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‘Mortal Kombat II’ Officially Breaks a Decade-Long Franchise Streak Before May 8 Release

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The wait for Mortal Kombat II is almost over, as theatergoers will finally find out whether it lives up to expectations in less than twenty-four hours. Serving as the fourth installment in the Mortal Kombat film series, the new movie is widely regarded as an improvement over its 2021 predecessor and brings back several fan-favorites. Among the returning cast members are Jessica McNamee, Josh Lawson, Ludi Lin, Mehcad Brooks, Lewis Tan, Damon Herriman — this time in a different role — Chin Han, Tadanobu Asano, Joe Taslim, and Hiroyuki Sanada.

As anticipation continues to build, Mortal Kombat II has officially received its Tomatometer score on Rotten Tomatoes, with early reactions praising its brutal action sequences and its incorporation of the franchise’s legendary characters. With that said, the fantasy adaptation currently holds a 73% critics’ score on the review aggregator website based on 82 reviews, 60 of which are positive. This marks a major achievement for the iconic franchise, ending a decade-long streak of “rotten” scores for its live-action entries. Notably, the previous three live-action films released in 1995, 1997, and 2021 all scored below 60%.













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Collider Exclusive · Star Wars Quiz
Which Force User
Are You?

Light Side · Dark Side · Or Somewhere Between
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The Force is not a binary. It is a spectrum — from the serene halls of the Jedi Temple to the shadowed corridors of Sith space. Ten questions will reveal where you truly fall. The Force has always known. Now you will too.

🔵Jedi Master

🟡Padawan

🔴Sith Lord

Inquisitor

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Grey Jedi

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01

What is the Force to you?
Your relationship with the Force defines everything else.




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02

When you feel strong emotions — anger, grief, love — what do you do?
The Jedi suppress. The Sith feed. Others choose differently.




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03

The Jedi Council gives you an order you disagree with. You:
How you handle authority reveals your alignment.




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04

You are offered forbidden knowledge that could give you enormous power. The cost is crossing a moral line. You:
The dark side’s pull is never more than a choice away.




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05

Your approach to training and learning is:
A student’s habits become a master’s character.




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06

In a duel, your lightsaber fighting style reflects:
Combat is the purest expression of a Force user’s philosophy.




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07

A defeated enemy lies at your feet, powerless. You:
Mercy — or its absence — is the truest test of alignment.




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08

The Jedi Code forbids attachment. Your honest view on love and bonds:
The source of the greatest falls in the galaxy.




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09

Why do you use the Force at all? What’s the point?
Purpose is the difference between a knight and a weapon.




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10

At the final moment — light side or dark side pulling at you — what wins?
In the end, every Force user faces this moment. What does yours look like?




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Your Alignment Has Been Determined
Your Place in the Force

The scores below reveal how the Force sees you. Your highest number is your true alignment. Read on to understand what that means — and what it will cost you.

🔵
Jedi Master

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🟡
Padawan

🔴
Sith Lord


Inquisitor


Grey Jedi

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Disciplined, compassionate, and deeply attuned to the living Force, you have walked the path long enough to understand its demands — and accept them. You lead not through authority alone, but through example. You have felt the pull of the dark side and chosen otherwise, every time. That is not certainty. That is courage.

You are earnest, powerful, and brimming with potential — and you know it, which is both your greatest asset and your most dangerous flaw. You act before you think, trust your gut over your training, and sometimes confuse impatience for bravery. The Masters see something in you, though. The question isn’t whether you have what it takes — it’s whether you’ll be patient enough to find out.

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You are not simply dangerous — you are certain, and that is worse. You have decided what the galaxy needs, and you have decided you are the one to deliver it. Your power is genuine and formidable, earned through sacrifice that would have broken lesser beings. But examine your victories carefully. Every Sith believed their cause was righteous. The dark side’s cruelest trick is that it agrees with you.

You were forged in fire and reshaped by those who found you at your lowest. You serve, because service gave you structure when you had none. Your allegiance is not to an ideology — it is to survival and to the master who gave you purpose. But there is something buried beneath the conditioning. The Jedi you hunt? You recognize them. Because you remember what it felt like before the choice was taken from you.

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You have looked at the Jedi Code and the Sith Code and found both of them incomplete. You walk the line not out of indecision but out of conviction — you genuinely believe both extremes miss something essential. The Jedi don’t fully trust you. The Sith think you’re wasting your potential. They’re both partially right. But so are you.

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What Do Critics Have To Say About ‘Mortal Kombat II’?

Directed by Simon McQuoid and written by Jeremy Slater, Mortal Kombat II follows fan-favorite champions — now joined by Johnny Cage himself — pitted against one another in the ultimate no-holds-barred, gory battle against the dark rule of Shao Kahn, which threatens the very existence of Earthrealm and its defenders. Karl Urban stars as Johnny Cage, joining new cast additions Adeline Rudolph and Tati Gabrielle.

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With many critics praising Mortal Kombat II, the positive reception bodes well for the franchise’s future, especially with another sequel already in development. In Collider’s review, Aidan Kelly awarded the film a 7/10, noting that although the first half struggles with pacing issues and balancing its large ensemble of characters, the second half evolves into a bloody thrill ride where nearly every minute delivers entertainment.

CBR critic Rachel Leishman also gave the martial arts sequel a 7/10, praising it as wildly entertaining and arguing that it serves as a reminder that movies can simply provide audiences with an escape from reality and bring joy amid all the chaos. Similarly, MovieWeb rated the film 3.5/5, describing Mortal Kombat II as a “savage sequel” that die-hard fans will appreciate for its excessive carnage, faithfulness to the video game lore, and relentless “f-bombs.”

Mortal Kombat II arrives in theaters on May 8, 2026.


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Release Date

May 8, 2026

Runtime
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116 Minutes

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