The Reel Rejects - MORTAL KOMBAT 2 MOVIE REVIEW - Crazier & Better Than The First BY A LOT?!

Episode Date: June 9, 2026

GET OVER HERE!!! Mortal Kombat 2 Full Length Watch Alongs & Early Access:   / thereelrejects   Check out the DC Studios: Showcase Podcast HERE https://app.magellan.ai/listen_links/... Greg Alba, John Humphrey, and Jon Maturan react to Mortal Kombat 2, the highly anticipated sequel that finally delivers the Mortal Kombat tournament fans have been waiting for. Featuring Karl Urban as Johnny Cage, Adeline Rudolph as Kitana, Martyn Ford as Shao Kahn, Hiroyuki Sanada as Scorpion, Joe Taslim as Sub-Zero, Ludi Lin as Liu Kang, Jessica McNamee as Sonya Blade, Mehcad Brooks as Jax, and Josh Lawson as Kano, this chapter raises the stakes with brutal fatalities, epic battles, and classic Mortal Kombat lore. As Earthrealm's champions enter the tournament against the forces of Outworld, Johnny Cage must find the warrior hidden beneath his Hollywood persona, Kitana confronts the legacy of Shao Kahn, and Liu Kang faces devastating losses that could change the fate of the realms forever. Greg, John, and Jon react to all the shocking deaths, emotional character moments, tournament matchups, game-accurate references, and over-the-top Mortal Kombat action. Directed by Simon McQuoid and based on the legendary video game franchise created by Ed Boon and John Tobias, Mortal Kombat 2 embraces the mythology, characters, and spectacle that have made the series a global phenomenon for decades. Follow Greg Alba:  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thegregalba/ Twitter:  https://x.com/thegregalba Follow Jon Maturan: https://www.instagram.com/jonmaturan/?hl=en Intense Suspense by Audionautix is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/... Support The Channel By Getting Some REEL REJECTS Apparel! https://www.rejectnationshop.com/ Follow Us On Socials:  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/reelrejects/  Tik-Tok: https://www.tiktok.com/@reelrejects?lang=en Twitter: https://x.com/reelrejects Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheReelRejects/ Music Used In Ad:  Hat the Jazz by Twin Musicom is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Happy Alley by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/... POWERED BY @GFUEL Visit https://gfuel.ly/3wD5Ygo and use code REJECTNATION for 20% off select tubs!! Head Editor: https://www.instagram.com/praperhq/?hl=en Co-Editor: Greg Alba Co-Editor: John Humphrey Music In Video: Airport Lounge - Disco Ultralounge by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Ask Us A QUESTION On CAMEO: https://www.cameo.com/thereelrejects Follow TheReelRejects On FACEBOOK, TWITTER, & INSTAGRAM:  FB:  https://www.facebook.com/TheReelRejects/ INSTAGRAM:  https://www.instagram.com/reelrejects/ TWITTER:  https://twitter.com/thereelrejects Follow GREG ON INSTAGRAM & TWITTER: INSTAGRAM:  https://www.instagram.com/thegregalba/ TWITTER:  https://twitter.com/thegregalba Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This spring, denim gets a softer, lighter update. Introducing Old Navy's drapey denim wide leg, a new fit that moves with you. It's everything you want denim to feel like for summer. Easy, breathable, and effortlessly cool. With a fit that creates natural movement and a wide leg that feels modern, not overwhelming. Plus, that signature, wait, for this price, moment. Old Navy's drapey denim wide leg. One day you're negotiating with suppliers.

The next, you're in stocking. a shelf in the back room. Running a business means moving in many directions all the time. TD's new small business banking accounts are built for how your business moves. It's how we're making banking more human. Spotify, it's Jay Shetty. Are you one of those media strategy people? Scrolling through spreadsheets, searching for an audience that pays twice as much attention

to your ads than they do on social? Let me introduce you to fans. And they're here with me on Spotify. Trust me, I know fans. They don't skip, they stay for hours. They don't move on, they manifest. They're not a demographic group. They're fans.

