Asano) and Sonya Blade (Jessica McNamee) approach a former Hollywood star who has lost his roles with his age, Johnny Cage (Karl Urban) to recruit him as their fifth champion alongside Sonya, Liu Kang (Ludi Lin), Jax Briggs (Mehcad Broks) and Cole Young (Lewis Tan).

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: But as he understands that he stands no change against fighting to conquer Earth with superpowers, and knowing that he could just die in the arena with ease, Johnny refuses to participate. Even though he returns to Earth, he is drafted into a battle with Kitana who wins the same with ease, but she does not kill him even though Shao Kahn asks her to. At the same time, Sonya is taken into face Sindel whom she ends up killing after some initial difficulty. Jade discovers that Kitana is working as a spy for Rayden, and captures her with the help of her guards while returning from Earth and presents her to Shao Kahn. Feeling betrayed and angry, he orders for Kitana to be tied up in the centre of the city for everyone to see her as a dishonoured traitor on display with chains stretching her arms and legs. Jade asks her to seek forgiveness from Shao Kahn, but she refuses and chooses to stay in bondage. The resurrected Kung Lao travels through the path in which Kitana journeyed to Earth and wounds Raiden, allowing Quan Chi to take his power into an amulet, which they bind to Shao Kahn.

And what more can happen here as end seems near for Earth and its people? :: This process makes Shao Khan immortal, but Raiden is almost killed in the process. Johny and Sonya are defeated by the attacking fighters who are quick to knock them unconscious, and at the same time, the second round had begun and three fighters were already at the battlegrounds. Liu Kang and Kung Lao face off against each other, and despite the former trying his best to reason with the former to return as Earth’s hero, the fight continues – Liu Kang is forced to kill Kung Leo by throwing him to his own bladed hat. Jax who fights with Jade also finds it easy to defeat her as she stands no chance against his strong mechanical arms, but he spares her life as Kitana had asked for the same earlier when she visited them. Cole fights and almost kills Shao Kahn, but his wounds heal instantly, shocking him. Shao Kahn who calls for the Scorpion blood brutally kills him and throws his body away, keeping the competition between two worlds close. With Shao Kahn being invincible and Raiden on life support, and running out of fighters, can Earth be saved from invasion?

The defence of Mortal Kombat II :: Calling all the attention to himself, Karl Urban steals the show nicely with this one. He had some fine action movies failing despite being so good, most notable one being Dredd, but this stays strong to avoid that fate. He nails this character and it is the one character that stays strong and also brings the fun. The fight choreography has also managed to be better, and it feels so much like a real arena fight, and the gaming nostalgia nicely comes back here. As fans of this one game which kept us so much interested in multiplayer as much as single player with so many options, this nostalgia keeps us interested at all times, as the danger gets ready to unleash itself on our world. There is the violence which stays close to the game, as we feel the shades of those fatalities which seems to be straight out of the game. The new characters and situations also add the epic dark-fantasy scale that can inspire a sequel – the world-building has been top class and more can follow in the franchise.

Positives and negatives :: Those who are looking for full-strength, well-planned scheduled tournament of fights in order would be disappointed. Some characters could have also developed further with better understanding of new worlds and fights occurring in a variety of settings. There could have also been adventurous journeys to serve the purpose. Even though the tournament gets active, there is not much of a fight among the audience or something that is shown continuously as grand battle. The movie’s female leading fighters Jessica McNamee and Adeline Rudolph are just too good too, and their fights are admirable. Jessica would have done nicely to have more fights too, while Scorpion and Sub-Zero not with the best glory might keep people wondering. This happens even when the characters do not undergo that much of a development. There is also no real terrifying character, as the terror is not built that much, as the game might be the scarier and more effective thing compared to the movie as many other gaming adaptations from Hitman to Resident Evil, Silent Hill, Monster Hunter and Doom.

