Lady Dragon 2: A Revanche Final

This could have been one of the best Cynthia US American movie if the fight between Rothrock and that fat thug was better and if there was a fight between billy drago and Cynthia at the end of the movie.Lady dragon 2 has nothing new to offer: has the same story like the first movie with rothrock seeking revenge for the killing of her husband.she uses her martial arts knowledge for killing the bad guys.this movie is improved instead of the first lady dragon movie because the chief villain:billy dragon played much better than Richard Norton,the fight scenes were better and is a lil' bit thriller in some moments.the fight from the elevator was so sexy and rough.Cynthia is very convincing as tough woman who is seeking for revenge.so in my opinion it was a pretty good movie.enjoy

It's nice to see a bit of consistency: screenwriter Clifford Mohr returns from this film's unrelated predecessor (seemingly his only two credits), as well as director David Worth (who also helmed the profoundly regrettable 1996 slog 'American Tigers'), and composer Jim West, whose score is broadly unremarkable but genuinely enjoyable, such as it is (sounding in no small part like music that could have been composed for an RPG on the Super Nintendo). Less nice is jumbled and unconvincing early exposition that feels disjointed and disorderly as written and shot, failing to meaningfully convey the underpinnings of the narrative, or the acts of violence noted in any basic premise (which seem to follow 1920s' censorial rules for exhibiting assault of any kind). At the same time, for as long as the film takes early on to spotlight the antagonists' torment of protagonist Susan and especially her husband, all that's missing to give this a minor slant of an exploitation flick is visceral depiction, and blood and gore.

While 1992's 'Lady Dragon' was a blunt, over the top, ridiculous romp, and a lot of fun, the narrative in this 1993 sequel feels like it consciously strips away the bombast in an effort to be darker and more serious. The discrepancy is bewildering, yet there's nothing inherently wrong with that - though it's a lot harder to enjoy oneself when the overtones are as unmistakably grim as they are here. That holds true even more when plot development is flimsy and flagging, and quickly threatens to break suspension of disbelief with the advancement from A to B and even in the basic essence of some story beats. The pace is distinctly sluggish, dampening much of the potential 'Lady Dragon 2' could feasibly claim, and the cast's performances are similarly restrained and dulled (even as Billy Drago is notably hamming up his portrayal of villain Diego). While I'm not familiar with others on hand, I've seen Drago and star Cynthia Rothrock before and know they're capable, so I assume it's some combination of Mohr's screenplay and Worth's guiding hand as director that force them into an uninteresting corner. This presents us with a perplexing peculiarity, however, since - again - 'Lady Dragon' was very entertaining; what happened between production schedules to make 'Lady Dragon 2' so much lesser a creation?

Moreover, the story isn't just shaky, but emphatically conventional, and tired. Characters are flat, dialogue is rather bland, and the scene writing tends to be merely serviceable. This 1993 feature broadly retains the forthrightness of its antecedent - and is arguably even more direct - but that's simply not an approach that works when the title is pointedly sober and humorless. I suppose it's possible that this was intended as a parody so forcefully deadpan as to come out the other end seeming like a flopping, earnest action thriller, but I really don't think that was the case. Even if it were, again the issue presents of whiplash between 1992 and 1993.

With the tenor 'Lady Dragon 2' strikes, one more concrete criticism is absolutely necessary. Given the opportunity to act, Rothrock is quite suitable in that capacity. Her great strength, however, is 100% in the showcase of her martial arts skills. Her best films are those that build on that strength at their core, while her worst films are almost uniformly those that shift these honored disciplines to a distant second place in priority, or lower. This title is far from bereft, and the instances we do get are a good time, yet despite what marketing and promotional material would have one believe, martial arts are not nearly as central to the story as they are made out to be. To be sure, action and stunts look great; it would be wrong to say 'Lady Dragon 2' is no fun at all. But it's also not nearly as engaging as it could have been.

I'm a bit befuddled. This picture and its elder aren't the only instance in Rothrock's considerable oeuvre in which a couple features have shared names, if not also plot elements and/or cast or crew, but one is assuredly better than the other. I think there are a lot of great ideas here, and the climax is certainly the most well written and orchestrated part of the movie in every single way. Yet with minimal exception, all the aspects that make these flicks such a blast when they're done well are diminished, reduced, hamstrung, or all but absent. It's still entertaining, but is only a shade of its predecessor, or of many of its brethren. When all is said and done 'Lady Dragon 2' is modestly worthwhile if you chance upon it, though it's far from essential, and one should keep their expectations in check.

Most recommendable for utmost fans of Cynthia Rothrock, and for passing the time on a lazy afternoon.

