Mortal Kombat 2 Could Be The "Best Video Game Adaptation Ever" — But Not For The Reason You Think
A bold claim that might surprisingly turn out to be true.
It’s been over 30 years since Hollywood made its first serious attempt at a video game adaptation with 1993’s disastrous Super Mario Bros., and it still feels like the concept hasn't been pushed to its fullest potential quite yet. The game-to-screen pipeline is in much better shape than it was 3 decades ago, and it seems as if the days of clueless studio executives adapting source material they're embarrassed of is over – that problem hasn't disappeared entirely though, and there's also the rise of the opposite issue to contend with: slavish but empty aesthetic recreations that exist solely to profit off massive fanbases, offering up little more than glorified Easter eggs. Even now, adaptations that truly engage with the creative spirit of their material (such as Amazon’s Fallout) are still few and far between.
One franchise in particular has been around long enough to experience both ends of the spectrum: a shlocky, tonally confused attempt at a digestible crowd-pleaser from the ‘90s, and a slick, big-budget “for the fans” adaptation from 2021. There hasn't been a cinematic version of Mortal Kombat yet that has truly nailed the perfect formula, but if Karl Urban’s recent comments are to be believed, the upcoming Mortal Kombat 2 won't just be the best adaptation of the games, but it might be the best video game adaptation ever – and depending on how you look at it, he might be correct.
It certainly can’t be as bad as MK’s original cinematic sequel, Mortal Kombat: Annihilation.
At the recent Emerald City Comic-Con, while there celebrating The Boys’ upcoming final season, Karl Urban took a detour to assure fans that the upcoming sequel to 2021’s Mortal Kombat will, in fact be “the best video game adaptation that’s gone to film yet.” This is certainly a bold and confident claim, considering the success of critically acclaimed adaptations like Fallout and The Last of Us, and also considering the lukewarm reception to the first film in Simon McQuoid’s reboot trilogy. But, if we quantify “best adaptation” not by box office success or critical acclaim or even outright subjective quality, but instead in terms of how sincerely it replicates the mood and essence of the original game, then Mortal Kombat 2 does have a strong chance at taking the crown.
The MK series is one of the most beloved franchises in gaming for a handful of reasons, but the most notable are the massive roster filled with larger-than-life characters and the absurd Looney Tunes levels of gore that have been a staple since day one. Hardcore fans are well-versed in the lore and the story of each game, but to be completely honest, the convoluted, Saturday morning cartoon structure of the overarching narrative is almost purposefully ridiculous and simply a vehicle for brutal, bone-crunching action – there’s not a single game in the series that can claim the storytelling depth of something like Shadow of the Colossus or Silent Hill, nor do they need to, because the games are perfectly complimented by plot writing that feels comparable to an isekai or a shlocky high-concept 80s action film.
The perpetual edginess of it all is also part of the charm.
While the first film suffered from a generic audience insert main character, action sequences that never quite rise to the high of the first setpiece, and a lack of emphasis on the ensemble, Mortal Kombat 2 has the chance to fix these critiques – Cole Young has been curiously absent from all the marketing, the trailers are teasing some high-intensity fight scenes that really lean into the creativity of the characters, and it seems as if the characters from the games are all getting a little more spotlight this time around. Even if it doesn’t become a critical darling like some of the other adaptations in recent memory, Karl Urban’s enthusiasm might be appropriately placed – Mortal Kombat has a dedicated fanbase because it knows exactly what it is and consistently leans into it, and if Mortal Kombat 2 centers the action, the eclectic roster, and avoids trying to justify the lore in order to be taken seriously, it very well could be the “best” video game adaptation as a movie that’s the perfect companion to its source material.