How it finishes :: The movie takes the live-action franchise further forward, delivering a sequel that is sharper in moving through what fans expect from a computer game adaptation. It delivers a thoroughly entertaining spectacle with action that levels up from the predecessor in an even better world. The change of protagonist also seems to have served the movie well, even though one big tournament fight with him would have been nice. The nostalgia that we feel related to this franchise is also really a lot, and we never are never really out of it – I remember traveling so many kilometres to play a version of this game as it could only be played on Pentium IV Processor and above with a GeForce Card. Quan Chi’s double knee stomp was a favourite as he jumps up and keeps on walking on the opponents, then Scorpion and Sub-Zero also remained. We might never have a game based on some of the classic titles like Unreal Tournament and Age of Empires, and so we enjoy what we have, as it has been well-set before us. We might have missed it at the theatres, but the need to watch this one never really left us.

Release date: May 8, 2026
Running time: 116 minutes
Directed by: Simon McQuoid
Starring: Karl Urban, Adeline Rudolph, Jessica McNamee, Josh Lawson, Ludi Lin, Mehcad Brooks, Tati Gabrielle, Lewis Tan, Damon Herriman, Chin Han, Tadanobu Asano, Joe Taslim, Hiroyuki Sanada, Martyn Ford

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@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Mortal Kombat

Posted on September 17, 2021 by Dr. Tennyson

Vampire Owl: Do you remember us watching Mortal Kombat on VCR a long time ago?

Vampire Bat: Yes, a long time ago for humans, just a little bit earlier for us.

Vampire Owl: Yes, immortality has an effect on the perception of time.

Vampire Bat: Yet, those were the days when humans had tapes instead of CDs.

Vampire Owl: Mortal Kombat had also inspired many grand stage fights between vampires and werewolves.

Vampire Bat: Yes, thanks to our special powers, we won most of them against brutal strength.

Vampire Owl: Our battles were more or less immortal combats though.

Vampire Bat: Yes, immortality makes sure that death is near impossible.

Vampire Owl: Actually, having such tournaments are good options in our realms too.

Vampire Bat: Well, tournaments no longer have value among elders.

[Gets a red velvet cake and three cups of white tea].

What is the movie about? :: In Japan during the seventeenth century, a group of assassins ruthlessly attack a family, and their leader Bi-Han (Joe Taslim) murders everyone except for their child, who is taken by the God of Thunder Lord Raiden (Tadanobu Asano) to safety. Back to the present, the terrifying realm of Outworld has defeated Earthrealm in nine out of ten competitions of Mortal Kombat, and with one more victory, they could claim and rule Earth. The Outworld has never felt that they have come so close to gaining the ultimate victory. But, an ancient prophecy says otherwise, asserting that the blood of the family which fell centuries earlier could unite a new group of warriors who can defeat the fighters of Outworld. Aware of this, Shang Tsung (Chin Han) sends his warriors to make sure that there are no warriors left to fight them, and Bi-Han who is now known as Sub-Zero is assigned the job to find certain people who have a certain mark to identify them.

So, what happens with the events here? :: The identification mark happens to be a dragon tattoo which has been on these people for a long time. A former professional MMA fighter called Cole Young (Lewis Tan) has such a mark, and a person named Jax (Mehcad Brooks) meets him and his family who are attached by Sub-Zero. Jax fights valiantly, but losses his arms to Sub-Zero’s cold, and is considered dead by the Outworld. Another person who is on the hunt is Mileena (Sisi Stringer) who wants Earth to be captured at any cost. Outworld is ready to break all the rules to make sure that they win this last battle. Cole searches for a woman named Sonya Blade (Jessica McNamee) to whom Jax had pointed much earlier, and upon discovering her, he learns about something sinister which has been going on in the background. She talks about Mortal Kombat, which might be a reality soon, and assures him that they have been chosen to fight for Earth against some unknown species from another world. But that might not be all.

The defence of Mortal Kombat :: This film is nothing less than a return to nostalgia, not just as the adaptation of a game which we have been playing so much from the early days of Windows, as it also contributes as the reminder of that movie which came to the cassette shops, and had us cheering for each action move on display. Well, this film is not that much far away from what we had seen then, as far as action sequences are concerned – we also have the superior computer graphics and with the better cameras, we have some visual grandeur on the screen as expected; a case of higher quality return of childhood as we look at it. The locations are nicely shaped using the special effects. The final battle with Scorpion and Sub-Zero around brings some quality final moments. We can consider this as a beginning, and hope to see more of the fights, with some real tournaments happening in different worlds. The origins of the new age adaptation has been set well, and with one fine sequel, the level of the whole thing could be raised.

