Strike Commando 2 (1988) * (out of 4)Here's another ultra-cheap action picture from Bruno Mattei. This time out, Michael Ransom (Brent Huff) must go into the jungles of Vietnam as his old squad leader is being held ransom. Once there the kidnappers are demanding some priceless diamonds for his return but Ransom has his own way of dealing with things.Once again we are treated to another awful film from the one and only Bruno Mattei who has pretty much become a legend to bad movie fans because of his willingness to do whatever it takes to make something unoriginal. The first STRIKE COMMANDO was a really bad film but it did offer up a lot of bad action scenes and explosions. That stuff happens, to a lesser degree, here as well but this film also plays the Mattei game of ripping off other movies. RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARC, LETHAL WEAPON and RAMBO II are just some of the films that get ripped off here.I must admit that I was a little shocked to see a lot more dialogue and story here compared to the first film but I'm going to guess that the budget got slashed before the production started. I say that because the first film was mostly action but that's not the case here as the action doesn't really start until the finale. With that said, I must admit that I enjoyed this one here slightly more than the first because the dubbing was so bad that you couldn't help but laugh at some of the dialogue and the way it was delivered.Huff flexes his muscles throughout but the real shock to the cast is Richard Harris. I was shocked to see him in a film from Mattei and what's stranger is that he isn't just in a walk-on part but instead he appears throughout the movie in a rather large part. Perhaps the action scenes budget was cut to give more money to Harris? Who knows but STRIKE COMMANDO 2 is pretty much what you'd expect it to be.

Well, I would have hoped a director as mighty as Bruno Mattei might be one to break the curse of inferior sequels. Sadly not, but he does his best here with the odds stacked against him. This time around he doesn't have the incomparable Reb Brown, massive amounts of firepower and corresponding bodycount nor hysterical emoting, and his various "inspirations", tend to be lighter (Raiders of the Lost Ark, Romancing the Stone, Lethal Weapon as well as Rambo 2 and other jungle actioners), so really the ultimate product was bound to be flawed, and it is, but it still pretty much rocks so its all good. Brent Huff takes over the Mike Ransom role, and while he lacks the stately magnificence of Reb Brown does a solid job, a smart, rough and tumble tough guy who can come into his own when the going gets hard. Mary Stavin plays a bar owning partner and love interest of sorts, bold, brassy, badass and not to mention beautiful she proves an ideal counterweight to the macho end of the scale. Italian schlock regulars Massimo Vanni and Ottaviano dell'Acqua (Rats: Night of Terror) appear as well, but the most plaudits go to the great Richard Harris. The cosmos only knows what strange wheels turned to put Richard Harris in a Bruno Mattei film but he gives it his all, a turn of authority and dignity forged in total commitment, he plays the material as if it were Oscar worthy and the effect his marvellous, his scenes tremendously entertaining. The star power can't entirely distract from the fact that the film is a bit too light hearted, and doesn't have quite enough action, explosions, wannabe gruelling violence or deranged tilts at pathos to be truly great, there are certainly classy bits (often involving useless ninjas) but overall there's a slightly underpowered feel to things. Still, I can't say as this isn't pretty solid entertainment. You'll laugh, you'll roll your eyes, you may in some small moments feel your pulse start to quicken but most importantly, you'll likely won't feel bored. So worth a watch for fans of this sort of thing.

Vietnam vet Michael Ransom (Brent Huff) is sent by the US Government into Burma to save his old commander (Richard Harris). He is ordered to pay a ransom (ha!) of $10 million dollars in diamonds. Naturally, he encounters trouble along the way. At first glance this Bruno Mattei flick might merely appear to be a RAMBO clone. But Mattei is no fool as he shamelessly rips off RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK and ROMANCING THE STONE in this one. No joke, Mattei lifts the drinking scene and truck chase nearly frame-by-frame from RAIDERS.Of course, if you enjoy this type of stuff like I do than you are in for a treat. Brent Huff is no match for Reb Brown in the role of Michael Ransom but he does well enough. And your eyes are not betraying you when you see noted thespian Richard Harris in this as the commander. I guess he wanted to star in something that made ORCA look credible on his resume. Female lead Mary Stavin is quite attractive, especially when she sneaks into the camp in a black wig. For some odd reason, Mattei decided to give this film a soundtrack like THE STING, which only enhances the comedy (the unintentional stuff, not the stuff they want you to laugh at).

Brent Huff takes over the role of Michael Ransom, formerly played by Reb Brown, in this light hearted sequel to the original film. It's basically more of the same i.e BIG and beautiful explosions (a staple in Bruno Mattei action flicks), lots of macho posturing, our hero screaming his lungs out whenever he fires off a few rounds from his favoured M-60 and especially in the case of the film in question, some absolutely awful and inappropriate 'comedy' music! In fact, as regards the comedic value, the film plays out more overtly like a deliberate comedy throughout than its prequel which seemed to start out with serious intention before descending into an out and out hilarious laugh fest (with some possible debate as to if it was entirely intentional or not)Added to the mix this time around we have a sadistic panama wearing Russian who has a curious predilection to garrote his victims, a small army of ninja (!) and the presence of Richard Harris (!!!!) – Yes THE Richard Harris! It's a real credit to him that even considering the material he found himself lumbered with here he still gives a great performance without hamming it up and actually lends a touch of genuine class to a film that certainly doesn't deserve it. This is not to say that the film is bad however, far from it, for although this is a HUGELY derivative movie (more about this in a moment) it's certainly never dull and more than achieves what it sets out to accomplish i.e simply to entertain.Now, as to the aforementioned derivative nature of this, well put it this way, whilst these films are very usually shall we say politely, 'heavily influenced' by bigger budgeted American fodder, the movie in question, directly rips off amongst the most scenes (scene for scene) from other films that I think I have ever ever witnessed. As examples, obviously Rambo being a big influence here, we have a few direct re-enactments of moments from that movie in addition to and more shockingly, a number of scenes directly from Lethal Weapon including the electrocution torture scene and the staff/tonfa combat climatic fight sequence. Hell, there's even the drinking game from Raiders Of The Lost Ark lifted here! When I say 'lifted' I really do mean DIRECTLY lifted! For instance, in the previously mentioned Lethal Weapon torture scene, even the exact method of our hero's escape is copied i.e. by breaking his tormentor's neck with his legs!Back to the more positive points of the movie now though, there's some great stunt work on display throughout the film and the action sequences are competently handled (although the final showdown being so obviously sped up does come across as odd to say the very least)I particularly liked the macho slow mo shots of our man firing off his weapon towards the end of the film with the obligatory close ups of the spent rounds flying out and bouncing onto the floor whilst our hero hollers at the top of his lungs – cool stuff!I must say that overall, for me at least, this movie wasn't nearly as much fun as the original but that I would still nonetheless recommend it as well worth a watch if you wish to see a lighthearted take on the genre.Now, any chance of Strike Commando 3 Mr. Mattei?