Wham, bang, thank you, ma’am — Matty surrenders to the lively, scrappy charm of Cynthia Rothrock’s final pairing with Rapi Films and director David Worth.

The third and final Cynthia Rothrock flick made during Indonesian outfit Rapi Film’s dalliance with American-style action, LADY DRAGON 2 doesn’t follow the original. Unconnected besides the name (because branding, baby!) the film’s standalone credentials are accentuated by its British retitling. Issued by Medusa/Columbia-TriStar on 13th May 1993, Lady Dragon 2 was christened ‘Angel of Fury’ for the U.K. market; a brilliantly chaotic bit of fuckery, what with that being the name of the first Rothrock/Rapi epic (which, to add to the convolution, we got it on tape as ‘Triple Cross’). 

Now, with the actual Angel of Fury and Lady Dragon 1.0 in mind, Lady Dragon 2 is a cheap and tacky endeavour even by their unflinchingly impoverished standards. However, despite its production values and technical prowess equalling corporate video territory in terms of conventionally ‘good’ filmmaking, this diverting fake-quel is a blast. A propulsive and highly energetic experience, returning helmer David Worth flings the camera around like a maniac, trundling over the shortcomings — fake-looking props, grubby locations, extras gawping straight down the lens — with a dynamism that’d have Universal era Sam Raimi green with envy. Splash panel compositions explode across the screen, and the gratuitous delivery of everything from dialogue to violence is joyous. Interestingly, Worth would employ an identical approach for his infamous creature feature, Shark Attack 3: Megalodon (2002), just under a decade later. 

Essentially a bubbling gumbo of grin-inducing ‘moments’, Lady Dragon 2 features: a fabulous, hospital-based nightmare sequence; an ace, horror-tinged set piece involving an exhumed corpse and impeccable use of the term “dick-face”; a twitchy and tense finale in a spark slathered steel mill; and the same kind of devil-may-care, kamikaze stunt work found in the Rapi action capers that bookend it — a five picture run rounded out by Sam Firstenberg’s Blood Warriors (1993) and Robert Chappell’s Without Mercy (1995). Though reduced in quantity, Lady Dragon 2’s scenes of martial arts mayhem — the peak being a brawl in a mirrored lift — remain exhilarating. But what else would you expect from the man behind Bloodsport (1988) and Kickboxer (1989)? I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Worth knows how to present his arse-whuppers — roster: Van Damme, Michael Dudikoff, and Daniel Bernhardt — and their movesets for maximum effect. And across both Lady Dragon flicks, Rothrock is showcased with the most might of the lot. 

Sadly, here Rothrock is done dirty in the drama department. Penned by the mysterious Clifford Mohr — who, as mentioned in my Lady Dragon notes, is probably a pseudonym of Worth’s — the mechanical plot sees Rothrock’s prizefighter cutting a bloody trail of vengeance through Jakarta after she’s brutally raped and her soccer star hubby viciously slaughtered. The cat n’ mouse dynamic between Rothrock and the film’s big bad (Billy Drago, in full sleaze mode) is amusing; the emotional impact non-existent. There’s an arms’ length vibe to Lady Dragon 2 and it often feels like we’re simply gazing into a Petri dish. Thankfully, Drago and Sam Jones — as the perennial villain’s cackling hunk o’ muscle — are wholly in step with Worth’s comic book pomp and light up the screen with their boo-hiss panto shtick.

Indonesia ● 1993 ● Action ● 92mins

Cynthia Rothrock, Billy Drago, Sam Jones ● Dir. David Worth ● Wri. Clifford Mohr