The claws of flaw :: There is no doubt about that fact that Mortal Kombat could have been better, especially with so many of options being available. There are so many characters in the game who could have been taken into this film, but only a few were used. Some of the very interesting characters are also killed too early. The individual battles could have actually lasted much more, and some special and unexpected moves could have been added around here. A little bit more of attention could be taken in the clothes of the characters too, and they could have stayed close to how they were in the game. GI Joe had also experienced similar problems, but that franchise never really had this much of variety and worlds to be displayed on the screen with grandeur. It is a shame that some of the battles finish too easily, when we know that there are so much to be done with fighters keeping on battling each other without holding back. You could have always added some game elements according to the requirements.

Performers of the soul :: Lewis Tan as Cole Young leads the way well, even though Jessica McNamee playing Sonya Blade seems to be the real leader around here throughout the first half of the film, as she nicely suits the role so well. Bridgette Wilson would still be the perfect Sonya, as we are all fans of that older version and go on to miss Kitana and Johnny Cage characters for now. Mehcad Brooks as Jax is another determined character who keeps his moments, and Josh Lawson as Kano adds to the same from the other side. The best looks still goes to Mel Jarnson playing Nitara, even though she is there for only a short period of time. We would have loved to see more of her around here, as the winged creature is a thing of Gothic beauty rather than anything else. Sisi Stringer as Mileena brings a side of horror very well. Joe Taslim as Sub-Zero makes the right antagonist, and the ice-filled moments of action are joy to watch. Chin Han and Tadanobu Asano leaves us something to look out for with another possible movie based on the same video game series. Ludi Lin and Max Huang are good additions as the trained warriors too.

How it finishes :: Mortal Kombat does have some special place in our hearts, as it was one of those earlier games which we played and continued to enjoy for a long time. Among these games, it was Mortal Kombat 4 which had our best attention, as it had high graphics requirements, and we actually had to go somewhere else to play the game. The characters of Scorpion, Sub-Zero, Quan-Chi and Raiden were among the favourites then, and it was only later that characters like Mileena were of interest. Among the games, this one does have a legendary status, even though just like the other game adaptations including Need for Speed, Hitman, Prince of Persia, Tomb Raider, Warcraft, Resident Evil, Silent Hill, Doom, Blood Rayne, Max Payne, Assassin’s Creed and many others, this one also failed to gather much of critical appreciation. Yes, Resident Evil has grossed so much that nobody can question that particular franchise, but we know that adaptations require more.

Release date: 23rd April 2021 (USA), 11th September 2021 (Amazon)
Running time: 113 minutes
Directed by: Simon McQuoid
Starring: Lewis Tan, Jessica McNamee, Josh Lawson, Tadanobu Asano, Mehcad Brooks, Ludi Lin, Chin Han, Joe Taslim, Hiroyuki Sanada, Matilda Kimber, Laura Brent, Sisi Stringer, Mel Jarnson, Nathan Jones, Daniel Nelson, Angus Sampson, Damon Herriman

<— Click here to go to the previous review.

@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Deadpool 2

Posted on May 19, 2018 by Dr. Tennyson

What is the movie about? :: Years after murdering the man who gave him the mutant superpowers the hard way in the first movie, Wade Wilson a.k.a. Deadpool (Ryan Reynolds) is working as a mercenary, but on his own terms, while mocking Wolverine. He hopes to start a family with his girlfriend Vanessa Carlysle (Morena Baccarin). But it is then that one of his targets whom he missed, manages to strike back, killing Vanessa in the process. Wade is quick to kill the man who is responsible for her death, and even tries to kill himself in an explosion; but he grows back as Colossus (Stefan Kapicic) takes him to join the X-Men, with Negasonic Teenage Warhead (Brianna Hildebrand) not being fond of the not-so-superhero joining the team. But Colossus has him as a trainee and lets him join them on their very next mission.

So, what happens with the events to follow? :: After a vision of Vanessa, and trying to put his heart at the right place, he decides to help the X-Men to deal with a teenage mutant Russell Collins a.k.a. Firefist (Julian Dennison) who has gone violent at an orphanage for mutants. X-Men join with human soldiers to gain control over the mutant who is looking highly unstable. As Deadpool realizes that Russell was abused and tortured by the orphanage staff, he decides to help him, and ends up killing one of the staff members too, before being stopped by Colossus. Russell and Wade are taken to an isolated prison for mutants, known as Icebox. Collars are used to negate their powers, and without them, Wade slowly and steadily begins to go back to his previous state, with tumout growing inside him – he gets weaker than ever.

