This has to be one of the most spectacular cases of aiming high and missing by a mile.
In the early 90s, a slew of actors tried to break into action stardom in the post-Cannon movie world. Among hopefuls like of Daniel Bernhardt, Thomas Ian Griffith, Jeff Speakman, Jeff Wincott, Oliver Gruner, Gary Daniels and others, there was a lone female martial artist: Cynthia Rothrock. After some Hong Kong movies with amazing stunts, her American films were notable for much less impressive stuntwork, low production value and lots of cheese (like the meme final fight in Undefeated). Her early American films were usually low budget LA movies that tried to make her a star and are notable for aiming well beyond their means.
Lady Dragon 2 is probably the weirdest example among them.
Rothrock plays the martial arts champion wife of a diminutive South American soccer player who somehow sees himself as a popular leader in a corrupt impoverished country. Yes, it's that weird. They live in a mansion with a housekeeper, but somehow, when the soccer player comes across some Diamonds stolen by a ruthless criminal from the Italian Mafia (was the screenwriter doing too much coke?), he takes them to "help his people". Naturally the bad guys show up.
And what a bad guy we get: Billy Drago! He dials up his usual schtick to 11. It's a weirdly fascinating mix of gangster, psychopath, sexual pervert and rapist, effeminate wimp, and southern hillbilly. It's a ridiculous performance, and the director glues the camera to him whenever he's on screen and gives him ample time to do knife tricks, moan into the phone, give death glares or do feminine dances and gyrations. It's not a great performance, but... it's a performance.
After the initial attack and a murder, he waltzes in and out of Cynthia Rothrock's house whenever he pleases. The police even apprehend him, and he still does it. Goes right back to the murder scene, and even starts doing obscene phone calls to Cynthia Rothrock or playing pranks with a dead body (not gonna spoil that scene). The police at one point offer to keep one officer there for protection, but of course Cynthia Rothrock says no. We're supposed to think it's because she's a badass, but really it's because they lacked the budget and the script was tripping over its many plotlines already.
The writers throw everything they have at the screen: rape, ill begotten gains, stealing from the mafia, class differences, economic hardship and growing up in poverty, self-sacrifice, betrayal, vigilantiism, the police having to let criminals go for lack of evidence, martial arts, rape, sexual harassment and a brief horror scene. It's INSANE.
Cynthia Rothrock doesn't have many fights, but the ones she has are overdone. Whether pinned between a random weirdly yelling chinese swordfighter and other armed goons, or between someone with a gun and someone with a car, none of it makes sense, but it's plenty violent and stupid. Very entertaining.
Unfortunately, the soundtrack, as so often in early 90s movies, hampers the enjoyment. It's an incessantly loud melancholic synth score, melodic, with some weird military drums. It sucks the tension right out of scenes that would feel pretty intense with a more fitting soundtrack. This soundtrack feels more like for a noir movie.
As you can see, none of the puzzle pieces fit together. But you'll rarely be bored. Mostly due to Billy Drago.
A good choice for bad movie night.