Spotify advertising. You're among fans. This video is sponsored by DC Studios. Showcase the official podcast. More on them very soon. All right, guys. Well, on our end, there's no post-credit scene. Make of that what you will when I say that.

So hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, we just watched Mortal Kombat 2, 2026 edition, not the Annihilation edition. Thank you guys so much for being here. The full reaction watch along, we get a single with your own copy. That's available for our Royal Rejects, our patrons. Thank you guys for supporting us so much. And additionally, if you want to get some RR apparel to support the channel, you can do that as well. There should be barcode here on screen or link in the description box and pin comment, if not.

Anywho Guys, dude That was fun That was a fun experience That was fun I feel like so Al J I'll go to you first And so you're obviously a big

Moral Combat enthusiast Yeah What were you like Hoping for from this movie What are you going to a Moral Combat movie Looking for And then how did the movie deliver On that end for you?

Good question. Okay What am I looking for in a Mortal Kombat movie? The 95 version is like has some special nostalgia for me. But if you really look at it as a film, it's fine. Fantastic. It's fun. It's fantastic.

Absolutely. So going into this movie, I had this. I just wanted to have fun. That's like legitimately no crazy expectations. I wanted amazing choreography. Some emotional stakes would be nice, but it doesn't necessarily have to do it. But ironically, that's what we got in this movie. because we lose a lot of our main characters,

which is like devastating, especially, I'm going to be honest, I didn't like Cole Young's character in the first movie. Why? I think he was just like, whatever. What do you mean? But how he dies is actually kind of heartbreaking.

Like, because he is a father and a husband, and like for him to have that gnarly death is crazy. So it made me feel a certain, I was like, oh, my God. However, I am, I wanted this in the first one. it wouldn't happen. I thought this was going to happen then the second one didn't happen.

Maybe the third. Cole Young becomes Scorpion. I really think that should be the case because Louis Tan is a dope actor and he deserves a credit and he's a good martial artist and for him to take up the Scorpion mantle kind of just makes sense.

And his armor is gold so like Scorpion is yellow and gold and whatever. And the actor who plays Scorpion, I think he's just getting older so I don't know how long he wants to do this but you know, he's, he's attached to the scorpion name

but ultimately I had a ton of fun I wanted to I wanted to nitpick it but I was like why why do that it kind of defeats the purpose of having fun but yeah Ketana is a freaking scene stealer and she kind of takes the whole movie for me

but otherwise I enjoyed the hell out of it how about you guys? Yeah John Humphrey same question for you then man what do you what did you want when you went into this? I wanted more call

young and I was told they made him cooler in this movie so I feel a little duped by that. No, I mean, I wanted, you know, I had a lot of fun watching the first one with you during the pandemic times and I think it was pretty apparent that that movie, while possessing some of his own charms, could have definitely done a handful of things to better understand and execute on its assignment. I think this movie zeroed in on the most important of those things. Like you said, there are nits you can pick, especially with like how we get Johnny Cage into the plot is like.

like the most perfunctory thing of all time. Right. But at the same time, like, who cares? It doesn't really matter. And the, yeah, the use of this as a conduit for a bunch of fun, recognizable characters to do some yapping at each other and then do some pretty sick fighting. I thought this delivered on that and this is a fine line to walk because I think these movies are in a position where you want a certain amount of choreography, ingenuity,

but you expect the height, the sci-fi, the monstrousness, all that. that other stuff. And so this, I think, struck a pretty nice line. There weren't too many times during the fights where I was like, this is way too digitized or anything like that or doesn't feel real. Cuts more than certain kinds of action do maybe. But I thought they brought it together pretty nicely in a way that doesn't feel like a complete overhaul from the last movie, but definitely like it's addressing certain things. You know, the first movie doesn't have a mortal combat. This movie does. Yes. The impact of it being mortal combat was still pretty slight for me. But I think like the viciousness of Shaq Khan is really what drives all that home. I think they