And what is follow with the events? :: It is then that a cybernetic soldier Cable (Josh Brolin) whose family is murdered by Russell in the future, travels back in time to kill him before he becomes that brutal murderer. Wade tries to defend Russell against Cable, but denies any attachment to him so that the boy could be safe inside the prison without him. Wade ends up outside the prison, and after having a vision of Vanessa again, decides to help Russell, no matter what happens. For the same, he assembles a team which he calls X-Force – Domino (Zazie Beetz), Bedlam (Terry Crews), Shatterstar (Lewis Tan), Zeitgeist (Bill Skarsgard), Peter (Rob Delaney) and Vanisher (Brad Pitt) are hired to be part of the group, as they hope to stop the mutant warrior from future. But Russell has his own ideas to stop Cable, and it will not prove to be nice for the newly formed X-Force.

The defence of Deadpool 2 :: This one’s capability to bring some entertainment can never be questioned, especially with the comic side, and some action to go with it. You can see that it refers to movies in both Marvel and DC Universe, with references including the latter being so dark. The movie does have some nice main characters, other than its superhero and a kid who is conveniently placed in the middle of everything – it has one lady whose superpower is luck, and one of the most powerful mutants, along with a time traveler mutant warrior from the future – these two are of more strength than anyone else, and you can do nothing but to love them so much. Deadpool 2 is that kind of a movie which won’t apologize for its nonsense which is surely there, and is it is that kind of fun nonsense that we need to be prepared for, unlike our usual Thor: Ragnarok, Logan, Captain America: Civil War or Black Panther from Marvel.

The claws of flaw :: Well, Deadpool 2, just like Deadpool, is not the superhero movie for the kids and families – it just not the right kind of film. The violence and gore remains rather not that good, that too with the whole thing being censored to arrive at this level. Unlike the other superheroes, Deadpool is surely that kind of a person whom we can’t admire – he is that selfish hero in one way or the other, that we need to see dead; but he just doesn’t. This movie surely has no real respect for anyone either, and that is reflected on the character as well as the dialogues of the main character. Some of the dialogues which seem to be close to being funny never really gets there, and there are those jokes which go wandering away, leaving no effect at all. The action sequences could have been better too, and the emotional side struggles, thanks to some stupid dialogues in between.

The performers of the soul :: The movie is about the two people more than anyone ele – these two have played two big characters on the big screen in two different movies. Ryan Reynolds has been Green Lantern before, and it is that DC Universe that he makes fun of in this movie as Deadpool. Then there is Josh Brolin whom we last saw as Thanos, and here he is, as Cable, in the same Marvel Universe. Both of them are really good, making this movie better than what it really is, with its low level plot that doesn’t raise the bar. Zazie Beetz is great fun in this movie, and you also love Brianna Hildebrand who has less time on the screen, but has that special effect when there. Morena Baccarin is another actress whom we wanted to see more here, and as lovely as she is here, there is only less time for her to show here skills. The rest of the cast is just mostly okay.

How it finishes :: Deadpool was never known to be the superhero that someone would wish to admire for anything other than saving the day. Being a rather selfish hero, this one was never supposed to appeal to the usual superhero admirers – even with that selfless act added in the end. There seems to be no real attempt to make this one feel better than the first movie, and there is certainly no special ingredient added to it. But we can safely say that it will provide some entertainment with the funny side and the action that comes with it. The family audience will surely have to choose Avengers: Infinity War over this one or one of those Malayalam movies in the theatres. Well, the ‘A’ certificate is sure to make that happen easily.

Release date: 18th May 2018
Running time: 119 minutes
Directed by: David Leitch
Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Morena Baccarin, Josh Brolin, Julian Dennison, Zazie Beetz, T.J. Miller, Brianna Hildebrand, Jack Kesy, Stefan Kapicic, Terry Crews, Lewis Tan, Bill Skarsgard, Rob Delaney, Brad Pitt (cameo)