Tiger Claws II (1996)

Tiger Claws II (1996)-* *

Directed by: J. Stephen Maunder

Starring: Jalal Merhi, Cynthia Rothrock, Bolo Yeung, Eric Lee, Han Soon Ong, and Evan Lurie













When evil arms dealer Victor (Lurie) joins forces with the sinister Chong (Bolo), presumably to start some kind of criminal empire, and people are found dead all over San Francisco, cops Linda (Rothrock) and Tarek (Merhi) want to get to the bottom of it. Also they are in a romantic relationship. Things get really complicated when Dai Lo Fu (Ong), using his Chinatown restaurant as cover, is staging underground martial arts contests - with a supernatural twist. Now, to get to the truth, Linda and Tarek must compete. Will any of this make any kind of sense?

Clearly the world was asking - nay - BEGGING for one more Tiger Claws movie. And there’s even a third one after this! This movie is a hodgepodge of half-baked ideas that make no sense. It feels like the filmmakers were just kind of flying by the seats of their respective pants and kind of making stuff up as they went along. Probably not a good idea, especially if your choice for the male hero is the unintelligble, mumbling, personality-less, unlikable Jalal Merhi. He looks like a Balki-era Bronson Pinchot crossed with Night of the Wilding-era Erik Estrada. One of the biggest plot flaws is why Cynthia Rothrock is in love with him. And the scene in which he must use his awesome martial arts prowess to “save” Cynthia Rothrock is just preposterous. It should have been the other way around.

We like Evan Lurie, especially after American Kickboxer 2 (1993), and he was a good choice for one of the villains. He is charismatic and perhaps a member of the Trenchcoat Mafia. How his illegal gun shipment has to do with a “secret passage” and a mystical prisoner (Lee) cannot be explained. Han Soo Ong, who we’ve seen in Last to Surrender (1999) and King of the Kickboxers (1990), we believe is Korean, so why is he the crime boss here?

The presumed Punchfighting sequences are just cash-ins for video games like Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat, and are just silly and nonsensical. Additionally, the film is filled with funny continuity errors and has that Canadian feel. And while Merhi isn’t quite as sucky as he was in Talons of the Eagle (1992) (which was written by director Maunder, as was TC 2000 (1993), as well as the other Tiger Claws movies and other Merhi vehicles - he must have really believed in the “Tiger Claws” concept, as well as Jalal Merhi, so his judgment is certainly in question), he’s no prince here either. Even Rothrock, who we love, can’t save this one.

Also check out our buddy DTVC's review! 

Comeuppance Review by: Brett and Ty

The King Of The Kickboxers (1990)

The King Of The Kickboxers (1990)-* * *

Directed by: Lucas Lowe

Starring: Loren Avedon, Richard Jaeckel, Don Stroud, Keith Cooke, Han Soo Ong, Jerry Trimble, Sherrie Rose, and Billy Blanks











In this Seasonal Films production, the insufferable Loren Avedon plays Jake Donahue, a New York City undercover cop with, you guessed it, a bad attitude, who, you guessed it, plays by his own rules. He is sent by his Captain, O’Day (Jaeckel) who is working with Interpol, to Thailand to bust up a snuff film ring. While there he meets up with his contact in the area, Anderson (Stroud) and mannish love interest Molly (Rose, who must have stretched every acting muscle in her body to pretend she actually was into Avedon). However, it seems Donahue has a history in Thailand, as his brother was murdered there by the mysterious  Khan (Blanks). Coincidentally, the nefarious Khan is the star of these films where the martial arts is so real, you die on impact. The producers of the films recruit young fighters from tournaments, promising them stardom, and when they get to the set, Khan kills them. So, seeing as Donahue is also a kickboxing man, he goes undercover as a naive punchfighter with stars in his eyes so he can get a shot at Khan and get revenge. The only problem is, he’s not as good as Khan, so Prang (Cooke) takes him under his wing and trains him. Will Donahue get the closure he seeks?

