Martial Law II: Undercover (1991)

This cheapo sequel to the original MARTIAL LAW jettisons the star pairing of Chad McQueen and David Carradine and brings in straight-to-video action hulk Jeff Wincott instead. Thankfully, Cynthia Rothrock reprises her role from the first film, so at least there's one reason to watch.In any case, this is below average for a cheap '90s straight-to-video action offering. The fights are unspectacular and often staged in the dark, and the acting is very poor. Rothrock is the best thing in it, but I didn't go much for the evil-looking Wincott, who feels more like a shoe-in for a villainous role rather than the hero. Billy Drago is welcome in the part of a cop, but is given limited screen time, and overall there are few reasons to watch - even for fans of this particular genre of film.

Imagine a world wherein direct-to-video movies could be good on purpose; wherein the cast, director, and producers actually made an effort to match Hollywood; and wherein performers who had never been seen on theater screens matched the big-name action heroes of the day. Whether I'm romanticizing things or if such a time really existed is a matter of opinion, but it's plain fact that MARTIAL LAW II is a very good low budget martial arts feature, able to match the offerings that Van Damme, Seagal, and Norris were putting out at the time and still good nowadays.The story: The star police team of Sean Thompson (Jeff Wincott) and Billie Blake (Cynthia Rothrock) is broken up just as an ambitious lord of the underworld (Paul Johansson) rises to prominence, killing a policeman in the process. The two will have to reunite undercover to unearth the crime and expose it with their lives intact.At the time of this one's release, the only performer who was properly established in the action genre was Cynthia Rothrock, but surprisingly, this isn't really her vehicle. She gets her share of the action, but Jeff Wincott - making his action movie debut - is the one who really takes the helm in driving the story, showing excellent poise as both a legitimate leading man and an action hero. He's supplemented by a minor super group of performers also on their way to becoming B-movie dragons: in addition to Johannson as the lead villain, there's Evan Lurie, Leo Lee, and James Lew as respectively awesome henchmen and Billy Drago as a conflicted police captain forced to go straight. Nobody's really pressured into heavy acting, but I daresay everyone performs - physically and dramatically - to the best of their ability and to the extent their roles allow them.The fight content really shines. Be warned, Hong Kong fans, none of it is overly flashy or terribly acrobatic - it's just good, solid western martial arts action with an emphasis on kicks and minimal gunfighting. It's hard to believe that this is the first karate film Jeff Wincott ever did, considering his proficiency in varied disciplines, including forms and weapons handling; his scene with his trademark batons is particularly vicious. A few of Cynthia Rothrock's fights seem like filler despite her stellar forms, but she's afforded at least one standout battle at the end with the ever-worthy James Lew. Evan Lurie gives possibly the best martial performance of his career when he takes on two huge bodyguards in a handicap match and gets to show off just how tough he really is. Of the 'round eight or nine fights, few of them are standout material on their own but, in a rare feat, manage to come together to create a fulfilling tapestry of hand-to-hand action.The film's production values are deserving of praise as well. All too many times when I watch a modern DTV movie, I get the impression that the filmmakers or the studio are discouraged from presenting quality production on account of their movie's relatively low distribution. MARTIAL LAW II, on the other hand, seems to have been made with the mindset that, specifically because it wasn't bound for a theatrical release, it had to try all the harder to impress viewers with its good-as-Hollywood presentation. Even the VHS cover looks like it could belong to a theatrical movie. Therein, like most action films from this era, it's a bit superficial, but what were you expecting? The story's interesting enough to keep you interested as you await the next randori and the whole package is attractive enough to interest even viewers who haven't been weaned off of the big budget productions yet. Why this one hasn't gotten a Region 1 DVD release yet is beyond me.

Cops Sean "Martial Law" Thompson (Wincott) and Billie Blake (Rothrock) are back in this sequel which is a quantum leap ahead of its lackluster predecessor.When one of their fellow officers ends up dead, the trail leads to a popular nightclub run by the smarmy Spencer Hamilton (Johansson). His muscle includes meathead Tanner (Lurie) and other sidekick Bree (Rose). To get closer to the truth, Billie goes undercover as a bartender. Naturally, all manner of illegal doings are emanating from the club, not least of which is high-stakes, underground Punchfighting. But why is Captain Krantz (Drago) so touchy about this subject? It's now up to Sean and Billie to take out the trash.As stated earlier, this installment in the Martial Law trilogy is far superior to Martial Law one. The colors are brighter, it has a more professional sheen to it, and not only do the main stars Wincott and Rothrock really shine, it has a solid supporting cast featuring Billy Drago, Evan Lurie, Sherrie Rose, Max Thayer and Nicholas Hill in a small role.The decision to replace Chad McQueen with Jeff Wincott was an inspired choice. Wincott is a lot more charming, and has Martial Arts skill to spare, and we just love his energetic style. As in the follow-up to this film, Mission of Justice, Wincott gets to do some stick-fighting along with his traditional vigorous style. Seeing as he resembles - in this film at least - Matthew McConaughey, rather than being a laid-back "surfer dude" who's just livin' life, he's breaking the arms and knee joints of baddies.Evan Lurie, Slash Gallagher himself, lumbers into view in an extra-meatheady performance. He has strange speech patterns in this movie. He sounds like Stallone on half speed. But his clothing choices are pretty...well...choice. It's odd seeing Billy Drago as a police captain, as he looks like an emaciated gargoyle, but you'll see why he was cast in the role. Hopefully these descriptions don't come off as too crass, we love these actors and we've seen them so many times, they're like our friends.But the main reason to watch Martial Law 2 are its quality fight scenes. It has the fights you want from the stars you like. That could almost be a tagline. Wincott and Rothrock get off some great moves, and what's cool about their scenes, is that you can see they are really doing the moves - as you all know, the way to see if a actor/Martial Artist is genuine is to see how many moves they do without a cut. For example, in some of the best Shaw Brothers movies, there are anywhere from 8-12 or more moves with no cut and it's extremely impressive. Wincott and Rothrock can also achieve this level of prowess, and it's a lot of fun to watch.And while there is a lack of Wincott in the middle of the film, and it would have been nice to see a much longer fight scene between Rothrock and Sherrie Rose, this is a classic early-90's "abandoned warehouse" actioner with a lot to offer.NOTE: Fascinatingly, there is an introduction on the U.S. VHS tape with Cynthia Rothrock advertising some of her movies. That's a really cool feature on the tape.For more action insanity, drop by: www.comeuppancereviews.com

There are plenty of low budget martial arts flicks in the world, many of which are total embarrassments. Thankfully, this is not one of them. Martial Law II has a plot that's simple enough to be believable but also has a few bits of creativity thrown in to make it distinguishable but not stupid. Furthermore, the actors do a good enough job with their roles to make the viewer suspend their disbelief and care about what's happening. And, of course, there's plenty of fighting throughout the movie to make it fun. It's not a great movie, but considering the limited amount of stories one can do with this genre of films, it's pretty unique and makes for an entertaining watch on a Saturday afternoon.