I actually don't know the length of this film. It is a very poor one, and the tale of death, rape and revenge by the widow has been told so many times, both in major, and cult movies!... This film has two outstanding elements, though, that make it mandatory viewing for fans of Cynthia Rothrock: herself, playing her character to the hilt, despite she's surrounded by mainly C-grade professionals; and the most violent, well played, well filmed 3 minutes of women karate you possibly can have. Ring action is interspersed with the credit titles, and apparently non-related scenes - however, important to understand the following dramatic events. Therefore, you feel as if the actual ring time is longer than it is, and therefore adding to the strong, powerful scenes of karate - excellently played by sportswoman Cynthia and, no doubt, an Eastern black belt who has never been seen in movies before, or after - at least under that name.

I like American martial arts B movies. I am a big fan of Cynthia Rothrock, even if people say her American stuff is bad, some movie where really good for me, enjoy them a lot, like China O'Brien, Rage and Honor, the original Lady Dragon and others, i like this type of B action movies. But here, im sorry but this is uber crap from the get go. David Worth... its the guy that directed Kickboxer? How come he could do something like this? I mean OK he may not be the story writer but still... This is bad from the get go, the plot is stupid, the bad guys are bad caricature of villains, the music is probably the worst of them all, its a track that would fit to an old 60s horror movie... not a martial art movie of the 90s...

A couple fight of Cynthia let me give it a 4... but damn i can't believe this is name after LADY DRAGON, the first one was a good movie, i loved it, even if it was cliché American kickboxing style movie, but thats what i like, but even for me, this is too much.

I saw this movie on sale on ebay for like 50$ cause i guess its rare... yeah im glad i paid only 10 bucks, cause the seller didn't had the cover... i would had been so angry if i paid 50 for that... Cynthia is awesome, David Worth did kickboxer and even another movie i really liked... Honor. But this... is pretty bad... Man even Billy Drago i enjoyed him in other works like Demon Hunter, Charmed, and a few other movies, but in this... his character is so bad... Im sorry but EPIC FAIL for this one.

This has to be one of the most spectacular cases of aiming high and missing by a mile.

In the early 90s, a slew of actors tried to break into action stardom in the post-Cannon movie world. Among hopefuls like of Daniel Bernhardt, Thomas Ian Griffith, Jeff Speakman, Jeff Wincott, Oliver Gruner, Gary Daniels and others, there was a lone female martial artist: Cynthia Rothrock. After some Hong Kong movies with amazing stunts, her American films were notable for much less impressive stuntwork, low production value and lots of cheese (like the meme final fight in Undefeated). Her early American films were usually low budget LA movies that tried to make her a star and are notable for aiming well beyond their means.

Lady Dragon 2 is probably the weirdest example among them.

Rothrock plays the martial arts champion wife of a diminutive South American soccer player who somehow sees himself as a popular leader in a corrupt impoverished country. Yes, it's that weird. They live in a mansion with a housekeeper, but somehow, when the soccer player comes across some Diamonds stolen by a ruthless criminal from the Italian Mafia (was the screenwriter doing too much coke?), he takes them to "help his people". Naturally the bad guys show up.

And what a bad guy we get: Billy Drago! He dials up his usual schtick to 11. It's a weirdly fascinating mix of gangster, psychopath, sexual pervert and rapist, effeminate wimp, and southern hillbilly. It's a ridiculous performance, and the director glues the camera to him whenever he's on screen and gives him ample time to do knife tricks, moan into the phone, give death glares or do feminine dances and gyrations. It's not a great performance, but... it's a performance.

After the initial attack and a murder, he waltzes in and out of Cynthia Rothrock's house whenever he pleases. The police even apprehend him, and he still does it. Goes right back to the murder scene, and even starts doing obscene phone calls to Cynthia Rothrock or playing pranks with a dead body (not gonna spoil that scene). The police at one point offer to keep one officer there for protection, but of course Cynthia Rothrock says no. We're supposed to think it's because she's a badass, but really it's because they lacked the budget and the script was tripping over its many plotlines already.

The writers throw everything they have at the screen: rape, ill begotten gains, stealing from the mafia, class differences, economic hardship and growing up in poverty, self-sacrifice, betrayal, vigilantiism, the police having to let criminals go for lack of evidence, martial arts, rape, sexual harassment and a brief horror scene. It's INSANE.

Cynthia Rothrock doesn't have many fights, but the ones she has are overdone. Whether pinned between a random weirdly yelling chinese swordfighter and other armed goons, or between someone with a gun and someone with a car, none of it makes sense, but it's plenty violent and stupid. Very entertaining.

Unfortunately, the soundtrack, as so often in early 90s movies, hampers the enjoyment. It's an incessantly loud melancholic synth score, melodic, with some weird military drums. It sucks the tension right out of scenes that would feel pretty intense with a more fitting soundtrack. This soundtrack feels more like for a noir movie.

As you can see, none of the puzzle pieces fit together. But you'll rarely be bored. Mostly due to Billy Drago.

A good choice for bad movie night.