Max Scoville of IGN has reviewed "Mortal Kombat II," the sequel to 2021's reboot, and the verdict is that the film wastes no time delivering on everything the first movie teed up. Directed once again by Simon McQuoid, the sequel leans hard into what made the franchise endure: colorful characters beating each other to a pulp in spectacularly gruesome ways.

A new cast, a familiar bloodbath

The film picks up immediately after the 2021 reboot, with Karl Urban stepping in as a washed-up Johnny Cage. If you were hoping for a younger, more naive version of the character, this is not that. Urban's Cage is past his prime, jaded, and still carrying the same ego that got him into trouble in the first place. It's a fresh take on a character who has bounced between hero, antihero, and comic relief across decades of games.

Adeline Rudolph's Kitana takes center stage this time around. The Edenian princess has always been a fan favorite, and the sequel seems to recognize that. She isn't just window dressing or a love interest; she gets a significant arc, though Scoville's briefing doesn't detail exactly what that arc entails.

Hiroyuki Sanada returns as Scorpion, the undead ninja whose iconic spear-and-teleport combo has terrorized players since 1992. Sanada, who played Scorpion in the 2021 film, is back to remind everyone why the character remains the franchise's most recognizable face. His presence alone justifies much of the runtime, and the filmmakers clearly know it.

And then there's Josh Lawson's Kano. He died in the first film — stabbed through the chest by Hanzo Hasashi in the final act. But Kano is back in "Mortal Kombat II" because, well, reasons. The briefing doesn't explain how he survives, only that he does. It's the kind of resurrection that only happens in a world where sorcerers, gods, and interdimensional tournaments are everyday facts of life. Whether audiences accept the hand-waving will depend on how much they care about logical consistency in a series where people get their spines ripped out and keep fighting.

What Simon McQuoid gets right

Director Simon McQuoid's sequel leans hard into the core appeal of Mortal Kombat: visual, visceral violence. The 2021 reboot was often criticized for holding back on the R-rated gore — fatalities were present but felt sanitized for a wider audience. That is not a problem here. Scoville describes the film as "big, loud, fun and gruesome," suggesting the sequel has embraced the over-the-top, arcade-era excess that made the games infamous.

The film's willingness to commit to the gimmick is its greatest strength. Mortal Kombat has always been about colorful characters brutalizing each other, and the sequel delivers on that promise. Scorpion gets his spear and his iconic "Get over here" — implied from the reference. Johnny Cage probably throws a shadow kick. Kitana likely uses her steel fans. The roster is the draw, and the film understands that.

Where it stumbles

Not everything works. The sequel reportedly has pacing issues, though the briefing mentions them only indirectly through Scoville's framing of "what works and what doesn't." The quality gap between the film's best moments and its weakest parts is wide enough to note.

Kano's resurrection, if handled without proper explanation, risks feeling cheap. Mortal Kombat has always played fast and loose with death — the franchise includes multiple timelines, revenants, and sorcerers who can bring anyone back — but the film needs to earn that resurrection. If it doesn't, it undermines the stakes of the first movie, where death supposedly had weight.

And while Karl Urban is a capable actor, the casting of Johnny Cage as a washed-up version could polarize fans who prefer the character's younger, cockier persona from the 1990s films or the later games. It's a different take, but not necessarily a better one.

A sequel that knows what it is

"Mortal Kombat II" does not try to reinvent the fighting film genre. It is not aiming for the philosophical depth of a Jean-Claude Van Damme vehicle or the balletic grace of a wuxia epic. It wants to give fans more fatalities, more one-liners, and more of the characters they love. By that measure, the sequel delivers.

Scoville's review, published by IGN, concludes that the film is a big, loud, fun, and gruesome sequel. It picks up where the 2021 reboot left off and wastes no time getting into the action. Whether that is enough to satisfy critics who found the first film lacking will depend on how much they value coherent storytelling alongside the carnage.

For now, "Mortal Kombat II" looks like a solid meat-and-potatoes sequel for anyone who just wants to see Scorpion impale someone and Johnny Cage crack a bad joke while doing it. The franchise has always been about the spectacle, and on that front, McQuoid's film does not disappoint.