Double Feature – “Mortal Kombat II” and “Obsession”
By Bob Garver
With “The Devil Wears Prada 2” and “Michael” still ruling the domestic box office, I thought I’d give this week’s review spot to a couple of also-rans from the past two weeks.
“Mortal Kombat II”
The 2021 “Mortal Kombat” movie was a disaster that left fans disappointed for many reasons, not least of which was that it didn’t feature any fights from the much-hyped tournament for universal supremacy. At least in “Mortal Kombat II,” we finally get the tournament. Only the first round is done somewhat properly before the thing breaks down into cheating, sneak-attack shenanigans, but it can’t be said that we are denied the tournament entirely.
A new character, outstanding-fighter-turned-action-movie-star-turned-washout-at-both Johnny Cage (Karl Urban), is the audience surrogate into the five-on-five fighting series on a distant planet that will determine the fate of our world. Cage fights alongside Sonya Blade (Jessica McNamee), Jax (Mehcad Brooks), Cole Young, (Leweis Tan), and Liu Kang (Ludi Lin) under the mentorship of Lord Raiden (Tadanobu Asano) against the forces of the evil Shao Khan (Martyn Ford), such as his queen Sindel (Ana Thu Nguyen), stepdaughter Kitana (Adeline Rudolph), her bodyguard Jade (Tati Gabrielle), and resurrected minions Kung Lao (Max Huang) and Kano (Josh Lawson). The first movie made another mistake killing off humoristic highlight Kano, fortunately this movie brings him back so he can steal the movie all over again.
“Mortal Kombat II” is good at the things that fans want most from a “Mortal Kombat” movie: it’s creative with its fighting sequences and the jokes usually hit. But it’s bad at the things that audiences want from movies of any genre: it’s hard to care about many of these characters and the story is an overcomplicated mess that can’t even stick to its own ridiculous rules. Like “The Devil Wears Prada 2,” I admire the way this sequel steps up its game from an original that I didn’t enjoy, but unlike that film, I can’t say I’m now “won over” by this franchise.
Grade: C
“Mortal Kombat II” is rated R for strong bloody violence and gore, and language. Its running time is 116 minutes.
“Obsession”
In 1992’s “Aladdin,” one of The Genie’s few rules with wishes was that he couldn’t make people fall in love. “Obsession” is a movie about what happens when a wish for love is granted. It’s a horror movie, and a nasty one. The Genie was right to have that rule.
Awkward dork Bear (Michael Johnston) wishes for the romantic love of his longtime friend Nikki (Inde Navarrette) on a novelty willow stick. The wish comes true, Nikki is immediately smitten with him, and Bear reaps the rewards of her vehement affection. The woman Bear loves may not have any agency in the matter, and that’s problematic if he thinks about it, so he decides not to think about it. But of course, things go south for Bear once Nikki starts inserting herself into every corner of his life and finding creepier and creepier ways to express her devotion. Her love becomes… wait for it… obsession.
This movie gamely features some of the sickest scenes from a stalker thriller ever put to film, even if they borrow heavily from other stalker thrillers like “Fatal Attraction.” And Navarrette puts in a horror performance for the ages, both when her character is and isn’t under the magic spell. But the movie falters when the story has to give us something other than Nikki spinning further and further out of control. The ending (not Navarette’s contribution to the ending, which is excellent, but the ideas that go into the ending) is a lazy letdown and ends what had previously been an engaging horror film on such a down note that I can’t bring myself to recommend it as a whole. “Obsession” doesn’t lose my recommendation because of anything it “does,” but because of how much potential it leaves on the table.
Grade: C
“Obsession” is rated R for strong bloody violence, grisly images, sexual content, pervasive language, and brief graphic nudity. Its running time is 108 minutes.
Contact Bob Garver at rrg251@nyu.edu.
