That is the question I asked myself when I watched this film. But then I am reminded, I am not a long time fan of the Ponderous Universe. If you have followed the various adventures of these characters through the films outside of the saga this film gives some in site into where the Shadowdragon comes from. also, like many of the ponderous films, its timeline resides in a very detailed web of connections through various different films. Unfortunately, unless you know all of this you just kind of sit watching this movie with a glazed bit of "what does this have to do with everyone I watched in the first film." nothing, it has nothing to do with any of them or any of the story of the saga. Very little in this film continues the story and what does is a bit long and drawn out. The problem I see and what I experience when viewing these films with others is this film makes you lose interest in the rest of the saga because its slow and random. Above all of that what could have been possibly an incredible martial arts film ends up blahing out since it is pretty obvious many of the actors had little to no training at all.
Other then that the film,for die hard fans, does have several key and important moments. The first meeting of Mike and Ruby, the very mythozised origin of the Shadowdragon, Mike "going to the darkside" and the first appearance of a character that would become one of the first Beta Hunters.
My suggestion, skip this film when viewing the saga. Instead, view this film as a prequel to the Ballerina.
