Mortal Kombat 2 Is A Surprising Spiritual Sibling To A Classic Horror Movie

Contains spoilers for "Mortal Kombat 2"

"Mortal Kombat 2" generally does everything a fun video game adaptation-slash-martial arts epic should. One of the greatest tricks it pulls is far more nuanced than a tactical Johnny Cage (Karl Urban) groin attack, though — and it links the film to the modern horror classic "Doctor Sleep." 

"Mortal Kombat 2," of course, is a sequel to 2021's "Mortal Kombat." However, thanks to its gleeful cheesiness, tournament format, and certain stylistic choices, it also often comes across as a spiritual sequel to the original 1995 guilty pleasure "Mortal Kombat" movie. It captures the older movie's atmosphere surprisingly well, combining certain 1995-inspired visuals and character beats with the smooth continuation of the 2021 film's story. 

It's a pretty cool feat to serve as a "sequel" to two distinct works. One that has done so before, Mike Flanagan's "Doctor Sleep," differs from Stephen King's book of the same name — but also manages to be a sequel to both Stanley Kubrick's "The Shining" and King's "The Shining," which are famously quite different.

By the ending of "Doctor Sleep," the 2019 horror movie has pulled off an impressive trick. Thanks to cleverly mixing and matching narratives, it manages to serve as a sequel to both versions of "The Shining" — Stephen King's 1977 book and Stanley Kubrick's 1980 film. Since "The Shining" book differs from the movie greatly, this is nothing short of amazing. While "Mortal Kombat 2" isn't in a position to do quite the same thing, the approach it chooses still treads similar ground with its fellow Warner Bros. film.

If you watch the 1995 "Mortal Kombat" before "Mortal Kombat 2," you'll see plenty of elements that match. From certain similarities in the way characters like the cocky Johnny Cage (Karl Urban), overconfident snarker Kano (Josh Lawson), and ice-cold Noob "the artist formerly known as Sub-Zero" Saibot (Joe Taslim) are portrayed to the tournament format and even some of the sets, "Mortal Kombat 2" has a lot of aspects that will no doubt be warmly welcomed by fans of the 1995 movie.