did a nice job with that. Hell yeah. Driving stakes up out of that. But you, G. What'd you think of the movie? Rejignation, we're back with another shout out for DC Studio Showcase the official podcast. Of course, co-starring fellow Reject Coy genre. I actually just finished watching their episode. with Millie Alcock, where they're, of course, talking about Supergirl. And to me, it is a perfect example of what makes Frankie and Koi such a great pair. Because as a lot of you guys know, Koi brings that sharp comic and film knowledge, you know, deep trivia, heady analysis, energetic vibe, masculinity. While Frankie, she brings this like empathy and sincerity and emotional connection.

And it's this balance of intellect and empathy that I really feel like makes their interviews special. Often two different yet similar perspectives that truly respect. each other. And so to have this DC Studios podcast that covers everything for like DC for the comic films and TV shows, to have these two at the helm, I think it's just such a great pick. And like last season, they had huge guests like the cast of Superman, James Gunn and Jim Lee. And now, of course, with Millie Alcock already out, season two is going to be stacked. They got more coming from Supergirl. They got Clayface lanterns. So you can expect interviews from like Supergirl director

Craig Gillespie and of course, you know, Lobos, Jason Mamoa. Where they're going to be sharing onset stories, personal insights. and how they bring these characters to life. Plus, surprise guests pop it in all season long. So you can check out the DC Studio Showcase on the official HBO Max YouTube channel using this QR code here on screen or the link in the description box and pin comment.

And you can listen on HBO Max or wherever you get your podcasts. New episodes drop every other Friday. So subscribe so you do not miss one. That's DC Studio Showcase, wherever you get your podcasts. I think this was a massive improvement over the last. Oh, yeah. like by a lot like that first one

was like a weird experience to me because like right when it was done I had a lot of praise for it and then it was one of those that when I thought about it later like you know what movies kind of didn't really hit the mark for me and it was like a weird experience

for and I think it's because I really wanted to like love it a lot and I've changed a lot as I feel like I've changed a lot as a viewer and as a person even since that movie has come out and taking this one in I did just want like a movie that could just succeed as a

true entertainment fest and I think actually diving into even if even if it was only one game it gave a good sensibility of like how story modes play out in the moral combat world and so there was something particularly charming to me about how this did feel like the cutscenes

that we were privy to for quite some time and instead of like sitting down knowing that the cutscenes would be like this for 10 hours. I'm only here for an hour and a half. Yeah, this is doable. And so I really did enjoy. I was surprised by the emotional investment I had in Katana.

Like I show him mainly like, Johnny Cage's going to be here. Cool, call it Urban. And like, well, he's fun. He's fun.

There were some speech pattern rhythms to the way he does stuff where I'm so used to, like I've seen Carl Urban play Americans before. Star Trek, Dred. but here was the first time I was most distracted by him doing an American accent. Yeah, it was the only time I've ever actually been like there's something

kind of weird about like they kind of wanting to be butcher but not and but I'm so used to seeing him with the British, with the Australian accent and stuff. So yeah it was a little bit odd but he was still funny and I still thought I had some like great scenes but Katana my hands down is definitely the scene

stealer in this experience and in terms of what they did with choreography, the inventiveness on it never felt repetitive. They managed to utilize both martial arts specificity for what every character is whilst also implementing their powers instead of just like, let's take a pause

and then use powers. It was constantly weaving in their powers. Definitely. So it allowed for every action scene to have a unique martial arts choreography to it and allow, to me, the perfect fight is the one with, like, I had a feeling it would be the best one. That's probably why the trailers kept flashing to it

in the market. but Kung Lao versus Liu Kang his hands down the best fight in the whole movie in terms of just like the way the story was building around them where you see Lou King learning and adapting and then the way the escalation builds and there's an emotionality to it that's also

great but in terms of like an emotional fighter would probably be the Katana and Shao Khan fight. Maybe not my favorite every fight here was like pretty cool there wasn't like a weak fight here every fight was pretty sweet and I did fight it like progressively entertaining I think killing off Cole Young was actually a

