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Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
Rare earths have become a powerful political tool for China. But before that, one U.S. company monopolized the industry. We have the dramatic story of how America dominated the market for rare earths and then lost it all. I think about that almost every day of my life, Kenny. What could I have done differently? Listen to Planet Money on the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts.
The ultra-violent video game franchise Mortal Kombat has spun off into movies, comic books, a TV show, and more. Now the latest sequel brings back more of the unforgettable characters you might have grown up eviscerating. I'm Stephen Thompson. Joining me today on NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour is Jordan Morris.
He's a podcaster and co-writer of the Marvel Comics series The Amazing Spider-Man Spider-Versity. Hey, Jordan.
Hi. Just real quick, I... I told your producer that for this episode, I wanted to be introduced as Jordan Morris. Jordan Morris. Anyways, if you just want to take that again, or we can do it in post if you want to.
If anyone really starts to lose an argument in this conversation, I will, as host, be obligated to yell, finish him. Also with us is Ronald Young Jr. He's the host of the film and television review podcast, Leaving the Theater. Hey, Ronald. Hello, Stephen. I'm normal. So trying to summarize a movie like Mortal Kombat 2 can take you in some very different directions.
You could go on and on about the lore of the Outworld and the Earthrealm and the epic battles that determine who might rule various realms, which doesn't even begin to touch on the various fighters and their backstories and fighting styles.
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Chapter 2: What are the key elements of the Mortal Kombat II storyline?
But you could also sum up Mortal Kombat 2 in like three words. There is fighting. Because there is fighting. On top of fighting. On top of fighting with finishing moves that evoke memories of the Final Destination movies. The stakes for all of this very bloody fighting are extremely high. And also there's an amulet. Everyone wants the amulet.
As a movie franchise, Mortal Kombat was rebooted in 2021 when it became a pandemic-era streaming hit. So now we've got Mortal Kombat 2. which centers the action on Katana, a warrior princess played by Adeline Rudolph, and the washed-up action star Johnny Cage, played by Carl Urban. Listen, I'm warning you. I got a Saturn Award for Best Fight in a Featured Film, so don't mess with me.
So you've got your battles for the fate of the world, you've got your comic relief, you've got your spirit realms, and you've got so much fan service. The new film is in theaters now. Jordan, I'm going to start with you. What did you think of Mortal Kombat 2?
I regret to inform you that this movie absolutely whips butt and I loved every single second of it. I can see the poster now. Mortal Kombat 2 whips butt NPR. I am the target audience for this. The Mortal Kombat games were huge when I was a kid. I've played every version. I play them now. They're still cranking them out.
This is a collection of Easter eggs and references and music cues that I got, and I loved every second of it. I totally had a blast. If you haven't played the games or the games mean nothing to you, Should you see this movie? I would say probably not. I think if you're a huge martial arts fan, there's a lot of great fight choreography in this.
So if you love martial arts movies and your local indie theater is not showing an old Jackie Chan movie, I think this is a good option. But yeah, but I think this is the litmus test here. This movie features a zombie with a magic hat. When I say that, are you like, oh, cool? Or are you like, no, thanks. That's a pretty good indication as to whether or not you should see the movie.
Is the zombie with a magic hat a playable character?
Right. If you ask that. Yes, exactly. So, you know, I think you will know pretty quick as to whether or not this movie is for you. But I think if you're curious, I think if, you know, if you love seeing all your old buddies... Kung Lao and Shao Kahn, Katana and Baraka. If these names mean something to you, I think you're going to have a pretty good time in this movie.
All right. How about you, Ronald?
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Chapter 3: How does the film incorporate fan service for long-time fans?
And the other one is, you should have sent more guys.
Yeah.
So yeah, I think this movie gets what it is. I think that it is so similar to the Super Mario movie in a lot of ways, despite one of them having multiple decapitations.
When I say the gore is like Final Destination, there are some grisly kills in this movie.
Someone already dying and then further mutilating their body for no good reason other than it looks cool. Like Super Mario, when they set out to make this movie, they didn't ask themselves, but what if the Mortal Kombat games happened in real life? They asked, what are the fun things about these games and how can we put them on screen?
