Tiger Claws 2
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DVD Cover Information Actor: Bolo Yeung, Cynthia Rothrock, Evan Lurie, Jalal Merhi, Ong Soo Han Director: J. Stephen Maunder Producer: Jalal Merhi Writer: J. Stephen Maunder Producer: Anthony Mazzei Producer: Denise Mesko Producer: Kevin Ward Producer: Khaled Homaidan Writer: Andreas Kyprianou DVD: Region Code 1 Audio: English (Original Language) Format: Color, DVD, NTSC Picture Format: 1.33:1 DVD Release Date: 2000-12-01 Audience Rating: R (Restricted) Studio: Platinum Disc |
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Movie Reviews of Tiger Claws 2
Movie Review: "...a guy with dark hair ... and a lady with blonde hair, very beautiful"
Summary: 3 Stars
When the history of low-budget martial arts cinema is written, the "Tiger Claws" trilogy isn't going to rank strongly against the likes of the No Retreat, No Surrender series or the Kickboxer bunch when considering its thoroughly run-of-the-mill opener, its unaccountably weird finale, and this bridge of a middle act that mixes parts of both. That doesn't mean it ought to be ignored, though, if only for being a solid set of vehicles for Cynthia Rothrock, a fun little excursion for Bolo Yeung (who'd leave the series after this one), and pretty much the only starring films Jalal Merhi can watch and be proud of. That's pretty much what "Tiger Claws 2" is, as well as a rounded DTV karate outing...with some faults. Come, fans.
The story: when imprisoned martial arts serial killer Chong (Yeung, Bloodsport) is rescued en route to his trial by his brother Dai Lo Fu (Ong Soo Han, Bloodsport 2) - a crime lord and occult leader who's also employed a dangerous arms dealer (Evan Lurie, Hologram Man) - it's up to Tarek Richards (Jalal Merhi, Talons of the Eagle) and Linda Masterson (Cynthia Rothrock, Above the Law) to reunite and stop their plan to harness mystic powers...
In addition to the aforementioned names, the cast also boasts Eric Lee (Ring of Fire) as the thought-dead sensei of Chong and Dai Lo and Paul Rapovski (Extreme Challenge) as a main henchman, as well as about a dozen unnamed but thoroughly noteworthy fighters; making for a pretty sweet B-movie ensemble. The only problem here is that many of the performers aren't used to their full potential, in one way or another: on one hand, you've got plenty of character interaction between Bolo and Han, but they hardly fight (Han doesn't even have a single one-on-one match), and on the other hand, Cynthia Rothrock supplies some nice brawls but otherwise feels like a bit player in her own movie. Then there's Eric Lee, who not only doesn't get to fight but also has his voice dubbed the entire time. Geez.
When everybody does get to fight, though, it's good - sometimes very good - but you'll have to wait almost an hour into the movie to get beyond split-second encounters and down to the real martial arts fighting. Again, it's disappointing that Han, Lee, and Bolo don't get to show off their considerable talents much, but the remaining stars (and non-stars) really step to the plate to make up for this. The choreography trumps that of the first movie, with faster brawls, less restrictive editing, and a much greater variety of fighting styles represented. The last twenty minutes or so are an almost nonstop fight scene, featuring Cynthia taking on a tae kwon do fellow and a stick-wielding Paul Rapovski with a wooden bench while Jalal Merhi has a one-on-one fight with Evan Lurie that was better than anything I'd imagined Merhi capable of. Anybody with experience in flicks like these will know that "Beirut's Steven Seagal" was never Van Damme, but dangit if the showdown he has in here isn't a perfectly respectable one.
The introduction of supernatural elements as a plot point (Dai Lo's trying to take Evan Lurie's weapons back in time to do...something) comes as a really weird twist after the first movie was played as straight as it was, but when considering what Tiger Claws 3 turned out to be, I guess this is the friendly middle ground of the series. Production values are decent and there were enough subtle weirdo moments to make even the boring scenes a little interesting (e.g. to fool policemen, Chong masquerades as a french fry vendor and serves them frozen fries), but nevertheless, I still give my nod to the first installment of the trilogy above the others: its characters were better developed and it did a better job of balancing the story with the butt-kicking. Fans of the first ought to find this one worth the price, though, with Jalal Merhi followers in particular having reason to get excited.