The first „Tiger Claws" was one of those charming straight-to-video flicks that somehow captured the essence of 90's straight-to-video flicks; it was cheesy, it was fun, it had a hammy atmosphere, good choreography and must importantly, it had Bolo. Bolo had made dozens of Hong Kong kung fu films, worth watching just by the sheer virtue of him being there. Look no further than "Bloodsport" – had Bolo not been the antagonist, Jean-Claude Van Damme would probably be living in Belgium today, working at some martial art school and enjoying some "Geuse"-beer after work.Personally, I was looking forward to see a sequel to "Tiger Claws", expecting a straight sequel to "Tiger Claws": perhaps martial arts serial killer Chong (Bolo Yeung) having escaped prison, and cops Tarek (Jalal Merhi) and Linda (Cynthia Rothrock) having to return or finally disposed of him. Wrong expectations: Chong has indeed out of jail, or rather; a kingpin has his henchmen kidnap Chong. However, (for some illogic reason that is never explained) prison has turned Chong from maniac killer to good-guy and soon Chong joins forces with his former opponents."Chong is an honourable man", Tarek muses at one point, oblivious to the fact that Chong is a serial murderer, who prior had not only killed Tareks partner but also a score of other people. The plot then takes a twist, revolving around "Bloodsport"-like martial arts competition, time-travel and mystic hokum.Around the final quarter of the film, Bolo puts on a hood over his head; apparently a body-double takes over in the last few scenes. He never reappears nor is his leaving explained but with him went the sole reason to watch this hotchpotch in the first place. As a wise Shaolin monk once told me: "a film featuring a good-Bolo isn't half as good as a movie having a bad-Bolo, but it beats not starring Bolo at all.Sadder even, with the exceptions of "Blizhniy Boy" (which I'm not even sure has been released, never having met anybody who had seen this film), "Tiger Claws 2" would remain Bolo's final screen appearance.In the end, the film has none of the redeeming qualities of the original, being simply too lame, too fragmented, not even a "so bad it's good"-film like, for example, "Undefeatable". There's one reason to watch this film and that's the final screen appearance of Bolo Yeung, so, if you still feel tempted to push "Tiger Claws 2" into your video-player, do it – just don't say I didn't warn you.

Why weird, you ask? Well, consider these points: 1) It's called "Tiger Claws II", but the Tiger style is barely used in it.2) The first movie was a "track down the serial killer" story, this is more of an "underground martial arts tournament" story.3) Bolo Yeung is now - get this - a good guy! In the film's most laughable line, he is referred to by Jalal Merhi as an "honorable man"! I guess Merhi has gotten over the fact that several innocent people - including his best friend - were killed by Bolo in the first "Tiger Claws". 4) Cynthia Rothrock (who looks very good for 41) has virtually no action scenes until the 50-minute mark, but does get a couple of good fights near the end.5) There some half-explained sci-fi elements, including time-traveling.Two more points: the production values are slicker than those of most DTV action sequels, and Evan Lurie, playing one of the bad guys, has a kind of slimy charisma, as opposed to the lead Merhi, who has none at all. (**)

There is only one scenario where you should watch "Tiger Claws II".You are on an airplane which crashes in the South Pacific. The only survivor, you swim to a nearby deserted island. You learn to eke out an existence on this island by eating tropical fruit and spearing small boars in the jungle. A monkey becomes your only friend, but every night it hurls feces at you from a tree and chatters annoyingly. And it doesn't just hurl its own feces, it actually gathers the feces of other animals and throws that at you too. This goes on every night for 15 years.One evening you are exploring and find a cave. Entering the cave, to your surprise, you find a TV, VCR, and generator. You pull the cord on the generator and again surprised, it starts. You plug the TV and VCR in, but unfortunately the only movie is an old copy of "Tiger Claws II". You wonder whether to spend another evening with the monkey, or watch the movie.This is the only scenario where you should watch "Tiger Claws II".

I got this movie from the video store simply because it had Bolo Yeung in it. And he is as big and powerful as ever. But he has toned down his cruelty level, and plays a calm introspective type.Don't let that fool you though. There are plenty of fight scenes in this movie, and lots of big name, and simply big martial artists. Also as a big plus, someone apparently taught Cynthia Rothrock how to stage fight without missing the person by two feet, although sadly she still doesn't know how to act without being annoying.Oh BTW toward the end of the movie there are scenes of cinematic Kung Fu. Portals through time, paralyzing touch etc. But it all works out into a fun martial arts movie. Just don't go looking for plot.