Loren Avedon in this movie is so annoyingly cocky, and so devoid of one ounce of humility, you actually, weirdly enough, like Billy Blanks more as the evil Khan. Sure, Khan is pure malevolence, but he’s secure in his total diabolical-ness and you love him for it. It’s a lot harder to get behind the weaselly Avedon as the main hero.

The plot aside, there is excellent fight choreography and some punishing blows. Fans of fast-paced, well-executed moves will find a lot to appreciate here. Richard Jaeckel plays the classic ‘yelling police captain’ with aplomb, and the husky-voiced Sherrie Rose of Maximum Force (1992) fame is a serviceable love interest who calls Avedon’s character “Jack”. Perhaps she wished he was someone else that badly. 

The Pauly Shore-like Cooke does a good job as the trainer of Donahue and has the patience of a saint. His sidekick, a lovable chimp, practically steals the movie. Cooke does have some awesome moves - also check him out in China O’Brien (1990). Billy Blanks is great as the big heavy. His bulging eyes and funny faces are present and accounted for. Jerry Trimble appears in the opening, prerequisite “abandoned warehouse” scene simply as “Drug Dealer”. Han Soo Ong, of Last to Surrender (1999) fame, who plays a local kickboxer, gets one of the best lines of the movie when he tells Donahue “You’ve never faced a real kickboxing”. Loren Avedon, with his jean jacket with fringed sleeves and fanny pack, is simply an unlikable jerk, but he does get some winners in the dialogue department, as well as some memorable yells. This movie overall could have been improved if the audience actually liked the hero.

The pure silliness of the whole outing comes to the fore at the final confrontation, when Avedon tops his previous ridiculous casual outfits with a formal getup that can only be described as an “elf jester” suit. When you see it, you’ll know what we mean.

Entertainingly insane, for a punchfighting mini-classic, check out King of the Kickboxers.

Comeuppance Review by: Ty and Brett

Last to Surrender (1999)

Last to Surrender (1999)-* * *

Directed by: David Mitchell

Starring: Roddy Piper and Han Soo Ong













Nick Ford (Piper) is a tough cop on the beat and on the edge. While working the mean streets of Seattle's Chinatown, he fails in his attempt to capture super-evil crime boss Tiger (Andy Yim). Ford is then reluctantly partnered with by-the-book Chinese cop Wu Yin (Ong). In the their tenacious quest to find the deadly Tiger, they fly to Burma and find themselves deeper in the culture and the danger than ever before.

Will they survive their many mishaps to bring down Tiger? More importantly, will they survive EACH OTHER?!

Roddy Piper as Ford is the type of cop who has an attitude but gets results. Piper strongly resembles Motley Crue's Vince Neil in this film. A trend in the movie industry seems to be "Team up Roddy Piper with someone with a different race and see what happens." see: Back In Action (1993), Tough and Deadly (1995), and now Last To Surrender. Sure, he calls Wu "Chinese Takeout", but he charms the audience's pants off with his million dollar smile.

Han Soo Ong as Yin is the opposite of Ford. He is polite, has patience, and sees Ford as a hard-headed stupid Yankee. You like him and want Wu to get along with Ford. A big chunk of the movie is set in the Burmese jungle and Yin and Ford are forced to get along in order to survive.

Last to Surrender has some entertaining humor that makes the movie more palatable. Piper gets some great lines. Some of which include "I hate oil" and "I hate tacos". He also gives a passionate defense for hot dogs. And let's not forget his infamous $92.00 jacket. Once the "Original Odd Couple" get to Burma, they meet Bong-Bong, a comic relief character as indicated by his name.

There is an interesting correlation between 'Surrender and the David Heavener vehicle Massacre (1985). Both deal with an angry white cop in the midst of Seattle's Chinatown. It would make an thought-provoking double feature.

Even though Last To Surrender was released on the cusp of the new millennium, in its spirit it is truly an old-school actioner to keep an eye out for.


Comeuppance Review by Brett and  Ty