Set two years after the first film in the series, this cheap and cheerfully brainless chop-socky adventure has all you'd ever want from a B-grade martial arts flick: a ton o' action, lots of hulking henchmen and other assorted goons, some painful emoting on the part of the unknown cast, and slick direction. The latter comes from Robert Clouse, the man who directed the first and also ENTER THE DRAGON in his heyday, and he still knows how to shoot a decent fight scene.
The plot is as insubstantial as it is unbelievable. China gets involved in a murderous plot by an escaped criminal, who we see at the beginning of the film bumping off all the people who took him down (my favourite death is the judge's, a hilarious magic-trick-gone-wrong jape). There are lots of stand-offs and various fight scenes until the massive climax, in which the massive gang of bad guys TAKE OVER THE WHOLE TOWN, leaving the heroes of the movie to take them on. That's the kind of climax I like! Imagine ASSAULT ON PRECINCT 13, except that the good guys leave the police station and beat the hell out of the baddies instead – that's what I love to see.
The central trio of martial artists return, very much unchanged, from the original film; hell, they even wear the same costumes! Rothrock kicks ass with relish and seems even more supple and athletic than before, performing lots of flips and gymnastic stunts in mid-air. Norton is the heavy-hitter who whacks the hell out of anybody who comes close, while Keith Cooke continues to channel the fighting spirit of Bruce Lee. Harlow Marks is another craggy villain, and lots of the henchmen from the first film return as more goons waiting to get beaten up. What's amazing is how many people (including Cooke) went on to star in MORTAL KOMBAT movies after making this flick anyway, I digress. Muscleman Billy Blanks also pops up as a badly-dressed '80s baddie who gets his ass whupped in an alleyway, although my favourite fight scene is between Rothrock and the Chinese guy with the Freddy Krueger gloves. Way to go! Sure, CHINA O'BRIEN II makes for lowbrow entertainment, of interest only to fans of B-grade action flicks who know exactly what they're getting themselves in for. I did, and I loved every minute; I can't help but feel that the time is ripe for a "twenty years later" third film in the trilogy, rounding up Rothrock, Cooke and Norton for a final slice of small-town ass-kicking. We can but dream.
The plot is as insubstantial as it is unbelievable. China gets involved in a murderous plot by an escaped criminal, who we see at the beginning of the film bumping off all the people who took him down (my favourite death is the judge's, a hilarious magic-trick-gone-wrong jape). There are lots of stand-offs and various fight scenes until the massive climax, in which the massive gang of bad guys TAKE OVER THE WHOLE TOWN, leaving the heroes of the movie to take them on. That's the kind of climax I like! Imagine ASSAULT ON PRECINCT 13, except that the good guys leave the police station and beat the hell out of the baddies instead – that's what I love to see.
The central trio of martial artists return, very much unchanged, from the original film; hell, they even wear the same costumes! Rothrock kicks ass with relish and seems even more supple and athletic than before, performing lots of flips and gymnastic stunts in mid-air. Norton is the heavy-hitter who whacks the hell out of anybody who comes close, while Keith Cooke continues to channel the fighting spirit of Bruce Lee. Harlow Marks is another craggy villain, and lots of the henchmen from the first film return as more goons waiting to get beaten up. What's amazing is how many people (including Cooke) went on to star in MORTAL KOMBAT movies after making this flick anyway, I digress. Muscleman Billy Blanks also pops up as a badly-dressed '80s baddie who gets his ass whupped in an alleyway, although my favourite fight scene is between Rothrock and the Chinese guy with the Freddy Krueger gloves. Way to go! Sure, CHINA O'BRIEN II makes for lowbrow entertainment, of interest only to fans of B-grade action flicks who know exactly what they're getting themselves in for. I did, and I loved every minute; I can't help but feel that the time is ripe for a "twenty years later" third film in the trilogy, rounding up Rothrock, Cooke and Norton for a final slice of small-town ass-kicking. We can but dream.