Johnny ****ing Cage is the real reason to see this sequel.

I’m pretty sure I’ve mentioned in my review of the first “Mortal Kombat” reboot that I’ve never played the game before, but have acknowledged that it was the first video game series to get the “M” rating. And fans were pleased that the latest film adaptation got the R-rating, especially when there is a lot of carnage. And I’m sure they’re continuing to flip off Eli Roth’s stinky PG-13 take on “Borderlands.”

I didn’t care for the first movie, even though I still eat up the Australian mercenary Kano’s (Josh Lawson) joke: “Do I sound Russian to you, you ****ing idiot.” Read my review and you’ll know why. But I must admit that the sequel “Mortal Kombat II” is a lot more fun, especially when Karl Urban plays the former action movie star Johnny Cage. His movies allow him to put on his sunglasses, having his middle finger make sure they stay on, clinch his fists, and let the stuntmen do all the fighting. But when he’s recruited by Sonya Blade (Jessica McNamee), Jax (Mehcad Brooks), Liu Kang (Ludi Lin), and Lord Raiden (Tadanobu Asano) to save Earth from the evil Shao Kahn (Martyn Ford), you bet your bottom dollar he wants out.

There’s also the friendship between Shao Kahn’s adoptive daughter Kitana (Adeline Randolph) and her friend Jade (Tati Gabrielle) being tested by the former helping out the heroes win the fight and the latter following those obligatory oaths. You know how these things work.

And the villain also has an amulet that makes him immortal, and finding and destroying it would be the good guys’ best chance. Although I’m not sure throwing it in lava would work. I guess it has to take a certain kind of force to destroy it.

Ever since “A Minecraft Movie” has turned kids and teens destructive in the theaters, I’ve been curious about how video games fans have been behaving. “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie” had some clapping at the Easter eggs, although at my screening, there were security guards wandering the theater. And at the fan screening for “Mortal Kombat II,” there were some clapping for the iconic characters and their fighting and there was an obnoxious lady complaining that the concessions were all out of the special promotional cups. But beyond that, these fans were quite mature, especially when the sequel is R-rated.

Never playing the game and being skeptical about video game movies (I know I suck), I was bored by some of the fight scenes, which have to play like video game levels. Some of them can have two opponents fighting each other. But there are some fights that are campy and gruesomely fun. And fans are guaranteed to feel disgusted.

The best fight in this movie regards Johnny fighting a teeth monster of sorts, which kind of reminds me of a better version of Dwayne Johnson and his rivalry with Krampus in the awful “Red One.” This moment has a better attitude with a “Guardians of the Galaxy” spirit, and Urban handles it with the levity and image. I also appreciated the supporting work from Randolph and Gabrielle, who try to overcome whatever tropes the sequel throws at them. And Lawson still provides the much needed wisecracks as Kano, who is resurrected by the bad guys after Sonya killed him in the last movie. And he has a new eye, one that shoots lasers.

“Mortal Kombat II” is a video game sequel that has a better attitude than “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie.” And at the very least, it’s trying to tell a story and doesn’t rush into things. In fact, it may have learned something from harsh critics like myself. Now, consider this a flawless victory.