Mark Boop because he was not a beloved character and like speak for yourself. Like Lewis Tan is actually kind of the shit in like real life. Yes. He really is. He was the villain in the final season of Cobra Kai. Yeah. He shows up to be the final villain and somehow makes an impact when he's not a nostalgia character in that show.

He's a brand new character who you have to sell as the villain and he does bring the stakes and he brings him a levelance. and I'm pointing that out to show that it's not it had nothing to do with Louis Tan's incapability of being a good actor or something it was really just that fucking movie that they cocked at a boilerplate hero for your movie didn't give him any unique Mortal Kombat shit

and he also was a standout in season one he had his like appearance in Iron Fis season one that I'll never forget and he was like fucking great in that and he's done a lot of other work too but like those are the two that come to mind and I'm only saying that because I don't want to slight Louis Tan as a performer and his martial artist.

Of course, of course. And then he gets this moment here, and we know him as the main character in the first one. So when you kill him off here, it brought the stakes. Yeah. Because when Shao Khan is suddenly fighting Lou Kang, Jackson, Sonia,

it was the one time in the movie where I'm like, oh shit, any one of them could die, like, right now. And to have that feeling of suspense actually kick in in a movie that was otherwise just feeling like, you know, a great entertainment fest, was nice to have actual like stakes at

oh shit I don't know someone could actually die right now and because Cole Young died I think that helps sell it because it allowed as opposed to just reserving Shaqon for the very end like let's show him at the beginning and then have him fight at the end they allowed Shao Khan to keep coming in throughout and I feel like that was also a smart maneuver

versus what I thought they would do which is he's just in the beginning and then he's a final boss fight at the end But no, they allowed this fighting throughout So I think this one is a grand upgrade From what the last one did And almost every stretch And yet it doesn't quite feel like

When they said tournament, it doesn't quite I'll give the 95 movie like the credit for that Yeah, like 95 one at least feels like an actual tournament True. And this one does feel like They're just kind of waiting around to be like plopped in Yeah And because like that is some of the like it's because yes This movie pretty much gave me what I wanted.

It was a blast of a film. It's surprisingly more emotional moments and anticipated. It's great choreography. All the shit you actually want out of a Mortal Kombat movie. This movie delivers on that and it never becomes numbing. It's never like, yeah, but it reaches a point because of lack of writing and storytelling. Like it's like the fucking cutscenes in the game. Yeah.

Because, yeah, I mean, like, but as a movie, there are things that I feel like, sure, it could definitely improve upon. it's like quite overstacked and there are I do kind of wish that although in hindsight it works because Jack's everyone's so lackadaisical when it comes to the fighting like Jackson is like all right Sonia you go in there

you go in there it doesn't feel like urgent or intense right right right as we're waiting and then even like it's like funny with Johnny Cage going to fight Baraka which I really love the Johnny Cage Brockers did it's like it's like funny, but there's no like intensity to them worried about

Johnny Cage being in this fight or something like that. And I think that could have helped sell the tournament angle of it if it seemed like there was actual worry or concern about like you're going to go in there, you're going to fight. You're going to find. You know, like someone who's going to a fight versus like being chill. Although that chillness

made it such a surprise when Jacks got killed. Yes. This is a fascinating movie because this is an exercise in like how much is just enough. when it's okay to leave certain like screenwriting isms out of the mix because I sure I feel like the previous movie did make more attempts to be like we're gonna slow down and try and like up the stakes from like a character's together talking perspective I don't think that's necessarily the the thing to focus on when ramping these up and so like yeah they're like when they bring

