Episode 44: Mortal Kombat II (2026)
Mortal Kombat II is the sequel to 2021's Mortal Kombat and directed by Simon McQuoid and written by Jeremy Slater, a reboot of a film series based on the long running fighting videogame series of the same name. New heroes introduced in this film are Kitana, played by Adeline Rudolph, adopted daughter of Shao Khan, played by Martyn Ford, ruler of Outworld, and Johnny Cage, played by Karl Urban, a washed up Hollywood actor unwillingly drafted into the eponymous Mortal Kombat tournament that will decide the fate of Earthrealm. Also appearing are newcomers Tati Gabrielle as Jade, Damon Herriman as Quan Chi, CJ Bloomfield as Baraka, and returning characters Sonya Blade, Jessica McNamee, Jax Briggs, Mehcad Brooks, Liu Kang, Ludi Lin, Kano, Josh Lawson, Lord Raiden, Tadanobu Asano, Shang Tsung, Chin Han, Bi-Han, Joe Taslim, Hanzo Hasashi/Scorpion, Hiroyuki Sanada, Kung Lao, Max Huang, Cole Young, Lewis Tan, and finally, a cameo by Ed Boon as a bartender.
Timestamps:
* (0:01:19) Mortal Kombat: Annihilation
* (0:29:12) The Last Hurrah for Chivalry
* (0:43:18) The Hidden Fortress
* (0:58:11) Mortal Kombat (2021)
* (1:14:08) Mortal Kombat II
* (1:41:48) Next week: Is God Is
Works Cited:
* A Better Tomorrow (John Woo, 1986)
* Aquaman (James Wan, 2018)
* Best. Movie. Year. Ever.: How 1999 Blew Up the Big Screen (Brian Raftery, 2019)
* Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (Ang Lee, 2000)
* Dead Alive (Peter Jackson, 1992)
* Dreams (Akira Kurosawa, 1990)
* Furious 7 (James Wan, 2015)
* Hard Boiled (John Woo, 1992)
* Hero (Zhang Yimou, 2002)
* High and Low (Akira Kurosawa, 1963)
* Hostel (Eli Roth, 2005)
* Ikiru (Akira Kurosawa, 1952)
* Jackie Chan - How to Do Action Comedy [https://youtu.be/Z1PCtIaM_GQ?si=6TZYjIQq13NPU9ea] (Every Frame a Painting, 2014)
* Last Hurrah for Chivalry (John Woo, 1979)
* Mile 22 (Peter Berg, 2018)
* Mortal Kombat: Annihilation (1997) - Movie Review: Alternate Ending [https://www.alternateending.com/2016/08/thou-art-mortal.html] (Tim Brayton, 2016)
* Mortal Kombat: Annihilation (1997) - Review - AllMovie [https://web.archive.org/web/20121106055452/http://www.allmovie.com/movie/mortal-kombat-annihilation-v158861/review] (Jason Gibner, date unknown, archived 2012)
* Mortal Kombat: Annihilation (John R. Leonetti, 1997)
* Mortal Kombat (Paul W. S. Anderson, 1995)
* Mortal Kombat (Simon McQuoid, 2021)
* Mortal Kombat II (Simon McQuoid, 2026)
* Ran (Akira Kurosawa, 1985)
* Rashomon (Akira Kurosawa, 1950)
* Saw (James Wan, 2004)
* Seven Samurai (Akira Kurosawa, 1954)
* Stray Dog (Akira Kurosawa, 1949)
* The 36th Chamber of Shaolin (Chia-Liang Liu, 1978)
* The Hidden Fortress (1958) [The Criterion Collection] [https://filmfreakcentral.net/2014/04/the-hidden-fortress/] – Dual-Format Edition (Walter Chaw, 2014)
* The Hidden Fortress (Akira Kurosawa, 1958)
* The Hidden Fortress | Current | The Criterion Collection [https://www.criterion.com/current/posts/117-the-hidden-fortress] (Armond White, 2001)
* The Killer (John Woo, 1989)
* The Killer (John Woo, 2024)
* Violence In Video Games - Highlights of the American Senate Committee Hearings in 1993 [https://youtu.be/lhwM3ZMTCR0?si=5BBv2T_sMUr2h52r] (NeoGamer - The Video Game Archive, 2019)
* Wolf Creek (Greg McLean, 2005)
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Ben Verschoor
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Steven Santana
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* https://letterboxd.com/number8axel/ [https://letterboxd.com/number8axel/]
* @number8axel.bsky.social [https://bsky.app/profile/number8axel.bsky.social]
Opening music is "Root Beer Rag" by Billy Joel
Closing music is "G-Spot Tornado" by Frank Zappa
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