Lady Dragon 2

Not a lot of thought was put into the plot here, unless the writers have never seen any other movie before in their lives. But you don't care about the plot do you? I didn't think so. The only reason to watch a Cynthia Rothrock movie is the fighting. But there's not enough to satisfy here. But I guess she's getting up there in years now. Some of the special effects are hilariously bad. The car stunts are all shown in fast-forward so you have this jerky effect going on. But you can't beat Billy Drago for the bad guy (like in every movie he's in?). And explosions and gun fights are always fun. All in all, I recommend this for late night brainless entertainment, but only if it is on free TV.

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 movie called in USA as Lady Dragon 2 but the real name is Angel of Fury. There was a movie called Angel of Fury in USA so they had to change the movie name to Lady Dragon 2 . In Europe " Angel of Fury " is still the name of this movie .C.Rothrock "Queen of b-kung-fu video movies" had a great performance in this movie. Billy Drago is the bad guy in this movie and he has also a good performance.The story is cliche but the real fans of C.Rothrock will love this movie, like me.Great kicks and punches from C.Rothrock.If you like C.Rothrock you will enjoy this movie .Do not rent this movie if you are looking for serious movie to see !!!

In the new and moderately improved sequel to David 'Kickboxer' Worth's original Rothrock-starring action-distraction 'Lady Dragon', our plucky, punch-happy heroine returns once more to avenge the murder of her beloved husband by a gang of heartless, mask-wearing killers led by the glacial, stone-hearted villainy of B-Movie kingpin Billy Drago. We see Susan 'The Golden Angel' Morgan strut her entirely strut-worthy stuff in the ring making hard work of an enjoyably rough, slam-bang bout as the exquisitely evil Diego (Billy Drago) callously wipes out three wealthy goombah's for their plentiful diamond booty.

Having only barely survived this awful Diego-led home invasion, the ignominy continues as the frantically murderous obsession over the ownership of the contraband diamonds merely increases the terrible levels of ensuing violence. Choosing blunt street justice over the uncertain vagaries of law, this 'Angel of Fury' must initially get down an' dirty in the scum-clogged bowels of the city in order to 'flush out' the diabolically foul perpetrators and take them out one by one.

While 'Lady Dragon 2' isn't by any stretch of the imagination a top-tier Rothrock skull-rocker, since it focuses mainly on sleazy theatrics than relentless 'Undefeatable' style Kung Fun overkill, but there are a few stand out bravura sequences of righteous skell annihilation, which capitalize strongly on Cynthia Rothrock's quicksilver punches and devastating Roundhouse kicks to enormously cinematic effect! I have always found Rothrock to be a dynamic and hugely engaging screen presence and certainly no less so as vengeful Susan 'The Golden Angel' Morgan, and when she inevitably unleashes her signature lightning-fast flurry of titanic Thug trashing, tibia terminating terror it is ALWAYS guaranteed to be a next level boss beatdown!

There's some additionally joyous incongruities on display here which playfully elevate the formulaic proceedings, namely Sam 'Flash Gordon' Jones's singular decision to zestily play his lunk-headed bully boy Reb as a bizarrely perma-cackling cartoon super villain, making for a weirdly satisfying buzz-cut creepozoid that ultimately proves no match for the sinfully savage Cynthia! Much like the powerhouse star, 'Lady Dragon 2' is generously top loaded, saving all the groovy goodies for last, as even a lesser Rothrock actioner is far better than most at their best. I had a B-Movie blast watching Cynthia 'sticking' it to the deliciously diabolical Diego and hopefully other Rothrock fans might get no less of a 'kick' out of watching 'Lady Dragon 2' than I did!

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.