johnny cage in that's a place where like for me as a viewer in another experience I'd be like he's so unfazed and they brought him in so fast and he's been like going through this lightning portal and clearly the movie world that he is like adhered to for so long is very much not to the realm of everything and so like he's completely unfazed but then again like this is a world where that kind of happens and that's fine and I can kind of get past that and even the moral combat thing is like is essentially they just remind you in the last movie that like oh there have been nine tournaments and now these fights will equal a tournament and I think if you might have just taken all the characters and put them in some place that just felt more intense or like we're all imprisoned here until the tournament is concluded. It just seems like they'll check out to Raiden's little, you know, hut here and we just chill and, you know. It like in that way, it didn't

the first movie is just kind of like a medley of fights with a loose surrounding circumstance, and this is too. Right. But yeah, I think they calibrated the fun, the thrills, and then keeping every fight unique, I think bridges any sort of screenplay gaps you could possibly

bring up because that's not the point. Yeah, but it still could like use an improvement on like screenplay for sure yeah like there's because the reason i would actually point that out is because i think the screenplay is an improvement on the first one yeah and it doesn't but that also means it like oh there's room to even grow even further then of course they got down the fun they got down the excitement because whenever they got to a fight it was exciting and it's like we've seen movies where it doesn't matter at a certain point if like the movie itself is just lacking in the other departments that by the time you get to the fighter just like whatever

I'm bored that already and like I never found myself get there where I'm like it doesn't matter that this fight's good I'm already bored by the movie and so it never got there and I'm like ah but there's there's they definitely want to I think they want to and so I think they could rise above feeling like cut scenes now I think now for the third one they could get to another level where they can even make it even stronger film not they don't have to make like a fucking masterpiece no they just like it's like an improvement you know but right now I think this is like a great direction. And I had an amazing time with it.

I thought this was like, fucking seamlessly fun to me. Absolutely. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Now we get to look forward to Luke Kang resurrecting. It's just like, I'm fucking off out of this fight. Yeah, yeah. I gotta go. I'm gonna go to the third movie now.

I mean, part of me wonders if down the line there could be an opportunity for Louis Tan to come back and just be Scorpion. Like if they just kind of do some mumbo-jumbo, he goes to hell. Frigin' Hiro yuki Sonata passes off the torch and there you go. Literally. Yeah. Like, I don't know. Like, it's, it very much felt like it was cool the way they used that to raise the stakes, but I do kind of feel for him because, like, he's just on the sideline,

and every time they cut to him, he says something about death. Yes. Yes. Unfortunately. Yeah. And yes, some fun, like physical effects and stuff like that, like the way they brought to, Baraka especially, but, you know, Kwanche is kind of icky and creepy, and all the icky, you know, Shaqon stuff is pretty cool.

I think they could use, more um is there anything you want to see more of i thought more fatalities and brutalities would be cool yeah a little uh nods to the games for sure number one number two i think this is a personal thing but like in terms of the video games my my favorite characters are subzero and scorpion and like the first one kind of has that but like it you still don't see until the final fight well that's trying to be too much of a drama i think yeah first movie that's true and then the second one we do have scorpion but like again just as like a tool like a uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh utility player but like ultimately i would want to see that i think what what's cool about the first one

and second one the comedic um uh star goes to cano right like yeah he i didn't know he's gonna come back for the i mean i had an idea he'd be the back for the second one but his redemption is cool um so i'd want to see more of like i don't know like more more cano but like i don't want it to be overused because cano it seems like all right he was he was the redeeming thing of the first one for sure. The second one, cool, but like, he was kind of still a little underused. Excuse me, underused.

