Game of Death II (1981)

Game of Death II is a really sad state of affairs, and I mean sad in that this is a brilliant kung-fu film but it's so easy to get put off due to the fact that it's such a blatant cash in on the Bruce Lee name.The first half of the film is pretty disrespectful. Footage of Bruce Lee is clumsily shoehorned in simply to get his name in the credits but it's so badly done that it's cringeworthy. For a start the footage is clearly from Enter The Dragon and it looks like they didn't even bother to match the film type as you can tell it's from totally different stocks when it cuts between the archive footage and the real film. They didn't even bother to get the make up and the outfit colour to match for the scenes with the Abbot. Add to the fact that Kim Tai-chung doubles for Bruce Lee PLUS plays his brother is totally obvious. They shoot Kim from behind most of the time in a really obvious way but on a few occasions you see a full front shot of his face and can tell it's not Bruce so there was absolutely no point to it.All this is doubly sad because this is actually a brilliant kung-fu film. The fight choreography is superb and if you disregard the Bruce Lee cash in it's actually a decent story as well (for this type of film) Having no less than three directors is a plus point and all are known names. Ng See Yuen and Corey Yuen later went on to make the martial arts triumph 'No Retreat No Surrender' and of course Sammo hung who is a legend in the kung fu world helped direct and stage the fights and boy does it show.I'm actually surprised that Raymond Chow who was supposedly a family friend of the Lees allowed such a foul cash grab to be made. Fair enough, the first Game Of Death had an excuse as they were finishing his work (even though they changed everything) but this really was a cheap effort to make money off the dead.Regardless, if you can stomach the first half of the film and it's really shameless flogging of Bruce Lee footage then you are in for a treat in the second half when the movie dumps the stock footage splicing and actually becomes it's own film, and it's a damn good one too. The end fight is one of the very best in kung-fu history and that's saying something.If this film had been it's own thing then it would be almost at the top of the pile and it's a shame because most people won't watch past the first few minutes or so and they'd probably be quite right as morally this film is a disgrace, but underneath is a superb martial arts film that sadly not many with even bother with.

Although this is probably the best of the imitation-movies of Bruce Lee, it is still not very good. I'm a big Bruce Lee fan, and this particular movie is very funny and quite stylish but it is not a Bruce Lee movie. Scenes like the lion-puppet thrown in through the window is funny, and the movie changes character towards the end in the computer game-like tower. Thus the final half hour is much better than the beginning of the movie. The Bruce Lee aspects of this movie makes no sense. Showing images of his childhood-movies is just not a good idea. Anyway, there's some pretty good martial arts in this movie and it is recommended, actually, to Bruce Lee fans and historians, just to see how his legacy was exploited by people who wanted to make money.

A handful of critics have awarded this film with positive comments. I don't wish to argue with their opinion, but I strongly disagree. When I first watched this film I was mildly impressed. But after comparing it with other films, particularly with the late master, Bruce Lee I quickly changed my mind. In fact, if it wasn't for the title of the film, I would never have bought it. Game of Death 2 doesn't relate to the original Game of Death, (except it shares one character, Billy Lo.)I was stunned to see how similar Game of Death 2 was compared to Enter the Dragon. The plots have striking similarities: Both Bruce Lee and Bobby Lo are on a mission to avenge a relative. The two locations are similar, in which they both are very isolated and are surrounded by thousands of Blackbelts. There is an element of prostitution in both films (women are sent two the guests rooms in both films.) Both Han (Enter the Dragon) and Lewis's henchman have a hand missing. Their is an underground drug operation in Enter the Dragon, believe it or not, there is one in Game of Death 2. Han has a pet cat in Enter the Dragon, the director has used his imagination and awarded Lewis with a pet monkey! The list continues. Regarding other aspects of the film, such as the script and the acting, I felt it was very poor. It seemed to me that the director was looking for a group of martial artists to star in the film and prayed they could act. On a positive scale, I cannot deny that the choreography is impressive. Although the fighting sequences have strong elements of acrobatics in them, they are none the less skillfully performed. However, as the plot is insufficient, i couldn't relate to the characters, therefore the fighting sequences were more exhibitions rather than having a meaning to the film. In conclusion I would say this film is recommendable to any martial-arts fans, but for those who enjoy a solid action film, with a good storyline and strong characters, I seriously wouldn't recommend this film. My opinions towards this film may seem very bias and one-sided, but when Bruce Lee set a new standard in the martial arts cinema, particularly after his masterpiece: Enter the Dragon, this film failed to rise to these standards. If anything they imitated a truly brilliant martial-arts film, in hope of achieving the same level of fame. In reference to my evaluation, awarding this film a very harsh 1 out of 10, the film is barley watchable, and must be thankful that it had the fighting sequences it did.

...just forget about it being a Bruce Lee film! Honestly, it's pretty good. I don't know why people slate this film, it's no better or worse than something like Shaolin Iron Claws (also starring Hwang Jang Lee), or many other martial arts films from the late 70a and early 80s.Unfortunately, as this was planned as a 'tribute to' (read 'another way to get money out of the image of') Bruce Lee, it's what it's mainly remembered as. I would argue that there are some rather good sequences in this film - Roy Haron's fight scenes, for example, or the end sequence (which is pretty enjoyable in a James Bond type of way).And, to be honest, the footage is interpolated a HELL of a lot better than that P.O.S. 'Game Of Death' film that came first, which is just laughable. Damn, that film was bad. This film, in comparison, is reasonably good natured, and at least moves on from the Bruce Lee footage (none of which features any original Bruce Lee fighting at all!) quite early, leaving the audience to get on with a 'proper film', rather than playing spot the edits with the original Bruce Lee footage and the stand in.I must apologise for all the 'inverted commas' in this review! Anyway, it's better than the first Game Of Death, Hwang Jang Lee is well worth watching (as always) and Roy Haron is wicked.