The logic of the Mario movie is so great because it's just like, Mario gets big when he gets a mushroom. We don't need to explain it. People know that. And this movie is just like, The guy shoots fire out of his hands because that's what the guy does. Because that's what that guy does. And all the kind of crazier stuff. You know, there's probably a bad studio note version where they go into the.
physiology of fire guys hands and stuff like that but it understands the game is fun because people shoot fire out of their hands so let's have that in the movie and yeah and that i think is the more fun choice i agree with you just a note about carl urban yes i've recently been watching a lot of him in the boys and i hate him so much as butcher and the boys hate him
Hate him to the point where I started to wonder, do I even like Carl Urban? And then watching this reminded me that he's acting and he's a fairly good actor as well. And I said fairly good tongue in cheek. I think he's a great actor. And I think watching him kind of endeared me to him a little bit more because I started to remember all of the other roles in which I liked him in.
I remember that he has a whole spectrum of roles. He's so fun in this film. He's very funny. They give him a lot to do. But the one drawback I would say is this movie seems to be confused about who the star of the movie is. At some point, I'm thinking, is this Katana's story or is this Johnny Cage's story? I mean, it's both. It kind of is.
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Chapter 4: What makes the fight choreography in Mortal Kombat II noteworthy?
Yes. We don't need to hear about Katana's daddy issues. She could be chopping off people's heads. Correct.
Why aren't you chopping off more heads, Katana?
Yeah.
Right. Spare me the emotional beats. A film like this is never going to get the emotional beats right. But I think it is very, very smart that they – leaven this film with a certain amount of silliness and that they leaven this film with a few jokes.
And I think the jokes are a little, I don't know if it was punched up at some point, but I think the jokes surrounding Johnny Cage generally work so much better than the extremely serious kind of stentorian dialogue about the fate of the universe. And so like, if anything, they could have gone a little silliness.
But when you talk about who's the star of this story, the star of the story, honestly, is the like little scorecard in the sky. Crocker. The star of the story is there, is fighting. Yeah.
It is so great to have Carl Urban here because he is a star. He is a good actor. He can deliver a joke. He is funny. I would say that most of the cast has been cast because of their martial arts skills and hotness. Sure. And that is a fine reason to cast somebody in a movie like this. I'm not... It is very fun to watch them fight and be hot. Yes, agreed.
But it is nice to have a Carl Urban there who can kind of, you know, deliver some of that expository dialogue. who can nail some of these jokes pretty hard. And serve as an audience surrogate. Of course.
Yeah, totally. Because really, he's just a guy. He's just a guy. He has martial arts training, but he doesn't have powers. He doesn't shoot flame from his fists. I had one more question that I wanted to ask y'all as you both have played Mortal Kombat, right?
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Chapter 5: How does Mortal Kombat II compare to its predecessor?
These games are about distance. That's key. That's key. But yeah, I will say I am a Johnny Cage guy. Baraka in Mortal Kombat 2, obviously. You know, maybe she doesn't get a ton to do in this. Always good to see Sonya Blade. Always good to see Sonya Blade.
How about you, Ronald? I'll keep it short. Scorpion, get over here all day. I remember I fell in love with Scorpion because one of my neighbors, I watched him play through the entire game, and he mastered the get over here. Started doing it to one with four arms whose name I never remember. Talking about Goro? Yes, Goro. I remember his get over here in Goro and beating the game.
It was amazing to watch. So Scorpion all day for me.
Nice. As I said, I have not really played the Mortal Kombat games. My trick in fighting games typically is to pick the kind of tankiest brute and then just like get in close and wail on people. That is kind of your button mashiest thing.
approach, and that is what has typically worked for me, unless I'm playing Super Smash Bros., in which case my tendency is to pick the most obscure character and then fall off of things. Good strategy. I like both strategies. That's why you fight on the ground.
Always keep them guessing.
The three of us, at some point in our lives, we live on separate coasts, but at some point, the three of us are going to get together and wail on each other in Mortal Kombat.
Heck yeah. Okay, we're going to meet at Lampost Pizza. What? Where I went after all my t-ball games.
In 1993. Can't wait.
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