…Try it again but cheaper. Matty gets to grips with a standalone sequel that has more in common with its predecessor than you’d think.

Despite flopping at the box office and failing to establish Thomas Ian Griffith as their in-house action hero, Excessive Force (1993) did strong enough business on tape to warrant New Line Cinema investing pocket change into a straight-to-video sequel. Outsourced to CineTel — who, alongside Nu Image, were New Line’s go-to supplier of such wares — the gloriously titled EXCESSIVE FORCE II: FORCE ON FORCE is a standalone with a different cast and, bar a few structural similarities, no connection to its predecessor whatsoever. The film does, though, exhibit a kinship insofar as it too was designed to showcase the talents of a star briefly tethered to the studio producing it, CineTel contract player Stacie Randall.

Cutting her teeth as part of the improv troupe at Disney’s Comedy Warehouse in Florida, Randall’s first film work had her flexing her chuckle muscles in Jeff Burr’s offbeat dramedy, Eddie Presley (1992). Burr subsequently hired Randall for Puppet Master 4 (1994) which, in turn, led to producer Charles Band recruiting her for a pair of additional follow-ups he was mounting in Romania, Trancers 4: Jack of Swords (1994) and Trancers 5: Sudden Deth (1994). Upon her return to the U.S., Randall caught the eye of CineTel bigwig Paul Hertzberg who signed her for: competent erotic thriller Dangerous Touch (1994); Tarantino ambulance chaser Teresa’s Tattoo (1994); dud comedy Dream a Little Dream 2 (1995); Jim Wynorski’s fun third-quel Ghoulies IV (1994); a pair of nifty Wynorski romps spearheaded by the Chopping Mall (1986) helmer’s CineTel affiliated shingle Sunset Films International, Demolition High (1996) and The Assault (1996); and, of course, Excessive Force II — a just about watchable attempt to position Randall as Cynthia Rothrock’s heiress apparent (note the Rothrock-esque haircut on the key art). 

Seemingly a slouch job for Mark Sevi, Excessive Force II appears to have been assembled with scraps left from the CineTel regular’s script for Dead On: Relentless II (1992). However, where Relentless II delights and surprises, the bulk of Excessive Force II’s story — freelance investigator Randall’s one-woman-takedown of a hit squad — is slack and unfocused. Several strands can be summed up as “stuff that happens”, and the good is hindered by indifferent performances. The original Excessive Force wasn’t Shakespeare but masked its narrative flaws with a game ensemble. Save for the enthusiastic Randall — rightly going out of her way to impress — Excessive Force II is populated by walking, talking pots of beige paint.

As with its progenitor, Excessive Force II is directed by a Roger Corman graduate, Jonathan Winfrey (New Crime City (1994), Black Scorpion (1995)). In a further instance of behind-the-scenes overlap, Winfrey, like Jon Hess before him, struggles to capture the film’s martial arts (choreographed by Philip Tan and James Lew) with the necessary dramatic and emotive impact. Thankfully, he’s a dab hand with the gun-fu and unleashes a number of scenes that demonstrate a clear John Woo influence. The police station siege in particular is a real doozy — dynamic, tense, memorable.

Excessive Force II was released on North American cassette on 29th August 1995 (the same day as the Shannon Tweed Die Hard (1988) riff, No Contest (1995), and fellow in-name-only-sequel, Biohazard: The Alien Force (1994)) and fell into steady rotation on Cinemax six months later. New Line’s planned third film never materialised.

A shame…

The charismatic Randall could have easily shouldered a series.

USA ● 1995 ● Action ● 84mins

Stacie Randall, Dan Gauthier, Jay Patterson ● Dir. Jonathan Winfrey ● Wri. Mark Sevi