Author: Tony Ryan

Yu’s extravagant use of colour and innovative camera techniques are extremely pleasing, but in no way make up for the lack of depth missing from the rest of the film.

Dark cinematography, powerful scenes, politically incorrect humour and good fight choreography combine to make this an entertaining film, but one you are only likely to watch once.

Bernhardt puts in another solid performance, proving his abilities as a screen fighter with a certain charisma. Unfortunately, everything else is totally forgettable.

‘Bloodsport II’ is an improvement over its predecessor due to the greater quantity (and quality) of the action.

What puts it slightly above most is the charisma of a youthful Van Damme coupled with some decent action.

Recommended to all fans of Gary Daniels, and those who like their hands free action violent and acrobatic.

If, like me, you loved the 80’s action style of people like Yuen Kwai then this is a good purchase, as the fights stand up to repeat viewings even if the rest does not.

Part 2 showed some nicer choreography but was hindered by the MTV-style camera work, which has seemingly infected all action films of the past few years.

The action is still impressive, and deserves 4 stars, but the direction, annoying camera work and lack of real plot drag it down into the 3 star category.

The final reel of the film is pure energy and a masterful display of martial arts as Bruce goes one-on-one with the factory owner, showcasing some of the best action ever committed to celluloid at that time.

All in all, this film has little to recommend it unless you are a big Cynthia Rothrock fan.

A painfully generic kidnap/rescue flick with nothing in the plot or script to rise above most other straight to video fare.