But, I definitely will probably agree with you the most is more fatalities, more like different nods to the game where it's like, I know that Luke Hang is known for his dragons, which is an alimality, which is, I know, you turn into animal. Like, there's a character

in the moral comic called Night Wolf. He turns to a wolf. Things like that. Very cool fatalities. Very cool things like something if if someone could say flawless victory right like cool little nods like that that would have been dope um but yeah ultimately a cooler story between my two favorite characters but that's very selfish otherwise the the direction like you said is going in the right direction of a good is better writing yeah yeah yeah i would appreciate that for sure yeah yeah scorpion and sub zero it's uh it definitely feels like it's weird like it's like it's tacked on

but I'm like but I like seeing him so yeah I'll take it better than nothing yeah absolutely right right but to dangle they're they're in a hard position and part of me wonders if doing some kind of thing where you melt a younger actor into like that's part of it is like I wonder if they could bring coal or if they'll just recat or somebody lose to whoever to carry this character on in like a more full extent for what you would want out of like I appreciate that in the previous movie they recognize the talent they got in Hirouki synonym Joe Taslin so they gave them a bit more of a dramatic feud to ride out. But it is one thing in this movie. And like it's cool to see the alt version of Sub-Zero, but you don't get any actual Sub-Zero, say, for footage from the first movie. True. So like, you know, to dangle the two most beloved characters

and then not 100% pay them off is a little, yeah, it's like something you might want. That's a bit of fan service you could more cleanly execute. True. And yeah, like I am, I'm a viewer who watches these and I'm aware that like a movie's restrictions are much different than a video game's restrictions, but it is a funny thing to me.

Like the deaths are gruesome, and I appreciate them and they are bloody. But knowing what Mortal Kombat is, I'm like, you could go so much harder on every single death here. Yes, that's true. And coming from, I'm sure that this is an issue of not only the ratings board, but how much they want to risk turning an audience off.

But, you know, like they got a lot of irreverent language and stuff into this. So part of me just wants to see them go, hogger, wilder on fatality. There are R-rated movies that are way more gory than this. Yeah, that's what I'm saying. Like, from the guy who helped produce one of the goryest franchises

of all time. I feel like that's what I would love to see them really. Like, the first one and this one had some good memorable kills, but I feel like really going extreme and crazy with them is the next step. Yeah, that's true. Do some x-rays. Do some x-rays and some multivorefroarcing.

Make this violent Lego. The same way Lego can allow for every possible crossover franchise then we get our dLC yes in a violent bloody context with mortal combat start crossing people over and blah blah what do you want gee i mean i've said what i want i really like this one though as this one's a massive improvement for sure and i'm excited to see what direction they take with the third one but leave it to you guys what did you think about it leave your thoughts in the comments below glad you could join us l jay jay from bringing it Get over here.

Hashtag. Justice for Cole Young. Justice for Cole. Let's hope Lewis Tang can do something else too. Yeah. Fuck yeah. All right, guys, thanks so much for being here. We'll see you guys soon.

Peace. Performance Auto Group's 37th annual sale event is back. Now for three days. Lease or finance from 0% plus loyalty incentives and maximum trade in value. Shop thousands of in-stock new, pre-owned, and demonstrator vehicles. June 11th to 13th, across all performance. Auto Group retailers. Make your move this summer. Performance Auto Group's three-day sale. 72 hours of savings. Shop now at performance.com slash three-day sale. Driven by Performance Auto Group.

In 2024, a woman walked into a boutique to buy a designer handbag. The price, $3,000. She bought it. The next day, the fashion house behind that bag was all over the news and not for positive reasons. She had to ask herself, did I just pay a premium for this label? How much is this bag actually worth? We wanted to know too. So join Chino, Melissa, and me as we talk with fashion industry expert Kirsten K. Harris on the We Fixed It Your Welcome podcast. Together, we'll call out things the fashion industry does right, and we'll propose some alterations too. That's what we do on this show. We fix things. Companies in crisis, cultural tension points, if it needs fixing, we're on it. If you like this episode, you'll like them all. Catch this and other episodes of We Fixed It You're Welcome on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.