Previewed heavily in 'Impact' magazine, 'U.S. Seals 2' had all the makings of another underground action classic in the mould of films like 'Drive' and 'Wicked Game'.  With Jackie Chan stunt group member Andy Cheng attached for the fight choreography (and also starring) the stage was set for some high octane, quality kung fu fights that would once again set the B-movie market aflame.

Casey Sheppard (Worth) and Frank Ratcliffe (Chapa) are two of finest Navy Seals in the outfit and also close friends.  That is until Ratcliffe decides to follow the dark side and set up camp in an abandoned Russian nuclear missile base that just so happens to have some handy leftovers lying around.  Unsurprisingly, Sheppard is the first to offer his services to bring in Ratcliffe but there is one small problem; the base is filled with methane gas and the slightest gunshot or spark would light up the whole place so it's a strictly covert operation only.  Therefore, fighting skills are the order of the day and Sheppard recruits some of the toughest guys and gals he knows to assist him in his mission.  Now it's up to our would-be band of heroes to whip up a storm and save the day!

'U.S. Seals 2' could so easily have lived up to expectations if only they had made the martial arts the major focal point!  With the obvious lack of an all star cast and some ropey scripting, the best the production team could have hoped for was 90 minutes of hardcore action but there is an abundance of cheese to wade through before you get to the good stuff.  Director Isaac Florentine (previously responsible for the under-par 'Savate') disappointingly fills the screen time with almost 45 minutes of dull, unoriginal plot points until the first hint of action steadily creeps in but luckily, when it comes, it is worth the wait.  Andy Cheng has clearly learnt his craft from the master and every punch or kick is bone-crunchingly effective with equally impressive combinations that create slickly pasted together fight sequences.  With the likes of Cheng himself and Sophia Crawford performing these manoeuvres you can be sure that you get enough bite for your buck with the only real letdown being the fact that there are only two main brawls that are far too short-lived for my tastes.

'U.S. Seals 2' is at times bogged down by a truly awful script, dire acting and unintentionally laughable characters but thankfully Andy Cheng is at hand to provide the viewer with some impressive feats of kung fu.  Without these it surely would have been easily bypassed but they alone earn the film a hearty 3 stars and make it a worthwhile watch.