Warner Bros.

The creative minds behind Mortal Kombat II know precisely how to make an awful '90s-style action movie. We get a glimpse of that with footage from " Uncaged Fury ," an in-film demonstration of Hollywood playboy Johnny Cage's replete with one-liners, glacially slow choreography and ridiculous stunts, all of which would have felt right at home in a forgettable Van Damme flick. By nodding to schlocky action cinema — which definitely includes Mortal Kombat (1995)— director Simon McQuoid and screenwriter Jeremy Slater are also making a statement: They know what not to do. That self-awareness ultimately makes it the best Mortal Kombat film yet.

This sequel is practically a point-by-point refutation of everything in "Uncaged Fury." McQuoid, Slater and crew made the action far more complex than what we've seen before in the franchise.…