Martial Law II: Undercover

Steven Segal, pony tail and all, stepped onto the scene somewhere around 1990-ish with Above the Law. About a year or so later Martial Law 2:Undercover comes out ... and I have to tell you a movie with more pony tails has never been made.

But this is not to knock the movie. Trust me there is lots to knock in this movie (like how the biker gang from the opening sequence intended to transport the guns they were trying to purchase back to their homes).

No, I am not going to knock this movie. Why? Because I love this movie. It is over-the-top, well produced (seriously, Kurt Anderson -- the director-- has got some of the best performances out of the cast, good fights, a good look and good editing), comical (both on purpose and not-so-on purpose in scenes).

The replacement of Wincott for Chad McQueen's character from part one gets a better fighter in the male lead (and in my opinion a more diverse actor).

But what is it about this movie that really sets it apart, outside of all the hair and even a yawn by one actor in a scene. It is the acting by uncredited (both on IMDb and in the final credits) as Danny Borelli. I don't know why or how this guy did it, but he plays perhaps the best recovering alcoholic in film history ... well maybe second best to Ray Milland. Don't take my word for it, watch this movie. Watch the way the Borelli character continues to be engaged in conversations and scenes when he is doesn't have lines (yes I realize as an actor that is his job ... but come on, how many actors actually follow through with their jobs.

Charles Taylor is credited for playing Borelli as well as Dobbs, but Dobbs is the character that Borelli was following, and while they list Borelli's wife in the end credits of the film, I did not see the actors' name for Borelli listed ...

One of the finest things on the disc was the introduction by Rothrock herself. I don't remember seeing something like that which can be considered a special feature or extra nowadays on a DVD or Blu Ray. Not sure where this was shown (on TV on other videos as a sort of trailer kind of things? Who knows?), but it is a nice curiosity.

The sound effects on the fights are classic and even when this does not display the best of the movies of that era, it's still decent enough. The change in the male leading role really helped and Cynthia is on her A-Game too. Of course you can ask yourself, why is no one shooting guns, especially when they are being almost used by the villains ... but there we go.

There are plenty of low budget martial arts flicks in the world, many of which are total embarrassments. Thankfully, this is not one of them. Martial Law II has a plot that's simple enough to be believable but also has a few bits of creativity thrown in to make it distinguishable but not stupid. Furthermore, the actors do a good enough job with their roles to make the viewer suspend their disbelief and care about what's happening. And, of course, there's plenty of fighting throughout the movie to make it fun. It's not a great movie, but considering the limited amount of stories one can do with this genre of films, it's pretty unique and makes for an entertaining watch on a Saturday afternoon.

Imagine a world wherein direct-to-video movies could be good on purpose; wherein the cast, director, and producers actually made an effort to match Hollywood; and wherein performers who had never been seen on theater screens matched the big-name action heroes of the day. Whether I'm romanticizing things or if such a time really existed is a matter of opinion, but it's plain fact that MARTIAL LAW II is a very good low budget martial arts feature, able to match the offerings that Van Damme, Seagal, and Norris were putting out at the time and still good nowadays.

The story: The star police team of Sean Thompson (Jeff Wincott) and Billie Blake (Cynthia Rothrock) is broken up just as an ambitious lord of the underworld (Paul Johansson) rises to prominence, killing a policeman in the process. The two will have to reunite undercover to unearth the crime and expose it with their lives intact.

At the time of this one's release, the only performer who was properly established in the action genre was Cynthia Rothrock, but surprisingly, this isn't really her vehicle. She gets her share of the action, but Jeff Wincott - making his action movie debut - is the one who really takes the helm in driving the story, showing excellent poise as both a legitimate leading man and an action hero. He's supplemented by a minor super group of performers also on their way to becoming B-movie dragons: in addition to Johannson as the lead villain, there's Evan Lurie, Leo Lee, and James Lew as respectively awesome henchmen and Billy Drago as a conflicted police captain forced to go straight. Nobody's really pressured into heavy acting, but I daresay everyone performs - physically and dramatically - to the best of their ability and to the extent their roles allow them.

The fight content really shines. Be warned, Hong Kong fans, none of it is overly flashy or terribly acrobatic - it's just good, solid western martial arts action with an emphasis on kicks and minimal gunfighting. It's hard to believe that this is the first karate film Jeff Wincott ever did, considering his proficiency in varied disciplines, including forms and weapons handling; his scene with his trademark batons is particularly vicious. A few of Cynthia Rothrock's fights seem like filler despite her stellar forms, but she's afforded at least one standout battle at the end with the ever-worthy James Lew. Evan Lurie gives possibly the best martial performance of his career when he takes on two huge bodyguards in a handicap match and gets to show off just how tough he really is. Of the 'round eight or nine fights, few of them are standout material on their own but, in a rare feat, manage to come together to create a fulfilling tapestry of hand-to-hand action.

The film's production values are deserving of praise as well. All too many times when I watch a modern DTV movie, I get the impression that the filmmakers or the studio are discouraged from presenting quality production on account of their movie's relatively low distribution. MARTIAL LAW II, on the other hand, seems to have been made with the mindset that, specifically because it wasn't bound for a theatrical release, it had to try all the harder to impress viewers with its good-as-Hollywood presentation. Even the VHS cover looks like it could belong to a theatrical movie. Therein, like most action films from this era, it's a bit superficial, but what were you expecting? The story's interesting enough to keep you interested as you await the next randori and the whole package is attractive enough to interest even viewers who haven't been weaned off of the big budget productions yet. Why this one hasn't gotten a Region 1 DVD release yet is beyond me.

The plot is nothing new (police corruption, a crime syndicate that uses a night club as a front, a cop investigating the death of his partner, etc.) but the fight scenes range from good to very good (the best one might be an illegal 2-on-1 that doesn't involve any of the leads). Maybe they can't match up to the best that Hong Kong has to offer, but they are choreographed in a way that showcases the fighters' power, speed and technique. My two main disappointments with this film are: 1) as already reported by another reviewer, VERY short final fight between Cynthia Rothrock and the female bodyguard (what a bummer!), and 2) no arch-villain role for the master of such roles, Billy Drago (he's just a corrupted police chief). (**)