The Liu Kang and Kung Lao showdown in Mortal Kombat II is the film's strongest sequence, a display of martial arts filmmaking that threads together stunt work, visual effects, and character stakes in ways the rest of the movie struggles to match. Max Huang, who plays the resurrected Revenant version of Kung Lao, and Ludi Lin, as Liu Kang, spend a full week of shooting transforming former best friends into bitter combatants, and the effort shows on screen.
What makes the fight sing is Kung Lao's razor-sharp hat. The weapon moves with such speed and precision that it registers almost as a third participant in the duel. Huang's control of the prop, the way he flows with it and against it simultaneously while trading blows with Lin, creates a visual rhythm that elevates the entire sequence above typical action fare.
Huang brought eight months of preparation to the role, including training sessions with an actual Shaolin monk to anchor his portrayal in authentic martial philosophy. The preparation reflected his philosophy that action scenes shouldn't be thought of as choreography at all. "It's actually the opposite and it's very spontaneous," he said in an interview. "It's very reactive out of the moment." Rather than fixate on predetermined movements, Huang focuses on finding what he calls "the truth of the moment," allowing the characters' emotional arc to drive the physical action rather than the reverse.
The hat work itself required Huang to internalize a specific approach to weaponry rooted in Chinese martial arts tradition. "The philosophy in Chinese martial arts is always to enhance the weapon as part of your body," he explained. "And I try to do the same with the hat. The approach was to bring it all together and make the hat become part of Kung Lao instead of being separate."
Before stepping in front of cameras in 2021, Huang studied Kung Lao's moveset in Mortal Kombat 11, isolating his five most iconic animations to capture the character's essence. That research paid dividends when it came time to film the climactic battle with Lin. The pair even used an iPhone to record themselves mid-rehearsal, comparing angles and framing to lock in the visual consistency of every strike.
Huang, who performed nearly all of his own stunts, described the week-long shoot as brutal. By day six, he found himself unable to get off the ground when called for the next take. The ordeal pales in comparison, though, to his decade with Jackie Chan's stunt team in China. "In China, we used to have sometimes 16-18 hour days of nonstop working," Huang recalled. "When I come to Hollywood, it's almost like a vacation."
The Liu Kang versus Kung Lao fight becomes the emotional centerpiece of the film, telling a story about betrayal and conflicting loyalties rather than simply stringing together fancy moves. "I'm more interested in the connection between the two characters and what it is about," Huang said. "What do we want to express?"
Kung Lao's journey doesn't end cleanly. Liu Kang uses the hat against its master, tearing the Revenant apart in appropriately graphic fashion, but Liu Kang's ascension to godhood comes with a promise to rescue his fallen friend from the afterlife. Given the franchise's established lore, Huang's character will almost certainly return for Mortal Kombat III.
Looking ahead, Huang and Lin have been discussing an ambitious spinoff idea: a Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks film based on the 2005 video game of the same name. The project would center on the two characters' origins, their training under Bo'Rai Cho at the White Lotus, and their early battles against Outworld forces. "The lore of Mortal Kombat is huge," Huang said. "It would be great to see those two characters' origins and how they were raised."
After delivering what Huang himself called "the fight of my life," the actor's pitch for a deeper dive into Liu Kang and Kung Lao's backstory carries real weight. If the studio is paying attention, a Shaolin Monks film isn't far-fetched.
Author Emily Chen: "Huang proved the hat isn't just the best weapon in Mortal Kombat, it's a storytelling device, and he's earned the right to explore what came before."
Comments