The Black Cobra 2

Remember when you were watching the original Black Cobra and you thought to yourself "This is an okay flick but it would have really rocked if the guy who played Spider-Man on TV in the 70's was in it"? Well this happens to be your lucky day! Just give a gander to Black Cobra 2 and prepare to be knocked on your butt! Fred "The Hammer" Williamson is back and this time he's sent to another country to hang with the guy who played Spider-Man and together they battle bad guys when not hanging out with Spider-Man's creepy little slot car racing son who TALKS LIKE A GROWN WOMAN! Black Cobra and Spider-Man kick butt! What more could anybody ask for? And it's even better than the first Black Cobra (hard to believe I know)! What more can I say about Black Cobra 2? There's a Black Cobra 3 too!

Malone (Fred Williamson) is back (good gawd!).

The intro/beginning of this film is actually pretty funny. See a crummy car keep up with a Suzuki racing motorcycle looping through a parking garage! See a harrowing 2 MPH motorcycle crash! See the running bad-guy actor slow down to let a winded Williamson catch up to him - several times!

After Malone blasts this evil motorcyclist into oblivion, he gets shipped off to the Philippines until Chicago cools down. Apparently to help Interpol (huh? wha?). At this point the film becomes incomprehensible and boring like BC#1. Malones wallet is pinched, there are some sinister Iranians, microfilm, then there is a surreal hostage taking/rescue which belongs in a DADA performance art happening rather than in an action film.

Fred Williamson is a bit more awake in BC#2 than he is in BC#1. His acting is a little better, more relaxed, more focused. There are more laugh-out-loud lines in this film.

The soundtrack is better than BC#1. Decent Jan Hammer/Miami Vice ripoff sound. The film is also full of whacky 1980's artifacts. Williamson is constantly wears a powder blue Members Only jacket with the sleeves rolled up. Leather pants, The women in the film have some pretty scary haircuts. The sets/props/hair-do's blend seamlessly with the cheese-ball soundtrack.

Even with all the faults, if the pacing was better this could have been a watchable flick. Unfortunately the film is clunky and boaring at points when it needs to be exciting. Worth watching just the goofy intro and then F.F. to some of the more absurdist scenes.

Apparently there is a Black Cobra #3.

After blowing away a drug dealer, Lt. Robert Malone (Fred "The Hammer" Williamson) is sent to Manila to cool his easy tempered jets as part of a "deal worked out between our Government and INTERPOL." Naturally, Malone finds himself right in another mess when, minutes after arriving in the Philippines, a pickpocket steals his wallet. Teaming up with INTERPOL agent Kevin McCall (Nicholas Hammond), Malone sets out to find his wallet but gets mixed up with the pickpocket's daughter, a group of crazed terrorists looking for microfilm (aren't they all?) and school children held hostage.

Fans of Fred Williamson might end up hammering their heads against the wall if they check this cheesy Italian buddy cop variation. The film opens with what can only be described as a "unique" chase. Williamson confronts a motorcycle riding drug dealer in a parking garage, chases him down the street to another parking garage, loses him on the Chicago L entry way but finally catches back up to him in another parking garage where Williamson proceeds to nearly blow his head off (the film's best and goriest effect) with his pistol. Yes, more parking garages than you can shake a stick at. Sadly, it is downhill from there. The plot is particularly muddled, containing something about terrorists wanting microfilm (what it contains is never explained) from the pickpocket's daughter Peggy, who naturally isn't aware she has it. For the most part the film follows the clichéd LETHAL WEAPON routine until the end where a bit of DIE HARD is thrown in for good measure.

Regardless of the lack of plot, the film does have an unusual charm. Financed by the Italy based Imagine company, BLACK COBRA 2 provides a few laughs through its dubbing and horrid dialogue. Upon learning of her father's death Peggy reminisces, "I couldn't stand the stories he used to tell me but now how I wish I could hear them again." Later she performs one of the most embarrassing "seductive" musical numbers ever captured on film. And you haven't lived until you see Williamson lured into performing a native Philippine dance ceremony. The last third of the film is probably the best section, with Williamson (who appears to have done all his own stunts) blowing away lots of bad guys to some of the most insane 80s guitar riffs. As always, Williamson is his charismatic, cigar chomping self and carries what little of the film there is. Fans of down and out casting should take note of Nicholas Hammond (Yes, Frederick Von Trapp himself) as Malone's partner.

My review was written in April 1990 after watching the movie on South Gate Entertainment video cassette.

Fred Williamson is on automatic pilot in the direct-to-video feature release from Italy, "The Black Cobra 2".

Carrying his trademark stogie, he plays a Chicago cop sent to Manila under an Interpol exchange program. Once in the Far East he teams up with Inspector McColl (Nicholas Hammond) to go after some terrorists, who end up kidnapping the heroine and McColl's son.

Uneventful film lacks the usual exploitation elements. Even the interracial theme involving Williamson's romantic exploits is extremely tame.

Tech credits are so-so, with poor dubbing of several of the supporting players. Edoardo Margheritit takes over directing the series from Stelvio Massi, with contradictory anglicized names (A. J. Dawson vs. Dan Edwards) displayed on the box versus the screen for this video.

"Black Cobra 2" is one of those rarities - a sequel that is better than the original. Actually, considering how awful the first movie was in just about every aspect, it wouldn't take anyone much effort to crank out a better movie. This time, Chicago cop Malone (actually, he was a NEW YORK cop in the first movie!) is sent to Manila, and the fact that making movies there is pretty cheap probably explains the improvement. The cinematography is more colorful, the lighting is better, the indoor shooting locations look less impoverished, and there are some colorful outdoor locations. The action scenes are also an improvement, though some of this comes from the unintentionally hilarity of the martial arts sequences. However, the movie still suffers from the fact that it's mostly DULL. It's a slow-moving story, with the investigation going on forever and taking half an hour from the opening action scene to get to the next action scene. And while they got more out of their dollar for production values, the movie still suffers from cheapness, like the fact the hostages at the climatic scene are never seen. Anyway, I'll see you again when I review part 3...