Tiger Cage 2

Reviewed by FilmMining101:

The sequel to "Tiger Cage" (1988) elevates Donnie Yen into the main lead status and brings back some of the same actors into different roles with a few "wink wink" cameos for a good measure. The uniquely named... "Tiger Cage II" has nothing to separate itself from the action Hong Kong flicks of the 80s except being more humorous than its predecessor shaping it towards an R-rated Jackie Chan vehicle.

Donnie Yen carries the film on his shoulders showing a charismatic presence that will be perfected in the years to come taking your breath away when he is fighting well-known martial artists. Yet, perhaps from a western perspective, what elevates "Tiger Cage II" is seeing the beloved Liu Kang/Robin Shou shine in a truly villainous role flexing with martial art prowess when his American transition put some limits on; an office fight with David Wu's ... David is visceral and expertly shot featuring dazzling athletic stuntwork that demolishes the average US film.

While it might lack the lavish production values that Hollywood offers, 80s and early 90s Hong Kong cinema was notorious for its on-screen death defying and pain inducing stunts and "Tiger Cage II", a product of its time is no exception; people fly through wind screens, fall on side walks and staircases, enjoy contact style choreography, leap and twirl in the air like human kites using gravity to their advantage in spectacular fashion.

Yuen Woo-ping does a solid job as a director even if the paper thin story cannot keep up with the A+ kung fu fighting. From the get go, it is quite obvious who the bad buy is and the film becomes more of a collection of mini segments that are linked with the barest of information populated with glaring product placement which will make even Michael Bay blush. To be fair though, back then Hong Kong filmmakers only cared to demonstrate their ability to craft innovative action moments by attempting to outdo what had come previously through the addition of more outrageous and dangerous stunts.

Despite a running time of ninety something minutes (Hong Kong cut), "Tiger Cage II" is quite entertaining, a stark reminder of a bygone era filled with visceral, if not occasionally funny and pain inducing, thrills. Fans of martial arts flicks will eat this up and will enjoy the OTT (western) villain portrayals while patiently nodding their heads at the stunning but overblown damsel in distress that Rosamund Kwan plays. The uninitiated might have a problem but if you stay for the action, you won't be disappointed for sure.

Watched this randomly and was so entertained. The action was well filmed and it was so fast paced it felt like 10 minutes. So many cool moments

Story was thin and predictable but the cast were entertaining even with the bad dubbing. I like Robin Shou as the bad guy, was what you want from a 90s action film bad guy. The sword fight with Donnie Yen and fake highlander was good too.

Overall if you want to see cool stunts and be entertained then this is the film for you.

No pun intended - this may be Tiger Cage 2 (international title), but you do not need to have seen the first one - there is no connection other than the title. And Donnie Yen, though he plays a completely different character in this movie. The tone is also way different - this is a lot "lighter" and has quite a few jokes in it. Donnies character really has some fun here.

Not everything is PC and I reckon the way certain things are handled will not be looked lightly upon ... or rather received through the lens of time. Sensibilities and all - some things were meant to be light jokes but the implications are way deeper than that. And yes you could hang the movie up on that - hopefully you are able to look past that. Not easy to do for some I know ... just try to enjoy the action and the comedy if you can.... otherwise you won't have a good time.

I'll say it again: Tiger Cage II is simply the best modern day action movie from Hong Kong. This movie has it all to become a classic: martial arts, gunfights, an awesome swordfight, comedy, and good characters and stunts!! Don't be fooled by the title it has nothing to do with the first Tiger Cage!! Donnie Yen (The greatest, in my opinion!!), Robin Shou(from Mortal Kombat, but don't worry he fights extremely well in this movie) and Davis Wu star in this great action movie. The last 20 minutes of the movie are fights after fights: Robin against David, Donnie against John Salvitti, Donnie against Michael Woods, Donnie against Robin!!! The movie's is also extremely well directed by the Master himself: Yuen-Woo Ping. And Donnie, Yuen Cheung-Yan and Yuen Shun-Yee(two brothers of Yuen Woo-Ping) are in charge of the action sequences. Simply get this movie if you are looking for a great ACTION movie from HK...............................9,3/10

Yuen Woo-Ping once again delivers another modern day actioner full of brutal martial arts action. In this movie, Donnie Yen and Rosamond Kwan are on the run from cops and drug dealers after they are framed for murder. Plot is insignificant in this film, however. This movie has a lot of great fights including Donnie Yen and John Salvitti fighting with swords and a fight with Michael Woods. These are classic fight scenes. The only problem is that in my version, Cynthia Khan fights Robin Shou for a few moments and then arrests him. I felt cheated. The movie was also a bit too vulgar and violent for my tastes. Anyone who likes martial arts movies should check this out.