This sequel began in a much more tame situation than the first film, however, it quickly depicted Chuck Norris’ Colonel Scott McCoy as a badass like he was shown early on in the first film. What was nice about this film was the fact that McCoy actually remained in the film from beginning to end, rather than have nearly forty-five minutes void of the main character. I thought Chuck Norris looked much older than in the first film, and considering that this film took place only four years after the first, I found that oddly interesting. The acting in this film wasn’t great, however, it was certainly better than the first. I thought this story was far more appealing than the first; it consisted of a brutal antagonist that was willing to do anything to anyone to prove how bad he was. Billy Drago’s Ramon Cota was a significant step in the right direction in terms of presenting the audience with a big bad rather than someone who was clearly sympathetic toward certain individuals. Cota was, however, incredibly strange; his tone of voice, his facial expressions and his mannerisms were completely odd, but they somehow worked in his favor. This film had much more action and far more scenes with Chuck Norris actually fighting than in its predecessor (which seems only necessary considering the fact that he is a world karate champion). I was impressed with how Norris’ brother, Aaron Norris, took the reins from previous director, Menahem Golan, and moved the story, the acting and the film as a whole in the right direction. My biggest issue with the entire film was the fact that every man in this film is portrayed as an “alpha male.” This fact constantly gets people in trouble with one another, forces the hand of the protagonists and ultimately leads to some rather corny scenes in the film. This film, as a standalone film, probably would have been less than adequate as far as my standards are concerned, however, being the sequel to such a horrendous film made this film pop and at least appear to be acceptable. While I enjoyed most of the film, it ended on an odd note. As McCoy and Cota exchanged final words and their time together came to a close, the film cut to the end credits before the characters were even off screen. Overall, the film was an improvement from the last and I appreciated most of what was done. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0099399/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1
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