That's right, the story of this second installment in the CHAMELEON-series is a total DIE HARD-clone. I'm not saying it's a complete rip-off, since it doesn't put the emphasis on a lot of spectacular action scenes, like DIE HARD did, but more on the characters and there roles in the plot. But there are of course a lot of similarities. A hostage-situation in a big building being the main one.
The first movie was made for TV and, naturally, so was this. But the budget for CHAMELEON: DEATH MATCH must have been a lot smaller than the first installment of the series. And it shows. There aren't many sets. There are no great outdoors-shots like in the first one. The CGI shots of the building in the futuristic city are horrible and don't even match some other shots of the 'real' city. And when Kam transforms to her chameleon-like invisible state, they don't even bother to show us that more detailed transparent CGI-look of her shape, like they did in the first movie. But I'll forgive all that, even if it makes the movie look cheap.
So Kam (played by good-looking and athletic Bobbie Phillips) still works for the IBI. She's a 'sub', a genetically altered human with some 'animal advantages'. A prominent man throws a party in a big skyscraper. Terrorists crash the party and take all of them hostage. Kam is send in, together with a new partner, to take care of the situation. So, yep, it's time to DIE HARD. But this being said, it's unfair to bash this movie for only that or the low budget. The movie still is mildly entertaining and the plot does have a few twists that I didn't see coming (but then again, I did switch my brain of while watching it). They did drop the whole 'animal-eroticism'-act from the first movie, since it served no purpose to the plot this time.
The credits here on IMDb learned me that this was directed by Russel King and Graig R. Baxley. The latter one directed some recent Stephen King adaptations like STORM OF THE CENTURY, ROSE RED and KINGDOM HOSPITAL. Those were all stylishly directed. But I suspect Russel King did most of the directing of CHAMELEON: DEATH MATCH, because it certainly hasn't got that visual flair that Baxley puts into his work. It doesn't even come close.
CHAMELEON: DEATH MATCH is as good or bad as any other crime/sci-fi made-for-TV stuff. It depends on whether you like that sort of stuff or not. Actually, I'm glad they made this CHAMELEON-concept into three movies, instead of an on-going series with episodes of 45 minutes. This way, you get a little more out of it and the film-makers put a little more effort into it. But it still remains average and it isn't part of any great TV-legacy. So, if you liked the first movie, you'll probably end up liking the second one too and forgiving its flaws. If not, then just watch it for Bobbie Phillips, 'cause she still is the main attraction of this movie. And if she ain't your thing, then stay away from it.
