STAR RATING:*****Unmissable****Very Good***Okay**You Could Go Out For A Meal Instead*Avoid At All Costs
Corey Yeun,whose dayjob is a fight chereographer on the sets of various martial arts films,makes his second directing effort with this sequel to his 1985 original No Retreat No Surrender.Oddly,the plot to this sequel bears absolutely no resemblance to the original at all,with none of the original cast members returning either (including the ghost of Bruce Lee).That's no real problem,though,because a follow up to that ridiculously awful film probably wouldn't have been appreciated too greatly anyway.This is a film in an altogether different league,with a cast of martial artists in the leads.Loren Avedon is a little goofy in the lead but engaging enough,whilst Richard Norton alike Max Thayer adds good support.Cynthia Rothrock gets some nice lines here and there but she has serious problems with her delivery.And,finally,Matthias Hues is a video game villain ,right down to his 'hahaha' interludes,though quite credible.Running at as brisk a pace as the first,this is itself pretty damn stupid,but features some nice action and,if only seen once,passes muster.***
Corey Yeun,whose dayjob is a fight chereographer on the sets of various martial arts films,makes his second directing effort with this sequel to his 1985 original No Retreat No Surrender.Oddly,the plot to this sequel bears absolutely no resemblance to the original at all,with none of the original cast members returning either (including the ghost of Bruce Lee).That's no real problem,though,because a follow up to that ridiculously awful film probably wouldn't have been appreciated too greatly anyway.This is a film in an altogether different league,with a cast of martial artists in the leads.Loren Avedon is a little goofy in the lead but engaging enough,whilst Richard Norton alike Max Thayer adds good support.Cynthia Rothrock gets some nice lines here and there but she has serious problems with her delivery.And,finally,Matthias Hues is a video game villain ,right down to his 'hahaha' interludes,though quite credible.Running at as brisk a pace as the first,this is itself pretty damn stupid,but features some nice action and,if only seen once,passes muster.***