5 Best Mortal Kombat 2 Fights, Ranked

Contains spoilers for "Mortal Kombat II."

First "Mortal Kombat II" reactions left critics stunned, even though Looper's own Alistair Ryder found it a flawed sequel that's elevated by Karl Urban. At the end of the day, however, "Mortal Kombat II" is the kind of movie that won't be defined by stellar dialogue or dramatic chops. It's a martial arts action flick based on a popular video game series. As such, it will live or die by how great its hand-to-hand action scenes are — and as it turns out, they're pretty great. 

"Mortal Kombat II" adheres to the game's tournament format, and remembers to throw in the occasional bonus fight to make absolutely sure no character goes home un-punched. There's also a nice variety to the movie's fight scenes, which vary from deliberately absurd superpower battles to gritty blow-fests where every attack hits like a ton of bricks. 

But which kombatants' duke is most satisfying? Let's take a closer look at five of the best fights in "Mortal Kombat II." 

There's a lot going on in the fight between the revenant Bi-Han (Joe Taslim) and the quartet of Johnny Cage (Karl Urban), Hanzo "Scorpion" Hasashi (Hiroyuki Sanada), Kano (Josh Lawson), and Jade (Tati Gabrielle). The main beef here is understandably between the former Sub-Zero and Scorpion, whose 2021 battle in "Mortal Kombat" was one of the best martial arts movie fights of the last five years. Bi-Han is also able to manifest a shadow clone, which gives Cage and Kano plenty to do as they scramble to destroy the MacGuffin — the Amulet of Shinnok. Jade is a late arrival to the battle, but gets to showcase some cool stuff anyway. 

This battle is easily the grandest of the Big Set-Piece Fights in the movie. Apart from the number of participants, it's full of CGI and takes place on a complex, multi-platform Netherrealm stage. The end result is full of impressive individual moments, but the whole is honestly a bit messy in the MCU-final-fight-kind-of-way. Still, the battle's sheer size and intensity warrant a place on the list.

This fight starts as the last official Mortal Kombat tournament match between the immortal Shao Kahn (Martin Ford), Sonya Blade (Jessica McNamee), and Liu Kang (Ludi Lin), and becomes the de facto final battle of the movie. The heroes' success hinges on the outcome of the aforementioned Bi-Han vs. everyone fight, though, so the two actually take place at the same time. 

Sonya is almost ridiculously out of her depth here, and even Liu Kang can't do much against an undying opponent. However, both play their parts in the grand scheme of things. Liu's defeat and apparent death ascends him to another plane of existence. Meanwhile, Sonya manages to free Kahn's stepdaughter and the movie's ultimate protagonist, Kitana (Adeline Rudolph). 

In a fun fist-pump moment, Kitana renounces Outworld and becomes the final Earthrealm warrior, starting the second stage of the battle. Kitana is now openly out to avenge the death of her father, King Jerrod (Desmond Chiam). Meanwhile, Kahn is fighting to conquer Earth — and, after the Amulet is destroyed and his immortality gets canceled partway through the fight — for dear life. Apart from being a genuinely impressive battle, the clash features neat callbacks to the beginning of the movie. Kitana finishing her revenge arc against Kahn with the same ribbon technique she used to humble Jade early on is a particularly nice touch.

Let's be honest: After the early parts of "Mortal Kombat II" devote barely any time to the 2021 film's protagonist Cole Young (Lewis Tan), the writing is on the wall for the poor guy. Still, at least the cards dealt to Cole make his exit as cool as possible. 

Cole's first and only match in this particular Mortal Kombat tournament puts him against the worst possible opponent, as he faces the freshly immortal Shao Kahn. What's more, the fight happens on the narrow walkway above the acid baths of the Dead Pool arena, which severely limits Cole's movement. The Earthrealm warrior gives it his all, and would actually take the fight if it wasn't for Kahn's ability to heal from fatal injuries. 

As it stands, however, Cole is up against an irresistible force. He fights well, but the situation is unwinnable, and the movie doesn't bother hiding it. Cole Young's swan song ends with a fatal hammer blow to the face. 

The most stunning one-on-one fight in the film, set on the iconic Portal arena. Special moves and brother-against-brother dialogue galore, amazing choreography, and massive stakes. Liu Kang and his revenant-zombified best friend Kung Lao (Max Huang) deliver a fight for the ages, every move more impressive than the last. Apart from the copious kung fu action, Kung Lao's free-wheeling buzzsaw hat is a constant threat from every direction, and Liu busts out an absurd amount of literal firepower to counter it. 

Liu Kang vs. Kung Lao is one of those rare movie martial arts fights where you can kick back, relax, and expect to be surprised at every turn. It even gives us the single most inventive and gruesome move in the entire film: A sort of reversal of Kung Lao's Razor's Edge Fatality, where Liu counters Kung's attack by leaping backwards and slamming Kung torso-first into the spinning blade of the hat. 

Going off fight choreography merits alone, this eye candy of a battle is the most stunning sequence in "Mortal Kombat II" worth getting hyped over. However, there's more to the art of a fight scene than nifty moves and big emotions, and another moment's slightly wider storytelling palette got it the top spot. 

Johnny Cage's fight with humongous Tarkatan leader Baraka (CJ Bloomfield) is a throwback gem. It's almost entirely comedic in tone. It features David vs. Goliath antics, Jackie Chan-tinted slapstick, and generous use of the environment. It has one of those gags where the children watching the protagonist hide immediately point his hiding spot to the antagonist. Baraka even crashes through a wall like James Bond (Daniel Craig) in the opening of "Casino Royale." 

The fight is also refreshingly low on glowy effects. Sure, there's CGI like Baraka's blade segment projectiles. Even so, the whole thing has a fun practical effects feel, and the actual martial arts moves seen are far cooler and more impactful as a result. 

However, what makes this battle work is the story it tells. This is where Johnny grows from an insecure manchild to a true Earthrealm champion. Seeing him find his heroic second wind is genuinely entertaining, as is Baraka's growing frustration and ultimate appreciation of his opponent. The end product is 50 percent cool martial arts battle, 50 percent meaningful storytelling of two fighters going from enemies to friends, and 100 percent distilled awesomeness (and yes, Johnny does his famed "split punch" groin attack).